A former government advisor on drug abuse will be delivering a talk about UK drugs policies in Stratford next Thursday.

Professor David Nutt will be taking a lecture entitled Putting Pharmacology at the Heart of Drug and Alcohol Policy. It is open to students, staff and Newham residents and takes place on April 3 from 6pm at the University of East London’s Stratford Campus in Water Lane.

Professor Nutt is regarded as one of the most important figures in neuroscience and has opened up debates around drug and alcohol use in the UK. The former chairman of the UK Government’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs specialises in research around the drugs that affect the brain and conditions such as addiction, anxiety and sleep.

Dr Stefano Casalotti, senior lecturer in the School of Health Sport and Bioscience said: “UEL is increasingly hosting big name speakers and we look forward to David Nutt’s insights and observations. He really understands how policy and ground breaking science can and should impact on day-to-day life so I’m sure his talk will appeal to audiences from all backgrounds and stimulate a very interesting discussion on the topic of drug addiction that directly or indirectly affects us all.”

Professor Nutt, who will also receive the Geoff West annual memorial award, is currently chair of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, the Edmund J Safra Professor of Neuro-psychopharmacology and Head of the Centre for Neuro-psychopharmacology in the Division of Brain Science, Department of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, and Imperial College London.

For more details or to attend the event email Claire Daltrey at c.daltrey@uel.ac.uk