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Inaugural lecture from Harry Witchel, Professor of Physiology (Neuroscience and Imaging) at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS).
From Frankenstein’s spark of life to the moment of fertilisation, this lecture explores how our understanding of what it means to be alive shapes modern medicine. Physiology is not just about how the body works, it’s about how its systems work together: from the beating heart to the thinking brain, from health to disease, from life to death.
Take the heart, for example. A tiny electrical glitch – known as long QT syndrome – can lurk in a person’s ECG, causing no symptoms but carrying a real risk of sudden cardiac death. Understanding how and why this happens, right down to the level of molecules, shows why physiology remains at the very core of medicine.
After years of teaching students how to read ECGs, Professor Harry Witchel has learned that genuine understanding comes not only from memorising data, but from thinking physiologically – seeing how signals and systems connect. Artificial intelligence can assist, but it cannot think, question, or take responsibility in the way a clinician must.
Join him to explore why physiology remains a living science – one that still ignites curiosity, drives medical discovery, and keeps the spark of life burning in modern healthcare.
Free event. All are welcome. If you would like to attend, please register online no later than 48 hours prior to the event.