British Pharmacological Society

British Pharmacological Society
The British Pharmacological Society is the primary UK learned society for pharmacologists, concerned with research into drugs and the ways in which they work. Members work in academia, industry, regulatory agencies, and the health services, and many are medically qualified. The Society covers the whole spectrum of pharmacology, including laboratory, clinical, and toxicological aspects.
Clinical pharmacology is the medical speciality dedicated to promoting safe and effective use of medicines for patient benefit. Many clinical pharmacologists work as consultants in the National Health Service and many hold prominent positions in UK universities and in regulatory bodies,such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
History
The Society was founded in 1931, in Oxford, by a group of about 20 pharmacologists. They were brought together on the initiative of Professor James Andrew Gunn, through a letter signed by Gunn, Henry H. Dale, and Walter E. Dixon, and sent to the heads of university departments of pharmacology and of institutions for pharmacological research in Great Britain, with proposals for the formation of a pharmacological club. There were favorable replies to this letter, and most of the recipients met in Wadham College, Oxford, on the evening of 3 July 1931, the day before the meeting of the Physiological Society. Gunn presided over the meeting. It was agreed that a Society should be founded, to meet at least once a year for the reading of papers on pharmacological subjects and discussions of questions of teaching and publications and to promote friendly relations between pharmacologists.
The first female member of the society was Mary Pickford (1935), and other early eminent women members included Marthe Vogt and Edith Bülbring.
Publications
The British Pharmacological Society publishes several works that promote pharmacology and clinical pharmacology:
The British Journal of Pharmacology is published by Wiley
The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology is published by Wiley
Pharmacology Research & Perspectives is published by ASPET, the British Pharmacological Society, and Wiley.
Pharmacology Matters (originally called pA2) is the house magazine of the British Pharmacological Society.
Presidents
The office of President was formally created in 1999. Before that the role was taken by memebrrs of the Society under titles such as Secretary and General Secrtary. Since 2010, all previous General Secretaries and Presidents have been awarded the title President Emeritus.
Secretary and Treasurer
1931 - M. H. MacKeith
1934 - Joshua Harold Burn
1945 - Frank R. Winton
Secretary
1947 - George Brownlee
1952 - D. R. Wood
1955 - Miles Weatherall
1956 - D. R. Wood
1957 - Walter L. M. Perry
1961 - James D. P. Graham
General Secretary
1968 - Juan P. Quilliam
1971 - John R. Vane
1974 - James F. Mitchell
1977 - G. P. Lewis
1980 - A. Michael Barrett
1983 - Anthony ('Tony') Birmingham
1986 - Geoffrey N. Woodruff
1989 - A. Richard. Green
1992 - Jennifer Maclagan
1995 - Norman G. Bowery
1998 - Tom P. Blackburn
President
1999 - Norman G. Bowery
2001 - Rod. J. Flower
2004 - Julia C. Buckingham
2006 - Graeme Henderson
2008 - Jeffrey K. Aronson
2010 - Raymond G. Hill
2012 - Philip A. Routledge
2014 - Humphrey P. Rang
2016 - David Webb
2018 - Stephen Hill
2020 - Munir Pirmohamed
2022 - Clive Page
Eminent pharmacologists
The society elects eminent, deceased contributors to the subject of pharmacology, whether or not they were members, to the Pharmacology Hall of Fame:
James Black
Bill Bowman
Edith Bülbring
Henry Hallett Dale
Derrick Dunlop
John Gaddum
Hans Kosterlitz
Heinz Otto Schild
John Vane
Marthe Vogt
Members of the society awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine include Black, Dale and Vane.
Fellows of the society
Fellowships (FBPhS) of the society are awarded to members who have made significant contributions to both the study of pharmacology and the Society. A full list of Fellows is available here. Honorary Fellowships (HonFBPhS) are awarded to member or non-members for distinguished and sustained leadership role in Pharmacology. Fellows and Honorary Fellows use the post-nominal FBPhS. Notable current honorary fellows include:
Jeffrey K Aronson, President Emeritus and former editor-in-chief, British Journal of Cinical Pharmacology
Y S Bakhle
Sir Peter Barnes
Michael Berridge
Dame Kate Bingham
Thomas Blackburn
Susan Brain
Sir Mark Caulfield, Chief Scientist for Genomics England
Judy MacArthur Clark
Sir Rory Collins
David Colquhoun
John H. Coote
Dame Sally Davies
Sir Gordon Duff, former Chairman of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency;former Principal St Hilda's College, Oxford.
Robin E Ferner
Garret A. FitzGerald
Roderick Flower, President Emeritus
Sir Charles George
Dame Sarah Gilbert
Graeme Henderson, President Emeritus
Raymond Hill, President Emeritus
Stephen Hill, President Emeritus
David Lawson, former Chairman of the Committee on the Review of Medicines (CRM) and of the Medicines Commission
Hilary Little
Ian McGrath, former editor-in-chief, British Journal of Pharmacology
Sir Salvador Moncada
David Nutt
Sir Munir Pirmohamed, President Emeritus, President, Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland
Dame Nancy Rothwell
Philip Routledge, Forner Chairman, All Wales Medicines Strategy Group
Sir Patrick Vallance, former Chief Scientific Adviser, UK Government
Tom Walley, former Director, Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
David Webb, President Emeritus
Sir Christopher Whitty, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), England, and Chief Medical Adviser, UK Government
Sir Kent Woods, former Director of the NHS Health Technology Assessment Programme, Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and Chairman of the Management Board of the European Medicines Agency
See also
Pharmacology
Clinical pharmacology
Wiley
References
External links
The British Pharmacological Society
The British Journal of Pharmacology
The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
Pharmacology Research & Perspectives
Health in the London Borough of Islington
Learned societies of the United Kingdom
Medical associations based in the United Kingdom
1931 establishments in the United Kingdom
Organisations based in the London Borough of Islington
Pharmacological societies
Scientific organizations established in 1931