The Sir Ernst Chain Lecture is an annual event held by the Imperial Department of Life Sciences. The Lecture commemorates the achievements of Sir Ernst Chain, both for humankind and for the establishment of the Biochemistry Department, a predecessor of the current Department of Life Sciences. In 1945 Ernst Chain, Alexander Fleming and Howard Florey received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for the discovery and isolation of penicillin. Fleming made the original famous observation of the production of an “anti-bacterial agent” at St Mary’s but it was Ernst Chain who developed the process to isolate penicillin. In 1948 Ernst Chain was appointed to a Chair at Imperial and in the early 60’s was central the establishment of the Department of Biochemistry and the construction of a new building, generously funded by the Wolfson Foundation. As Head of Department, Chain gathered a strong team around him with much of the work being linked to antibiotic research with strong links were forged with the pharmaceutical industry. In 1973 Ernst Chain retired from the Chair of Biochemistry and became an Emeritus Professor until his death in 1979. In 2012, in recognition of the major contribution of Sir Ernst Chain to medicine and his work in the Department, the building where Ernst Chain lived and worked was renamed the Sir Ernst Chain Building – Wolfson Laboratories.
Sir Ernst Chain Lecture 2025: A tale of two antibodies
Wednesday 2 July, 17.30
South Kensington Campus
Join Nobel Laureate Sir Gregory Winter for the Sir Ernst Chain Lecture 2025 as he explores the revolutionary development of monoclonal antibodies as game-changing pharmaceutical drugs. He will take us on a journey through the development of two antibodies, highlighting the interplay of technology, business and politics in their creation.
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You can watch some of our past Sir Ernst Chain lecture live streams below or on our YouTube channel.
Lectures in the series
Vaccine development in a pandemic
Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, University of Oxford, discusses the realities of developing a vaccine during a pandemic that affected every aspect of work and life for the annual Sir Ernst Chain Lecture from the Department of Life Sciences.
Vaccine development in a pandemic
Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, University of Oxford, delivers the Sir Ernst Chain Lecture 2024.
Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, University of Oxford, discusses the realities of developing a vaccine during a pandemic that affected every aspect of work and life for the annual Sir Ernst Chain Lecture from the Department of Life Sciences.
Nature's palette: How and why colour evolves in the wild
Professor Hopi Hoekstra, Harvard University, delivers the Sir Ernst Chain Lecture 2023.
Professor Hopi Hoekstra, Harvard University, delivers the Sir Ernst Chain Lecture 2023: Nature's palette: How and why colour evolves in the wild.
Telomeres and telomerase
Dr Carol W Greider, winner of the Nobel Prize, delivers the Sir Ernst Chain Lecture 2021.
Dr Carol W Greider, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009, delivers the Sir Ernst Chain Lecture 2021: Telomeres and telomerase.
Enzymes, evolution and disease
Professor Janet Thornton, EMBL, delivers the Sir Ernst Chain Lecture 2020.
Professor Janet Thornton, EMBL, delivers the Sir Ernst Chain Lecture 2020 as she discusses 50 years of bioinformatics.
The electron cryomicroscopy revolution in structural biology
Dr Richard Henderson, winner of the Nobel Prize, delivers the Sir Ernst Chain Lecture 2019.
Dr Richard Henderson CH FRS, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017, presents the annual lecture from the Department of Life Sciences.