St Hugh's Day Lecture - Prof Irene Tracey

Professor Irene Tracey delivers this year's St Hugh's Day lecture at Lincoln Cathedral on Tuesday 17 November, part of the Cathedral's annual celebrations for the day. The talk is titled Why Universities Matter and Reflections on a Life of Pain and Pleasure.

Tracey is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, and she's also a Professor of Anaesthetic Neuroscience in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences. The title of the lecture points to where those two worlds meet: the broad, public role of the university and the more personal, clinical work of a career spent studying pain and pleasure. It's the annual St Hugh's Day lecture, so it's one of the main events the Cathedral puts on for the day.

Beyond the university leadership, Tracey's background is in medical research. In the 2022 New Year's Honours list, she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to the field. That's the side of her work that informs the second half of the lecture's title, so you'll be hearing from someone who knows the science of pain and pleasure from the inside, not just from the head of a university.

The lecture runs for about an hour and a half, and there's tea afterwards, which is a nice way to stretch your legs and chat with other people who've come along. It's held in the Chapter House, inside the Cathedral grounds at Minster Yard, Lincoln LN2 1PX. The lecture starts at 3:15pm, and attendees are asked to be seated by 3pm, so leave yourself a bit of time to get settled. There's no charge for the lecture, but booking is essential, and a donation of £5 is suggested.