ThinkCon is back with a day of speakers for 2014.

Speakers include: Alice Roberts academic and TV presenter; Matt Parker the stand-up mathematician and one third of the Festival of the Spoken Nerd and Suzi Gage researcher and Guardian blogger.

The venue is once again the McCrum Lecture Theatre, accessed just off the beer garden of the Eagle Pub, where Waston and Crick proclaimed to have discovered the secret of life.

Z-list Dead List

Speaker: Iszi Lawrence

Time: 6:30pm-7:30pm

Not everyone can be a Caesar, an Einstein, an Elizabeth I… not everyone can change history… until now!

Comedian Iszi Lawrence hosts The Z List Dead List - a monthly live comedy show about obscure characters from history. From the very skeptical to the downright bizarre, find out about the creative minds, the bloody murders, the amazing discoveries that have been left to get dusty in the forgotten pages of unfashionable history books.

More details at Z List Dead List website.

Please note the change in line-up. Helen Keen apologises that she can no-longer make the event

No Turn Unstoned: the harms and benefits of recreational drugs

Speaker: Suzi Gage

Time: 5:30-6:30pm

The media love to sensationalise the dangers of illicit drug use, whilst downplaying or even ignoring the harms from legal drugs. Suzi takes us on a trip through the current scientific understanding of the harms, and also potential benefits of recreational drugs, both illegal and legal.

Suzi Gage is a PhD Epidemiologist at the University of Bristol, investigating associations between substance use and mental health. When not staring at spreadsheets full of ones and zeros she writes the Sifting the Evidence blog on the Guardian website, and has a small obsession with synthesizers.

Physics Gets to the Heart of the Matter

Speaker: Dr Heather Williams

Time: 4:30-5:30pm

In this engaging lecture, illustrated by creative demonstrations, Medical Physicist Dr Heather Williams will explain the physics behind ultrasound, X-ray, Computed Tomography and Nuclear Medicine imaging and how they can be used to look at your heart - whilst leaving it firmly in your body!

Dr Heather Williams is a Senior Medical Physicist for Nuclear Medicine, Honorary Lecturer in Imaging Sciences, active STEM Ambassador and Director of ScienceGrrl. When she's not busy working she enjoys running and introducing her sons to the wonders of the universe, often at the same time!

The Stand-up Mathematician

Speaker: Matt Parker

Time: 3:00-4:00pm

Matt Parker's erudite brand of comedy takes on the topical and the daft in equal measure. Life's a game for Matt and his playful enthusiasm is so infectious you can't help but be drawn into his comedy world. Relaxed and measured, Matt meanders through his thoughts and suggestions as the audience enthusiastically take part. A fixture of the illustrious Mathematics speaking circuit since January 2007, Matt has recently stormed into stand-up and has swiftly established himself as a exuberant new act and compère.

Sexism In Science

Chair: Gia Milinovich

Time: 2:00-3:00pm

Gia Milinovich, TV presenter and science groupie brings together a panel of scientists to discuss the topic of sexism in science.

Professor Sophie Scott - Welcome Trust Senior Fellow at University College London.

Professor Alice Roberts - Anatomist, TV presenter and Author.

Dr Heather Williams - Senior Medical Physicist and one the the conspirators behind ScienceGrrl.

Galaxy Zoo

Speaker: Hanny van Arkel

Time: 12:00-12:30pm

In 2007 Dutch school teacher Hanny van Arkel discovered an astronomical object that had everyone stumped. She was participating in an online amateur volunteer project called Galaxy Zoo and found a strange green blob in one of the images. That object is now known as Hanny's 'Voorwerp' and is about the size of our own galaxy the Milky Way. Hanny joins us for ThinkCon to tell us of her experiences and love of citizen science.

The future of cancer: where have we come from and where are we going?

Speaker: Kat Arney

Time: 11:00-12:00pm

Cancer has always been with us, affecting our earliest ancestors and even the dinosaurs before them. Yet it’s only in the past hundred years that we’ve made any significant steps forward in understanding this complex group of diseases. And, arguably, it’s only in the past couple of decades that we’ve made any real progress in beating it.

Since the late 70s, the genetic revolution has completely changed the way we think about cancer, and how we approach diagnosing, treating and even preventing it. Advances in technology have made it possible to read the genetic code of tumours from thousands of patients, but how is all this information going to benefit patients? And what else can we do to prevent lives being cut short by cancer?

Dr Kat Arney, Science Information Manager at Cancer Research UK, takes a look at the history of cancer research and discusses where we might be heading in the future.

The largest event in our calendar, ThinkCon brings together some of the best communicators in their field. Speakers are handpicked not just for their knowledge of their subject but also their ability to entertain and inspire.

The event takes place over the course of a day, where we invite you to join for one, some or all of the talks. Previous speakers have included The Naked Scientists, Richard Wiseman (author of several popular psychology books and researcher into the world's funniest joke), and Helen Keen (creator of "It's Rocket Science", her show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and hit Radio 4 series).

We're busy organising next year's event, but if you're already excited (and let's face it, why shouldn't you be) then check out the ThinkPodcasts and follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or just sign up to our traditional mailing list.