CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO A RECORDING OF THIS LECTURE 

Light, and particularly sunlight, has always held a position of mystical power by all civilisations, the effects of its rays upon the skin commonly believed to bestow good health. There is both truth and fallacy in this belief, which this lecture on the science of photomedicine will show.

After a brief consideration of the harmful effects of solar radiation, the therapeutic uses of light will be emphasised. These include the treatment of skin conditions such as psoriasis, the treatment of neo-natal jaundice, and the photo-inactivation of viral, bacterial and fungal infections. The laser has revolutionised some aspects of medicine, and the lecture will discuss surgery using infrared and ultraviolet lasers, and the use of lasers plus chemical sensitisers to selectively destroy tumours in photodynamic therapy. The topic will be illustrated with many demonstrations and give an overview of photomedicine from a chemist’s point of view.

Professor David Phillips is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry and Senior Science Ambassador for Schools at Imperial College London, as well as President of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Educated in the north east of England and the University of Birmingham, David Phillips held postdoctoral posts in Texas and Moscow, before becoming a lecturer in physical chemistry at the University of Southampton in 1967, and going on to become Wolfson Professor of Natural Philosophy at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in 1980, during the directorship of George Porter.

The author of some 590 books and papers on photochemistry and laser research, Professor Phillips has appeared on television and radio speaking about his research interests, popular science and the state of British science, as well as giving more than 20 lectures a year in the UK and abroad. He received the RSC Nyholm Lectureship and Medal in 1994–5 for services to chemical education, the Michael Faraday award of the Royal Society, London for public understanding of science in 1997, and in 1999 was awarded an OBE for services to science education.