WOODS LECTURE SERIES: CHRISTIE WILCOX
“Nature’s Deadliest Biochemists: A Love Story”

Venomous animals and the potent chemical cocktails they wield have fascinated our species since the dawn of human history, and perhaps even longer. They are nature’s most feared creatures, and yet, these notorious animals hold the keys to a deeper understanding of evolution, physiology, and medicine. In this lecture, Christie Wilcox—author of Venomous: How Earth’s Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry—will show how the animals we love to loathe have actually helped us all along. From teaching us how our bodies work at the molecular level to providing targeted therapeutics for our most devastating diseases, and perhaps even driving the evolution of our big brains, venomous animals have been our species’ allies, not enemies. And with modern technology finally able to decipher the biochemical knowledge contained in their genomes, venomous creatures will only continue to help humanity tackle our biggest challenges over the coming centuries.

This event is free and open to the public.
J. JAMES WOODS LECTURE SERIES
The “Woods” Series was established by a generous gift from the estate of J. James Woods. The goal of the Woods bequest is to bring prominent mathematicians and scientists to Butler University in order to speak on theories at the frontier of their disciplines, as well as on related technologies and other issues of public concern.