The International Cancer Prevention Institute, in collaboration with EMBO Press, organizes a monthly seminar series within the framework of Medicine & Society: The Human Condition.
This series provides a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue on human biology and health, encouraging reflection on the broader implications of biomedical research for the individual and for society.
A unique aspect of the series is its personal dimension: invited speakers not only present their work, but also share their own journeys — how they entered their fields and what shaped their research and perspectives.
Each seminar concludes with an interactive discussion, giving participants the opportunity to engage directly with the speakers and with one another.
Speakers
DR. KIRSTEN BOS
“Ancient DNA and the origin of syphilis”
Group Leader, Molecular Palaeopathology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Thursday April 10th 2025, 4PM (CEST)
PROF. ROBERT A. WEINBERG
“The discovery of oncogenes: A personal journey”
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research; Professor of Biology, MIT
Thursday May 22nd 2025, 4PM (CEST)
PROF. KATHRYN HESS
“A mathematician’s adventures in the life sciences”
Professor, Laboratory for Topology and Neuroscience, EPFL
September 11th 2025, 4PM (CEST)
DR. ASIFA AKHTAR
“Epigenetic regulation by histone acetylation in health and disease”
Director, Department of Chromatin Regulation, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics; Vice President, Max Planck Society
Thursday October 2nd 2025, 5PM (CEST)
PROF. CHARLES AGYEMANG
“Cardiometabolic Diseases Burden in African Migrants: Environment, Epigenetics, Gut Microbiome or What? Lessons Learnt from the RODAM Study”
Professor of Global Migration, Ethnicity & Health, University of Amsterdam
Thursday November 20th 2025, 4PM (CET)
PROF. RENÉ BERNARDS
“Behave or die, a novel approach to cancer therapy”
Professor of molecular carcinogenesis, the Netherlands Cancer Institute
Thursday December 11th 2025, 4PM (CEST)
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