The Society’s Advisory Groups – guest starring the new International Advisory Group members

The Society established its Women in Pharmacology Advisory Group and Young Pharmacologists Advisory Group in January 2015 after the Society reviewed its governance structures, and the Speciality Training Registrars Advisory Group was formed in August 2016. The success of these groups and the valuable contributions they have made to Society activities have paved way for the formation of one additional group in 2017: the International Advisory Group.

The Advisory Groups are a great way to get involved with the Society: they regularly share announcements about activities in the Society’s email newsletters such as volunteering in public engagement activities, funding, and prizes and awards. Members can subscribe to these newsletters by updating their membership profile preferences online (login required).

Each Advisory Group consists of a core group of members who act as a steering group. These members were initially selected and approved by Council, but new members are chosen by the core group (subject to ratification from Council). The groups will advertise vacancies and invite applications from members through the Society’s email newsletter as well.

In addition, the Advisory Groups would welcome any thoughts and ideas you might have, and you are invited to get in touch (you can find contact details under each Group heading below).

Women in Pharmacology Advisory Group

With our growing membership, over a third of the Society’s members identify as female, and the Group exists to capture the needs of this member demographic, help promote careers for women in pharmacology and clinical pharmacology and to address the under-representation of women at senior level.

Chair: Vacant, to be appointed in 2017
Office support: Anna Zecharia, Head of Education, Training & Policy and Teesha Bhuruth, Engagement Manager
Getting in touch: wip@bps.ac.uk

Young Pharmacologists Advisory Group

Over a third of the Society’s total membership are under the age of 30 and the Young Pharmacologists Advisory Group represents the voice of younger members to the Society’s Council and other committees. The Society considers younger members to be inclusive of undergraduate, postgraduate and early career membership categories.

Chair: Professor Clare Stanford, University College London
Office Support: Teesha Bhuruth, Engagement Manager
Getting in touch: teesha.bhuruth@bps.ac.uk

Speciality Training Registrars Advisory Group

Our Society champions the importance of clinical pharmacologists in the NHS: their multi-faceted role includes treating patients, training other clinicians in prescribing best practice, and the development of innovative new medicines.

The Society has well-established, dedicated annual training and assessment sessions for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CPT) Speciality Registrars during the annual Pharmacology meeting.
The Speciality Training Registrar Advisory Group was established by the Society to represent the interests and views of these members, and to provide two-way communication between the Advisory Group, Council & Committees. The Group ensures the needs of the Speciality Training Registrars are catered for by the Society and promotes the contribution of these members to the Society’s activities, particularly our policy and educational initiatives.

Chair: Dr Emma Morrison, University of Edinburgh
Office Support: Lee Page, Clinical Education, Training & Policy Manager
Getting in touch: lee.page@bps.ac.uk

NEW! International Advisory Group

Now more than ever, the Society is committed to engaging our ~800 international members in efforts to promote and advance pharmacology worldwide, including publishing, scientific meetings and educational initiatives. An International Advisory Group was established in December 2016 to ensure that the Society delivers its commitment to addressing the needs of all its members, regardless of geography.
 
In January 2016, we conducted a survey to all members with valid emails based outside of the UK. It was very encouraging that 52% chose to participate in the survey (417 international members), 89% considering that an International Advisory Group would be valuable, and 74% expressing an interest in joining the Group themselves.
 
When we called for expressions of interest, we were pleased to receive 46 applications from members – and were impressed by the apparent enthusiasm and experience that the Group would be able to draw upon. Of course it proved to be a challenge for Council in the selection process to whittle the applications down to just 14 but it was important to launch with a core group of a reasonable size.
 
For its initial three-year term, Council selected the members outlined below. Led by Chair, Patrick Sexton, and Deputy Chair, Felicity Gavins, the first meeting of the Group is imminent as I write (March 2017).
 
It is anticipated that exciting collaborations and projects will arise from their activities and we look forward to updating on developments in the near future.
 
Chair: Professor Patrick Sexton (please see below)
Deputy Chair: Dr Felicity Gavins (please see below)
Office Support: Teesha Bhuruth, Engagement Manager
Getting in touch: teesha.bhuruth@bps.ac.uk

International Advisory Group members
 

Name: Patrick Sexton, Chair Resident: Australia Professional occupation: Theme Leader, Drug Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences	Name: Felicity N. E. Gavins, Deputy Chair Resident: USA Professional occupation: Assistant Professor & Director of Small Animal Imaging Center, Louisiana State University health Sciences Center-Shreveport
Name: Divya Vohora Resident: India Professional occupation: Professor of Pharmacology, Jamia Hamdard University	Name: Wan Amir Nizam Wan Ahmad Resident: Malaysia Professional occupation: Senior Medical Lecturer, Senior Medical Lecturer, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Name: Hesham Al-Sallami Resident: New Zealand Professional occupation: Senior Lecturer, University of Otago	Name: Rehab Hegazy Resident: Egypt Professional occupation: Researcher, Pharmacology Department, Medical Division, National Research Centre
Name: Olayinka Ogunleye Resident: Nigeria Professional occupation: Senior Lecturer and Consultant Physician/Clinical Pharmacologist, Lagos State University College of Medicine and Teaching Hospital, Lagos	Name: Serge Cremers Resident: USA Professional occupation: Associate Professor/Laboratory Director, Columbia University Medical Center, Reviews Editor of British Journal of Pharmacology, and member of the British Pharmacological Society Meetings Committee
Name: S.J Enna Resident: USA Professional occupation: Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Education and Professor in the Departments of Physiology and of Pharmacology, University of Kansas Medical Center	Name: Richard Schulz Resident: Canada Professional occupation: Professor, Department of Paediatrics & Pharmacology, University of Alberta
Name: Kevin Pfleger Resident: Australia Professional occupation: Head, Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and The University of Western Australia	Name: Thomas Griesbacher Resident: Austria Professional occupation: Professor, Medical University of Graz
Name: Ingolf Cascorbi Resident: Germany Professional occupation: Professor of Pharmacology, University of Kiel	Name: Sonia Roberts Resident: Switzerland Professional occupation: Principal Scientist (Drug Safety), F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel

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