News and Blogs

At the beginning of the year, we sent out our membership survey. The survey is a really important way for us to keep in touch with you about your experience of being part of the Society. It also helps us to find out how we can support you as your needs evolve and change.   In the coming months, we will be publishing the full results of the survey and sharing them with you, but I wanted to give you

Read the latest blog from Society President, Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed:As the season shifts from winter to spring in the UK, many of us are looking forward to the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions and the chance to connect, as per Government guidelines, with family and friends face to face again. At the Society, we have worked hard throughout the COVID-19 crisis to make sure that our me

We are pleased to announce that we have been able to extend the deadline for submitting symposia and workshops for Pharmacology 2021!If you just missed the deadline, you can now complete your submissions by Sunday 24 January 2021.Our online annual meeting in 2020 was a great success, so we are determined to make Pharmacology 2021 even bigger and better! By sharing your science, you can help to sha

Thank you to everyone who has presented abstracts at Pharmacology 2020. The Society’s reviewers have been busy throughout the meeting and we are delighted to announce the following prizes for the best abstracts:Best oral communicationsMatilda Kennard, King's College LondonHelen Collins, Oxford UniversityJames Boncan, Queen's University BelfastAilsa Angharad Jane Campbell, NHS ScotlandEducation ora

To coincide with World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2020, our CEO Rachel Lambert-Forsyth shares how the Society, as an employer, has taken on the unique mental health challenges posed by COVID-19.  What challenges has the pandemic created for us as an employer, in relation to mental health?Before the pandemic, the mental health of our staff team was a priority for us, and we already aimed to cr

The Society’s President, Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, will join a new independent group to advise on promising new treatments for COVID-19, the government has announced. The UK COVID-19 Therapeutics Advisory Panel (UK-CTAP) will identify candidate therapeutics for phase II trials, advising the Chief Investigators of RECOVERY+ on which treatments should progress through development. RECOVERY+ ex

My update will be brief this month, as we have sent a packed newsletter with everything from job opportunities to competitions, articles, educational resources, and event updates.I would however recommend taking a few minutes, after you have read all the Society’s latest news, to watch this video from Professor Amrita Ahluwalia, about the journey to WCP2022. As you will know, together with IUPHAR,

The Society has welcomed publication of the updated ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) guidelines, “ARRIVE 2.0”, which aim to improve the reporting of research using animals.Ten years on from the publication of the original guidelines, the update recognises challenges with compliance that have ultimately limited their impact. The new guidelines aim to be more accessible, of

The Society has anncouned the recipients of some of our prizes and awards, representing a range of specialisms in pharmacology. Each prize or award is designed to encourage, reward and raise the profile of a part of our vibrant community.Dr Aidan Seeley has received the inaugural Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Prize, sponsored by AstraZeneca. Aidan was recognised for his significant efforts to

Today, the Society has joined partner organisations in the UK research and innovation sector in calling for competitively costed visas for international scientists. The call comes ahead of the Immigration Bill passing to Committee Stage in the House of Commons on 9 June 2020.The Society’s President, Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed said:“The government’s support for building on the UK’s world-leadin

The wellbeing of attendees at our meetings and events is of the utmost importance. We have been monitoring developments and advice from the UK Government and World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.On Friday 13 March we announced that we have cancelled our Cell Signalling 2020 meeting, due to be held in April. Speakers, abstract authors and delegates h

The British Pharmacological Society is delighted to announce the appointment of Rachel Lambert-Forsyth as its new Chief Executive Officer with effect from 16 March 2020.Rachel is currently Director of Membership and Professional Affairs at the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) and Company Secretary for Charles Darwin House Ltd. Previously, she was Director of Education and Training at the RSB. In 201

Today the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) published its case report Benefiting from the ‘research effect’, setting out how NHS trusts can better support clinicians to become research active, and the huge benefits this will deliver for patients, trusts and staff.The report is part of the RCP's Delivering Research for all project to support access to research opportunities across the UK for all cl

Every year, the British Pharmacological Society awards a small number of Fellowships and Honorary Fellowships. This year, 19 Fellowships and 11 Honorary Fellowships are awarded. Honorary Fellowships 2019 Honorary Fellows are elected for life by the British Pharmacological Society in recognition of sustained excellence and leadership in science, healthcare, and public service. Professor Maria Belvi

Despite attending many conferences during our time in academia, the work that goes into organising these events remained a mystery. When the call for proposals for the Young Life Scientists’ (YLS) symposium came out, we thought it would be a great opportunity to see things from the other side. After all, how hard can it be to organise a one-day symposium?!From the start, we had a clear idea of wha

We are pleased to announce the 2019 winners of the Clinical Undergraduate Prize and the Undergraduate Pharmacology Prize.Clinical Undergraduate PrizeStudents are nominated by their university and judged on their performance in examination, the Prescribing Safety Assessment, or their work on a pharmacology research project or Special Study Module:•    Christopher Bick, University of Plymouth•    Be

Jonathan Brüün will be leaving his role as CEO of the British Pharmacological Society in January 2020. He will be taking up a new post as Chief Executive of the Royal College of Anaesthetists. Jonathan joined the British Pharmacological Society in 2009 as Head and then Director of Communications. He became CEO in June 2012 and has been responsible for delivering the vision, mission and strategy of

The British Pharmacological Society is leading Clinical Pharmacology Week from 6th to 12th October 2019 and is encouraging members and the public to get involved. The week is part of a broader project, joining with our partners in the Clinical Pharmacology Skills Alliance[1] to address critical UK clinical pharmacology skills gaps. Our joint action plan for UK clinical pharmacology includes a stra

In an Editorial published in the British Journal of Pharmacology (BJP), the Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editors have recommended that all future studies published in the journal should formally address sex as an experimental variable.Citing the growing body of research on sex differences, the Editorial highlights that when studies are conducted solely on males, this creates a bias in the data that