Free to attend | CPD certificates available
The Manchester Medical Society is delighted to announce its 2026 Autumn Symposium, Medicine in Society: Science, Responsibility and the Future of Health.
This thought-provoking afternoon will explore some of the most significant challenges and opportunities facing healthcare today. Leading experts will discuss the responsibilities of medicine in a changing world, tackling health inequalities, the impact of artificial intelligence and data science on healthcare, and maintaining public trust in medicine in an era of misinformation.
Confirmed Speakers
Living in an Age of Consequence
Professor Hugh Montgomery
Professor of Intensive Care Medicine, University College London
Talk synopsis:
Most of us have heard of 'climate change' and 'global warming', but few understand the immediacy and gravity of their impacts.
Greenhouse Gases (GHG) now trap 15 Hiroshima Bombs-worth of energy every second. We have triggered multiple feedback loops: atmospheric GHG concentrations are now rising faster than emissions (as sinks fail and natural release is amplified), and temperature rise is uncoupled from those concentrations. The impacts are all obvious to all, given the Summer of Incineration, the catastrophe in Nepal, and the mounting impacts of the biggest El Nino recorded, unfold. We are triggering irrevocable collapse of the Amazon rainforest and major ocean circulations, and we are already committed to the loss of all our coral reefs. Even if atmospheric GHG concentrations stopped rising at once, temperatures don't equilibrate for geological timescales.
Hugh will explain this, and discuss the societal impacts, the implications for human health and survival, and what we must all do.
Provisional topic: Health Inequalities: Who benefits from medical progress, and who is left behind?
Professor Mala Rao
Director, Ethnicity and Health Section, Imperial College London
Provisional topic: AI, Data and the Future of Medicine: How will science and technology transform care?
Professor Andre Dekker
Professor of Clinical Data Science, Maastricht University
The symposium will also include the Annual General Meeting of the Manchester Medical Society and the Presidential Address of Professor Nalin Thakkar, Vice-President for Social Responsibility and Professor of Molecular Pathology, The University of Manchester.
Further programme details will be announced shortly...
Getting Here
Public Transport
University Place is located on Oxford Road, one of Manchester's main public transport corridors, and is easily reached by bus and rail. It is within walking distance of both Manchester Oxford Road Station and Manchester Piccadilly Station, with frequent bus services stopping nearby on Oxford Road.
Manchester Oxford Road Station: approximately 10 minutes' walk
Manchester Piccadilly Station: approximately 20 minutes' walk or a short bus ride
Frequent bus services along Oxford Road include the Bee Network 142, 143, 147 and 192 routes
Travelling to the University of Manchester via public transport
Parking
The nearest public car parks are:
Booth Street East (Car Park B), M13 9SS - approximately 5 minutes' walk from the venue.
Booth Street West (Car Park D), M15 6AR - approximately 5 minutes' walk from the venue. [
Current charges at Booth Street West range from £2.50 (up to 1 hour) to £19.50 (up to 24 hours).
University of Manchester parking
Prices
This event is free for all delegates.