Otto Wolff Lecture and Catherine Peckham Symposium: Advancing Knowledge of Childhood

Please join us for the Population, Policy and Practice (PPP) Research and Teaching Department’s annual Otto Wolff Lecture and Catherine Peckham Symposium dedicated to advancing knowledge and understanding of childhood disability. This event brings together leading researchers, clinicians, and experts to share insights, foster collaboration, and celebrate progress in the field.

Event Overview

The UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (GOS ICH), together with its clinical partner Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH), forms the largest concentration of children's health research in Europe. The Otto Wolff Lecture reflects this status by showcasing world-class clinical and scientific presentations. This event also recognises one of the great GOSH/ GOS ICH Clinical Professors of Paediatrics, Otto Wolff, who maintained an active interest in Paediatrics beyond retirement and attended many of the sessions until his death at the age of 90 in April 2010. 

13.30:

Professor Jugnoo Rahi, Professor of Ophthalmic Epidemiology and Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Institute of Ophthalmology; Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Think Vision, Think Child

The OWL will be followed by the Catherine Peckham Symposium, with a series of talks highlighting innovative work, ongoing studies, and emerging challenges in the field of childhood disability:

Professor Melissa Gladstone, Professor of Neurodevelopmental Paediatrics and International Child Health (University of Liverpool)

Identifying children with disabilities where resources are limited – what can we do?

Professor Cally Tann, Professor of Neonatal Medicine and Child Health (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

Disabilities in children born preterm (title TBC)

A showcase of emerging research from PPP researchers including Dr Rachel Knowles (on hearing loss), Julia Shumway (Down Syndrome) and Dr Pippa Rees (perinatal brain injury) .

Panel discussion on future research directions.

Drinks and canapes reception from 5-6pm.

Event Details

Date: Tuesday 4th November 2025
Time: 1.30-5pm
Location: Kennedy Lecture Theatre, UCL GOS Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street WC1N 1EH