** THIS EVENT IS NOW FULLY BOOKED **

The immune system holds the key to human health. In this talk, Daniel M. Davis will describe the scientific quest to understand how it works – and how it is affected by stress, sleep, age and our state of mind – and explain how this knowledge is now unlocking a revolutionary new approach to medicine and well-being.

The body's ability to fight disease and heal itself is one of the great mysteries and marvels of nature. But within the last few years painstaking research has resulted in major advances in our understanding of this breathtakingly beautiful inner world: a vast and intricate network of specialist cells, regulatory proteins and dedicated genes that are continually protecting our bodies. Far more powerful than any medicine ever invented, it also plays a crucial role in our daily lives. Already we have found ways to harness these natural defences to create breakthrough drugs and so-called immunotherapies that help us fight cancer, diabetes, arthritis and many age-related diseases, and we are starting to understand whether or not activities such as mindfulness might play a role in enhancing our physical resilience.

Daniel M Davis is a Professor of Immunology at Manchester University. His research, using super-resolution microscopy to study immune cell biology, was listed in Discover magazine as one of the top 100 breakthroughs of the year. He is the author of THE COMPATIBILITY GENE, described by Bill Bryson in the Guardian’s Books of the Year as ‘elegantly written and unexpectedly gripping’. His most recent book, THE BEAUTIFUL CURE, has been described by Stephen Fry as 'One of those books that makes you look at everything human in a new, challenging and thrilling way'. He has published well over 120 academic papers, cited over 10,000 times, including articles in Nature, Science and Scientific American.

Refreshments will be available from 5.30pm onwards.

This lecture is free and all are welcome to attend.

The Keele Nursery will be open and free of charge for staff and students attending the lecture.

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