BIOSKETCH
Lawrence Banks received his Degree in Microbiology in 1981 and his PhD from Leeds University, UK in 1984. In 2019 he was elected Director-General of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), an international scientific research organization that promotes sustainable development through advanced research and education with Headquarters in Trieste, Italy. (www.icgeb.org). Since being appointed DG, Lawrence Banks has undertaken the enhancement of technical assistance programmes and aligning the ICGEB with the fulfilment of the SDGs. During this time, he has overseen a great expansion of ICGEB’s cooperation with other international agencies including UNOSSC, TWAS, UN Tech Bank for LDCs and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, thereby bringing science and technology to the peoples that most need it. He has also been Group Leader of the Tumour Virology Laboratory at ICGEB Trieste, Italy since 1990. His current research interest focuses on Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs), the causative agents of a number of human tumours, the most important of which is cervical cancer, a major cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide.
TOPIC
Viral Oncogenesis: Mechanisms of Pathogenesis
