Keynote Speaker

Dr. Chris Smith is a medical consultant specialising in clinical microbiology and virology at Cambridge University and its teaching hospital Addenbrooke’s.

Chris Smith is a member of the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education (ICE), which offers accessible, affordable, part-time courses covering a range of disciplines and whilst he also acts as a Fellow Commoner at Queens’ College, Cambridge.

Back in 1999, Dr. Smith laid the foundations for the Naked Scientists radio show, podcast and website which he now co-presents. He is also science correspondent for the ABC RN (Radio National) Breakfast show in Australia, presents “5 live Science” on BBC Radio 5 and talks science on Primedia’s Talk Radio 702 / 567 CapeTalk in South Africa. Periodically, he also appears on Radio New Zealand National’s “This Way Up” to talk about recent scientific breakthroughs.

Prior to this, Chris Smith created the Royal Society of Chemistry’s “Chemistry World” and “Chemistry in its Element” podcasts. Moreover, he founded and presented the first 100 episodes of the Nature Podcast for the journal Nature, and he has since also launched “The eLife Podcast” for the eLife open access online journal.

Dr. Smith has published 4 popular science books internationally. His book “Crisp Packet Fireworks” (now re-published under the title “BOOM!”), co-authored with fellow Naked Scientist Dave Ansellhas, has become a best-seller and been translated into multiple languages.

Living just outside Cambridge with his wife, Sarah, who is a local GP, Dr. Smith has two children, Amelia and Tim, both of whom are showing promise as future broadcasters; well, they talk a lot anyway… (where do they get that from?!)