Abstract

Why evidence matters

This lecture will explore the different types of evidence there are, how evidence is obtained and how that evidence is used, or not, by politicians and others to make decisions that affect all our lives.

Biography

Anne has a BSc in Biochemistry from Edinburgh and a PhD in Molecular Microbiology from Cambridge, UK. She pursued a research career at Aberdeen University where she studied the diversity and function of microbes in soil, the development of sensors to detect environmental pollution and how we respond to stress, which has particular relevance to how we age. She served as the first Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland 2006-2011 and then the first Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission 2012-2015.  She is currently a Special Advisor to the Principal at the University of Strathclyde and the President of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.