Media

Centenary Distinguished Lecture by Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Charles Doherty: “Virus Killers and Killer T Cells”

20 May 2011

On its 100th anniversary, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) proudly presents a series of Centenary Distinguished Lectures, bringing eminent scholars and their world-class scholarship to the University. Renowned scientist Professor Peter Charles Doherty, recipient of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996, will give a Centenary Distinguished Lecture entitled "Virus Killers and Killer T Cells". In the lecture, Professor Doherty will share his expertise and knowledge on the mechanism, history and achievements of human beings fighting against viruses, and also his insights in the future development of anti-viral vaccines in an immunology perspective.

Professor Peter Charles Doherty is the first person with a veterinary qualification to win a Nobel Prize. Fascinated by the formation of diseases since his adolescence, he resolved to graduate in veterinary science and later pursued a research career in the area of virology. His greatest achievement lies in the discovery of how immune system recognises virus-infected cells. His discovery explains the mechanism of killer T cells identifying and destroying virus-infected cells, while leaving the normal healthy cells unharmed. The groundbreaking discovery not only fundamentally changes the understanding of immunity, but also provides a brand-new direction to the design of vaccines, bringing new hopes to the everlasting combat of human beings against viruses. Members of the media are cordially invited to cover the events, the details are listed as follows:

Day 1 event: Media Interview and Lecture

Media Interview Session
Date: May 24, 2011 (Tuesday)
Time: 2:30pm - 4:00pm
Venue: Room 701, 7/F, Knowles Building, HKU
Interviewees:
Professor Peter Charles Doherty, Recipient of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996
Professor Lau Chak-sing, Chair Professor and Chief of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine

Centenary Distinguished Lecture by Professor Peter Charles Doherty
Date: May 24, 2011 (Tuesday)
Time: 5:00pm - 6:00pm Lecture by Professor Peter Charles Doherty
6:00pm - 7:00pm Panel Discussion
Venue: Rayson Huang Theatre, HKU
Moderator:
Professor Lau Yu-lung, Doris Zimmern Professor in Community Child Health, Chair Professor and Head of Department of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
Panelists:
Professor Roland T. Chin, Deputy Vice-Chancellor/Provost of HKU
Professor Lau Chak-sing, Chair Professor and Chief of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine

Day 2 event: Lunch

Lunch with a Laureate
On May 25, a group of 25 senior secondary school students and HKU medical undergraduates will meet Professor Peter Charles Doherty for "Lunch with a Laureate".

As an extension of the Centenary Distinguished Lectures, the "Lunch with a Laureate" aims to foster Knowledge Exchange between university and secondary schools, and help students broaden their horizons by meeting face-to-face with some of the most brilliant minds in the world today.

Date: May 25, 2011 (Wednesday)
Time: 12:30pm - 2:30pm
Venue: University Lodge, 1 University Drive, The University of Hong Kong

 
Appendix: Lecture Abstract

Virus Killers and Killer T Cells
Mammals like us are large, complex, slow-reproducing life forms that are subject to parasitism by simpler, rapidly dividing (and mutating) organisms. Through evolutionary time, this need to counter infection has led to the evolution of innate immune mechanisms that are common to many species, and to the extraordinarily specific, adaptive immune system that is characteristic of higher vertebrates.

Replicating only in living cells, the viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that throw up two types of challenges for immune control. In free form, the viruses must in some way transit via the air, through protective mucus layers (or in the blood) to access, then enter, the body cells that will support their growth. At that stage, they are vulnerable to attack by secreted antibodies that bind, in the main, to conformed (tertiary) structures on surface glycoproteins. Antibody immunity is the basis of all successful vaccines to date. Then, if a virus has succeeded in bypassing antibody control, there's the need to eliminate the infected cells that serve as "factories" to produce new virus particles and propagate the disease process. That's the role of the CD8+ or "killer" T cells (T Cells), that are targeted to modified (by virus peptide) transplantation or major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules on the surface of infected cells.

With potentially lethal pathogens, it is this interplay between the kinetics of virus spread on the one hand, and immunity on the other, that determines the fate of the infected individual.