Inaugural Professorial Lecture series

Public Research Programme
Public research programme 2020
Research is at the core of everything we do at the University of Plymouth.
Our rich research culture seeks to better understand the world we live in, and – for many – make a difference that will leave it better for future generations.
We are celebrating the impact of this work by opening up the often intriguing world of research, inviting the public, researchers, businesses, and students to hear the fascinating research stories.
Throughout 2024 we will be running the Inaugural Professorial Lecture series which acknowledges the research expertise of our academics who have been awarded their professorship. Join us in a special lecture to celebrate their accomplishments and to discover more about their pioneering research.
We look forward to welcoming you to our programme of research-focused professorial lectures for captivating explorations of science, engineering, arts, culture, health, medicine, and more.
 

Coming up in the series

Herpesviruses: Travels in Science with Viral Companions: Innovative Strategies to Prevent Emerging Pathogens

Inaugural Professorial Lecture | Thursday 15 May 2025 | Jill Craigie Cinema, Roland Levinsky Building
Science rarely follows a straight path, and Professor Jarvis' experience with science is no exception. Although veterinary medicine was the initial goal, he soon found himself drawn to the excitement of discovery, the process of testing new ideas, and an insatiable desire to learn. This ultimately led him to explore the fields of virology and immunology. Join Michael Jarvis, Professor in Virology and Immunology, as he reflects on his experience from a welder in the English shires to a scientific experimentalist engaged in international collaborative vaccine research.
Michael Jarvis portrait
 

Recent events

Hazardous Landscapes: how geohazards shape our Earth – Professor Sarah Boulton

Inaugural Professorial Lecture | Wednesday 26 March 2025 | Jill Craigie Cinema, Roland Levinsky Building
In this inaugural lecture, Professor Sarah Boulton took us on a voyage through landscapes shaped by geohazards – from the active faults and earthquakes of the Mediterranean to landslides in the Nepal Himalayas, and finally to tsunamis in Japan. On the way she not only wove stories and experiences from her career as an Earth Scientist into the journey, but also talked about the importance of diversity in science and her role as the co-founder of the award-winning outreach initiative, 'Girls into Geoscience'.
Sarah Boulton

Advancing knowledges for quality early childhood education – Professor Verity Campbell-Barr

Inaugural Professorial Lecture | Thursday 4 July 2024
Unpacking the skills, attitudes and understanding required for working with young children, Professor Verity Campbell Barr demonstrates the careful and considered ways in which educators skilfully draw upon a ‘basket’ of knowledges to provide rich early childhood education experiences that reflect the core concept of child-centredness.
Professor Verity Campbell-Barr

Entwined systems; understanding and harnessing biopyschosocial and structural forces on health and illness to create equitable solutions – Professor Helen Lloyd

Inaugural Professorial Lecture | Thursday 13 June 2024
In her research, Professor Helen Lloyd investigates how pervasive societal inequalities shape our health and social outcomes and our experiences of the world. She explores how institutions we inhabit, and the structural forces holding them together, create potent contexts that either challenge or reproduce inequality; and how our living conditions shape our sense of self and group identity, which in turn influence our motivations to seek help and our understanding(s) of health and illness.
Helen Lloyd
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