17/06/2026
Professor Chris Hopkins, AHCS President, will deliver this year’s prestigious IPEM Woolmer Lecture in Manchester.
Professor Hopkins’ lecture, “Beyond Boundaries: Where Science Changes Lives,” will shine a light on how the most transformative breakthroughs emerge when disciplines converge, revealing that the greatest advances in healthcare occur when disciplines come together with a shared purpose of improving lives.
Past Woolmer Lecturers have included some of the most distinguished scientists and clinicians of their generations, including:
Sir Andrew Huxley, Nobel Prize winner (1967)
Sir Peter Medawar, Nobel Prize winner (1973)
Professor Kevin Warwick, internationally recognised cybernetics and AI researcher (2004)
Professor Denis Noble, pioneering systems biologist (2006).
Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, former Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England (2023).
Professor Hopkins said,
“I am deeply honoured to be delivering this year’s IPEM Woolmer Lecture. This keynote carries an extraordinary history. Established in memory of Professor Ronald Woolmer, it recognises a visionary whose work helped shape the future of science, engineering and medicine. As the first Director of the Research Department of Anaesthetics at the Royal College of Surgeons in 1957, Woolmer understood something that remains as relevant today as it was then: the greatest advances in healthcare occur when disciplines come together with a shared purpose of improving lives.
To contribute to this distinguished lecture series in recognition of Professor Woolmer’s remarkable contribution to healthcare, is both an honour and a responsibility.
My sincere thanks to IPEM for the invitation”.
STEF 2026, taking place on 12–13 October in Manchester, convenes leading thinkers, innovators and decision makers from across clinical practice, science, technology and engineering to shape the future of healthcare.
📍 Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
📅 12–13 October 2026
Secure your place and be part of the conversation:
https://ipem.eventsair.com/stef26/
