Trinity events celebrate 50 years of genetics

A MAJOR public symposium on the future of genetics is planned as part of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the genetics department at Trinity College Dublin. It will include six speakers, from Ireland, Britain and the US, who will discuss issues thrown up by scientific advances in genetics.

Four days of lectures and events will take place from September 17th to 20th. It starts with three days of scientific presentations, which are open to the public, and concludes on Saturday evening with the public symposium.

Trinity's special guest for the occasion is the Nobel laureate James Watson, who, with Francis Crick, co-discovered the structure of DNA, the genetic molecule.

The event is a celebration, says main organiser and professor of genetics at Trinity, Prof David McConnell. Graduates of the department have been encouraged to return to the college to take part, and many now hold prestigious research chairs abroad, Prof McConnell says.

"Genetics is changing our lives. The word gene and the word genetics have become part of the public vocabulary," he says.

Research in genetics is changing the way we produce food and livestock, improving the diagnosis of diseases and opening up new treatment options for otherwise intractable illnesses. It has also become a central technique for solving crimes and proving innocence as well as guilt.

Founded in 1958 by George Dawson, who came to Trinity from Cambridge University, the department has grown in strength and depth in terms of its research capacity. It has awarded more than 500 degrees in genetics and there have been 100 post-graduate degrees presented over the 50 years.

The department, based in the Smurfit Institute of Genetics, has received more than €7 million annually in research support from key funding agencies and this in turn has supported more than a dozen research groups and 100 researchers, who have come to Trinity from within Ireland and from 24 other countries.

Speakers at the symposium include Prof Steve Jones, who will discuss whether human evolution has finished or whether it continues apace. Trinity graduate Brian Naughton, founder of US-based company 23andMe will describe what knowing your genome will mean for personal health. The city prosecutor in the first OJ Simpson trial, Rockne Harmon, will discuss DNA use in forensics and Prof Paul Sharp will talk about how genetics revealed the origins of the HIV virus.

The Government's chief scientific

adviser, Prof Patrick Cunningham, will deliver a paper, Feeding the World; Genetics in the Lead, and Prof Stephen Minger will talk about stem cells and their potential to support human health.

The symposium takes place at D4 Hotels Ballsbridge Inn (formerly Jury's),

Pembroke Road, Dublin, on Saturday, September 20th, 11am-6pm. Tickets are available at the door for €5 each or can be booked at www.genetics50.org

More information about events related to Celebrating 50 years of Genetics at Trinity College Dublin and about the public symposium, The Secret of Life, Genetics in the 21st Century, is available at the above website.