Past Event

About the Speaker

Professor Sir Charles Godfray, Hope Professor in the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford

Professor Charles Godfray is a population biologist whose work involves ecology, evolution and epidemiology. He is also interested in the interplay of science and policy, especially in the areas of the environment and food security. 

He directs the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, which seeks to link together all research in the University that is related to food.

He chaired the Lead Expert Group of the UK Government’s Foresight Project on the Future of Food and Farming and is a member of the Strategy Advisory Board of the UK Global Food Security Programme and the Steering Group of the UK Government Green Food Project.  He is also a member of the writing team for the UN’s Committee on World Food Security, High Level Panel of Experts report on Climate Change and Food Security.

Abstract

Malaria still kills over half a million people a year, and has further insidious effects on health and development.  Substantial progress has been made in reducing the burden of this disease in the last few decades, though there is concern about developing resistance to the drugs and insecticides that are our main current weapons to combat the pathogen and its mosquito vectors.  In this talk I will describe new strategies under development to fight malaria.  They are based on gene editing and the notion of a “selfish gene” that spreads through a population even to the detriment of that population.  I will particularly explore the social acceptability of such novel genetic technologies, the ethics of their deployment in developing countries, and the possible demographic consequences.

 

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