From leeches to vaccines: a history of medicine from ancient Greece to now

Talks on Tuesdays is a live event series bringing big ideas, real experts, and curious minds together - at your favourite local venues. Think thought-provoking lectures, audience questions, and post-talk mingling over drinks and dinner.

This isn’t a uni lecture. It’s a social, intelligent night out.Come alone or with friends, leave with something to talk about.

Event Schedule:

6.30pm Arrival & Doors Open

7pm Lecuture Starts

7.45pm Q&A

8pm Talk Concludes

8.30pm Event Closes.

*Please arrive close to 6.30pm if you'd like to order meals, as there may be a wait time.

À la carte menu and full bar available throughout the night - pay as you go.

Your Topic: From leeches to vaccines: a history of medicine from ancient Greece to now

Ever wondered how ‘modern’ medicine developed? Curious about why doctors in the past used leeches to cure broken ribs, or drilled holes in peoples’ skulls to ‘cure’ mental illness? Thought about where the term ‘hysteria’ comes from, and why was it only applied to women? This lecture explores episodes in the history of medicine from the ancient Greek world to the present day, focussing on the surprising and shocking development of medical knowledge, technology, and ethics.

Your Speaker: Dr. Paige Donaghy

Dr. Paige Donaghy is a McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Melbourne and a historian specialising in reproduction, gender, and medical history in Europe from the 16th to 19th centuries.

Her current research project, The Origins of Obstetric Violence in British Medicine (1690–1890), examines how harm and mistreatment in childbirth care emerged and were understood in medical and cultural contexts. By exploring historical attitudes towards women’s bodies and medical authority, her work sheds light on the deep roots of contemporary debates around birth, care, and consent.

Paige’s scholarship has received national recognition, including the Australian Historical Association’s General Thesis Prize. She has held fellowships at prestigious institutions such as the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, and her forthcoming book will be published in Durham University Press’s Science in Culture series.

She currently serves as Secretary for the Australian and New Zealand History of Medicine Society and is a Managing Editor for VIDA Blog, part of the Australian Women’s History Network.