InCrops is delighted to welcome Professor Ananda Chakrabarty to Cambridge for his talk ' Bioengineering Bugs' at Robinson College, Cambridge on 1 February 6pm. The event, organised by The Cambridge Network Team, is sponsored by the InCrops Enterprise Hub and will include a networking drinks reception after the talk.
Registration of attendance is required. Please contact Julia O’Rourke j.orourke@uea.ac.uk if you wish to attend including your name, organisation and job title in the email for registration purposes.
Prof Chakrabarty patented an oil-digesting bacterium, the first patent granted on a living organism. Similar bacteria help clear up toxic oil spills such as the major one caused by the Exxon Valdez, considered one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters ever to occur at sea. But he is aware of the controversial nature of some IP laws. Professor Chakrabarty's view is that 'IP issues are often contentious and reasonable people may have very different opinions on its perceived societal values. This is particularly true on human gene patenting or what's described in European patent laws as "inventions that are contrary to public order or morality". The sense of morality is culture-based and highly variable.'
Professor Chakrabarty's talk will discuss how patents affect our society, both culturally and economically, and if there is something we can learn from the differences in the EU patent laws and those in the United States, that basically make patent-eligible 'anything under the sun that is made by man'. He will also tell the meeting about his own ongoing research into the development of anti-cancer multi-disease-targeting drugs from pathogenic bacteria.
Ananda Chakrabarty PhD is currently a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Illinois and his landmark research has since paved the way for many patents on genetically modified micro-organisms and other life forms, catapulting him into the international spotlight. Apart from being an eminent scientist, Professor Chakrabarty has been an advisor to judges, governments, and the United Nations.
Places are limited so we ask that you register by 26 January. If you are a member of the Cambridge Network, including anyone working for or studying at Addenbrooke's Hospital, the University of Cambridge, Anglia Ruskin University, and the Open University you can register directly via the Cambridge Network event web page Should you have any problems with the online registration please email vicky.faupel@cambridgenetwork.co.uk