2013 Annual Report - Jesus College - University of Cambridge

RUSTAT CONFERENCES I Jesus College Annual Report 2013 91
In his closing summary, Mr Seehra said that the conference had “unseated some firmly
held HR beliefs”. Despite a degree of negative opinion, he said, the conference came up
with positives: “We learnt this morning that there are avenues for UK plc to get some
knowledge into the economy. One of these might be the rise of what is termed the
‘informal’ sector” – a concept proposed by Mr Donkin to describe work opportunities
not formally applied for, usually in the technology sector, where skills such as software
or web development can lead to ad hoc and informal employment arrangements.
Mr Seehra described this new sector as “a potential leader in the fight against youth
unemployment”.
Crucial too, according to Mr Seehra, was the session on talent management. He said:
“Talent management has in the past been seen as being expendable in an era of
economic downturn. However, we have seen today how the ability for an organisation to
select, locate and maintain talent across a broad spectrum of skill sets – not just
potential leaders, but individuals who provide a company’s competitive advantage – is
perhaps more useful now than ever before.”
The conference was generously sponsored by Cobbetts, a leading UK law firm;
Harvey Nash, a global professional recruitment and IT outsourcing company; and
Penna, a global HR services group. A full copy of the conference report can be found
online at www.rustat.org, or by contacting the Conference Rapporteur, Nathan Brooker,
on ncbrooker@yahoo.co.uk
Health Innovation: A Cambridge Success Story
On 29 January, 2013 we held the Rustat Conference Health Innovation: A Cambridge
Success Story. In a collaboration with the University’s Department of Clinical
Neurosciences and the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology,
the meeting told the story of how the development of monoclonal antibodies and their
applications as medicines have transformed prospects for people suffering from a
variety of medical conditions, specifically multiple sclerosis. The original research on
developing monoclonal antibodies in the 1970s won Cambridge scientists Cesar
Milstein and Georges Kohler the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1984.
Subsequent studies in Cambridge adapted this technology and led to production of the
first humanised monoclonal antibody for use as a medicine by Greg Winter and Herman
Waldmann, both of whom gave presentations at the meeting.
The medicine they developed, Campath-1H (Cambridge Pathology 1st Human, now
renamed ‘Alemtuzumab’), was originally developed as a designer drug for the removal
of blood lymphocytes. However, after yet further studies at the University, Alemtuzumab
has subsequently been shown to be highly effective in the treatment of multiple
sclerosis.
The penultimate session, which featured presentations by Professor Alastair
Compston and Dr Alasdair Coles from the University’s Department of Clinical
Neuroscience, contained the testimony of two MS sufferers successfully treated with the
drug, Bea Perks, a medical writer for InterComm, and Tony Johnstone, a professional
golfer.
In the final session John Cornwell, Rustat Conference Director, chaired an open
discussion with some thirty science and medical journalists. The theme was how best to
communicate such science-rooted human interest stories in the mainstream media.
A full copy of the conference report can be found online at www.rustat.org, or by
contacting the Conference Rapporteur, Nathan Brooker, on ncbrooker@yahoo.co.uk