We have a special opportunity to hear from Professor Dame Carol Black, and also to have a conversation with her about her remarkable pioneering career. Dame Carol was only the second woman in medicine, over its 500-year history, to become President of the Royal College of Physicians, and she also became an early Medical Director at the Royal Free. Always looking for new ways to contribute, Dame Carol became Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge as well as leading many crucial initiatives with governments of different persuasions, frequently triggering new government initiatives. In recent years, Dame Carol has led a hugely important review of Addiction Treatment and Recovery services in the UK, triggering the government commitment of £750 million over the next 5 years to improve quality and delivery of treatment and recovery support services.

You will have the opportunity to learn about navigation of the space between clinical and academic developments, the relationship between the two, and the vital connection with processes of government debate and actions. These are spaces which are largely uncharted but which Dame Carol has personally navigated. We have much to learn! And, as recent relevant example, Dame Carol will describe the work of her review of treatment and recovery support services for those with addiction problems, and the essential connected nature of public engagement and political action – work which she is still currently influencing. Come and listen!

Chair: Professor Sir John Strang, Director, National Addiction Centre, IoPPN

All are welcome to attend this hybrid event. A sandwich lunch will be provided.