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A Canadian-based physician who has reshaped the landscape of public funding for medical research will deliver the prestigious Panmure House Prize Lecture in Edinburgh today (Fri Sept 15).
Dr Aravind Ganesh is returning to the Scottish Capital to talk about how his life has changed in the last 12 months since winning one of the UK’s highest academic accolades, the Panmure House Prize.
Dr Ganesh of the University of Calgary won the global competition and $75,000 after impressing judges with his project, let’sgetproof, formerly known as collavidence. This innovative site uses crowdfunding to democratise public donations into medical research, allowing donors to have a say in which projects they want to receive financial support. This has successfully created a ‘free market’ of ideas, benefitting communities around the world.
The Panmure House Prize Lecture is a must-see event for any aspiring entrepreneurs and business innovators.
The public lecture will be held at 14:00 on Friday 15 September at the historic Panmure House, the former home of the celebrated Scottish economist and philosopher, Adam Smith.
Reflecting on his achievement, Dr Ganesh said: “Honestly, I was very pleasantly surprised and felt quite humbled by the by the news. It was an application that we had put together hoping that people would see some merit to the ideas and we were honoured by Panmure House in this way.
“Like so many people, I regard Adam Smith as one of the most important philosophers and thinkers in our history of humanity.
“He was in many ways set against rigid hierarchies and closed systems and was a big proponent for the free availability of information so that people could make decisions that were their own.
“Through let’sgetproof we're using the same philosophy to try and make it a bit more of a free market of ideas for the benefit of society.”
The Panmure House Prize is an annual award for research and innovation, and is supported by the investment manager, Baillie Gifford. It champions academics who produce outstanding research on the topic of long-term funding of innovation in the spirit of Adam Smith.
Commenting ahead of the lecture is Dr Caroline Howitt, Programme Director at Panmure House. She said: “The Panmure House Prize Lecture is a must-see event for any aspiring entrepreneurs and business innovators. As successfully demonstrated by Dr Ganesh, the Prize turns investment into a force for good in the world, delivering benefits to a wide range of communities. This exceptional impact would, I’m sure, meet with the approval of Adam Smith, who was acutely aware of the interaction between the philosophical and the practical, and the need to effect change.”
The Panmure House Prize - 2022 Winner Lecture, takes place at 14:00 on Friday September 15, 2023. To register for the livestream visit the Panmure House website.