Abdallah S Daar print      Biography   Dr. Daar is Professor of Public Health Sciences and Surgery at the University of Toronto, where he is Director of Ethics and Policy at the McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine. He studied medicine in Uganda and London and went to Oxford University for postgraduate training in surgery and internal medicine and a PhD in immunology. He taught at Oxford for several years before going to the Middle East to help start two medical schools. He took up the foundation Chair of Surgery in Oman in 1988. He has co-authored five books and has about 300 publications in immunology, immunogenetics, transplantation, surgery, global health and bioethics. He has been an expert advisor to WHO and OECD, and is currently chair of the External Review Committee of the WHO/World Bank/UNDP/UNICEF Special Program on Tropical Diseases Research and Training. He is a member African Union High-Level Panel on Modern Biotechnology. He is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences and is on the Ethics Committee of the Human Genome Organization. He holds the official world record for performing the youngest kidney transplant. In 1999 he was awarded the Hunterian Professorship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. In 2005 he was awarded the Anthony Miller Prize for Research Excellence at the University of Toronto and the UNESCO Avicenna Prize for Ethics of Science. His current research interests are in exploring how the life sciences can be used effectively to ameliorate global health inequities.       Abstract   LIFE SCIENCES AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA Science and technology are becoming increasingly important as critical elements for Africa's development. The African Union has recently created a High-Level Panel on Modern Biotechnology. I will describe recent research results highlighting the crucial role of the life sciences in improving health, agriculture and the environment. I will also describe the work of the Panel so far and examine some sceince policy implications of our work.