An international scientific meeting to discuss the practice and policy of H5N1 research, with a programme of talks and discussions organised by Professor John Skehel FRS and Professor Simon Wain-Hobson.

The journals Nature and Science have recently received papers from two teams of researchers showing that the H5N1 virus could mutate into a form that could spread rapidly among a human population. Various national and international bodies have expressed concern that the safety and security of both the research worker and wider society needs to be considered before work of this kind is published in full. Set against this is the basic principle of openness in science: scientists should operate openly and publish their findings. This conference will discuss virus research, and the safety, security, and ethical aspects from the perspectives of researchers, publishers, policymakers and funders.

Confirmed speakers include:
Dr Bruce Alberts, Professor Jeffrey Almond, Professor Paul Berg ForMemRS, David Brown, Dr Philip Campbell, Professor Peter Doherty AC FRS, Sir Gordon Duff, Dr Ron Fouchier, Laurie Garrett, Professor John Harris, Dr Thomas Inglesby, Professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Dr Paul Keim, Professor Hans-Dieter Klenk, Professor Michael Osterholm, Professor Malik Peiris FRS, Sir John Savill, Bruce Schneier, Dr Ross Upshur, Professor Robert Webster FRS.

Organised by the Royal Society in partnership with the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Foundation for Vaccine Research.

For more information, please visit the Official Event Website.