The annual Pumphandle lecture put on by the John Snow Society will take place on Wednesday 8th October at the Royal Institute of Public Health, 28 Portland Place, London, W1B 1DE.  For more information, please refer to John Snow Society website, www.johnsnowsociety.org

The speaker, Patrick Hall, was the first Chief Executive of the Irish Food Safety Authority, created in response to the BSE crisis, has served as Chairman of the European Food Safety Authority and is one of seven non-Chinese nationals on the Committee which has been advising the Beijing Authorities on the food safety controls being put in place for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He holds qualifications in veterinary and human medicine, and is currently Associate Professor of Public Health at the School of Public Health and Population Sciences, University of Dublin.