Neuropeptide signalling in health and disease.
Professor Tomas Hökfelt, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, (http://ki.se/ki/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=25981&a=55039&l=en) delivered the 8th David Smith Lecture on the 21st May 2013, followed by dinner at Lady Margaret Hall.
Professor Hökfelt is one the fathers of the field of neuropeptide research. His research focuses on the localization and function of neuropeptides in the healthy and diseased brain. He talked about three of the neuropeptide systems he had worked on, how neuropeptides or neuropeptide receptors could be novel therapeutic targets in the treatment of pain, insomnia and anxiety/depression, but how early hopes had not come to fruition. He finished on a note of optimism for future research on neuropeptides and new therapeutic targets.
The Lecture each year celebrates the vision of the previous Chair of Pharmacology and founding Director of the Unit, Prof. A. David Smith, currently Honorary Associate Director and Emeritus Professor, and the successful conclusion of the last quinquennial scientific review of the Unit.
To commemorate the lecture Prof. Hökfelt received a laser-engraved cherry-wood plaque, designed by Unit Artist, Ben Micklem, illustrating aspects of Anatomical Neuropharmacology at Oxford from molecules to the brain.
