Free to attend | CPD certificates available
Please note: the venue has changed from Lecture Theatre B, University Place, Oxford Road
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.
Programme
1.30pm
Coffee and registration
2.00 pm
Welcome and Introduction by Professor Nalin Thakkar
2.05 pm
AGM of the Manchester Medical Society
2.15 pm
Beyond Clinical Care: The Changing Responsibilities of Medicine
Presidential Address of Professor Nalin Thakkar, Vice-President for Social Responsibility and Professor of Molecular Pathology, The University of Manchester
Talk Synopsis:
Medicine has made extraordinary advances in our ability to diagnose, treat and prevent disease. Yet many of the greatest challenges to human health lie beyond the consulting room, the laboratory and the hospital. Indeed, the circumstances in which people live, the environments they inhabit and the trust they place in science and healthcare can undermine even the very best clinical care we provide.
I believe our profession must reflect more deeply on its wider responsibilities to society. Persistent health inequalities, environmental change, the opportunities and ethical challenges of artificial intelligence and big data, and the erosion of public trust all have profound implications for the health of those we serve. If we, as a profession dedicated to improving health and alleviating suffering, do not help address these challenges, who will?
Drawing on my experiences in clinical medicine, research ethics and university leadership, I will explore why our responsibilities extend beyond the consequences of what we do to include the consequences of what we choose not to do. This is not about placing further burdens on individual clinicians, but recognising the collective responsibility, expertise and influence of our profession.
As the Manchester Medical Society approaches its bicentenary in 2034, I hope we can reflect on how we build on its remarkable legacy of learning and collaboration, and reaffirm our commitment to advancing medicine in the service of society.
2.45 pm
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.
3.30 pm
Coffee Break
3.50 pm
Health Inequalities: Who benefits from medical progress, and who is left behind? (Title to be confirmed)
Professor Mala Rao
Director, Ethnicity and Health Section, Imperial College London
Talk Synopsis:
Health inequalities are defined by the World Health Organisation as unfair, avoidable or remediable differences in health among population groups, defined by social, economic, demographic or geographic characteristics. While policy leaders frequently prioritise investment in clinical technologies, medical diagnosis and healthcare access, evidence demonstrates that medical advancement alone cannot bridge the health equity gap. Healthcare is merely one determinant of health. The more consequential drivers of health are broader structural factors, including socio-economic status, employment, housing, and education. Furthermore, contemporary systemic disruptors - specifically the climate crisis, digital poverty, and artificial intelligence—intersect with existing social vulnerabilities, reinforcing historical inequalities and actively widening the equity gap. Medical progress alone is insufficient to eliminate health inequalities and to prevent marginalised populations from being further left behind without a concurrent, systemic focus on measures that address the structural, material conditions of society.
Learning Objectives:
This talk will summarise the determinants of health and health inequalities, highlight some of the evidence on what works to reduce inequalities and draw conclusions as to why medical progress alone is incapable of eliminating health inequalities without concomitant attention to the socio-economic and environmental factors which determine health and health equity.
4.35 pm
AI for Better Health Care
Professor Andre Dekker
Medical Physicist and Professor of Clinical Data Science, Maastricht University Medical Center and Maastro Clinic in The Netherlands
Talk Synopsis:
Artificial intelligence will have a major impact on day-to-day health care practice with the first AI products widely available. In this lecture meeting the rationale for AI in health care is first presented. Then the importance of data for AI is stressed but access to sufficient data is hampered by many ethical and privacy concerns. Methods to develop and validate AI including a number of trends in this field are shown. Finally applications of two main types of AI are presented – those that lead to more efficiency and those that lead to higher efficacy.
Learning Objectives:
- Explain why high-quality, representative data are essential for developing and validating reliable AI in healthcare.
- Describe how FAIR and federated data infrastructures enable privacy-preserving data reuse and AI development across institutions.
- Distinguish between AI applications that improve efficiency through automation and those that improve clinical outcomes, including their different implementation challenges.
5.20 pm
Meeting Close
Why Attend?
🔹 Hear from internationally renowned leaders in medicine, public health and data science
🔹 Explore the future impact of AI, climate change and health inequalities on healthcare
🔹 Network with colleagues from across the medical and health professions
🔹 Attend the Society's Presidential Address and AGM
🔹 Earn a CPD certificate
☕ Refreshments included
🎟️ Attendance is FREE
🍽️ Optional Post-Symposium Dinner
5.50 pm
Following the symposium, members and guests are warmly invited to join the speakers and fellow attendees for dinner at the Hyatt Regency Manchester Hotel. (a 2-minute walk from the venue) - Closed for bookings