‘Biology of eating behaviour’ to be explored at 2025 Linacre Lecture
Leading scientist will present historic medical lecture on causes and complications of obesity
This year’s historic St John’s College Linacre Lecture will be presented by Sadaf Farooqi, a Wellcome Principal Research Fellow and Professor of Metabolism and Medicine at the University of Cambridge.
The lecture, titled The biology of eating behaviour, will take place on Tuesday 11 February at 5.30pm in the Main Lecture Theatre of the Old Divinity School.
Delivered every year by a leading research scientist in the general field of medicine, the College’s prestigious Linacre Lecture was founded in 1524 by Thomas Linacre, physician to Henry VIII and first President of the Royal College of Physicians.
Professor Farooqi, who is Honorary Consultant Physician at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, studies the molecular and physiological pathways involved in the regulation of human appetite and body weight and their disruption in obesity.
She is an internationally leading clinician scientist who with her research team aims to understand why people gain weight and to find better ways to prevent and treat obesity and its complications.
Their work has fundamentally altered the understanding of how body weight is regulated. With colleagues, Professor Farooqi discovered and characterised the first genetic disorders that cause severe childhood obesity and established that the principal driver of obesity in these conditions was a failure of the control of appetite.
Her research is often cited as an exemplar of how the translation of research into the mechanisms of disease can lead to patient benefit. She has received several awards including the 2024 Outstanding Clinical Investigator Award from the Endocrine Society. In 2021, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of her exceptional contribution to science.
The Linacre Lecture is open to all members of the University. Professor Farooqi’s lecture will be followed by a drinks reception in the Central Hall of the Old Divinity School.
Use the link to register your interest by Wednesday 5 February. Early registration is advisable as places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. An email will be sent ahead of the event to confirm places.
Published: 8/1/2025