Roy Pounder (born 1944) is a British medical doctor and entrepreneur. He was Professor of Medicine at the Royal Free and University College Medical School in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and clinical vice president of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

of London. He is now a London University Emeritus Professor of Medicine. Controversially, Pounder hired and mentored disgraced researcher

Andrew Wakefield Andrew Jeremy Wakefield (born September 3, 1956) is a British anti-vaccine activist, former physician, and discredited academic who was struck off the medical register for his involvement in ''The Lancet'' MMR autism fraud, a 1998 study that ...

, who in 2010 was struck off the medical register by the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by c ...

, and introduced him to reporters at a notorious press conference at the Royal Free on 26 February 1998. At this event, Pounder helped to launch what became an intractable, international health crisis over the measles, mumps and rubella,

MMR vaccine The MMR vaccine is a vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles), abbreviated as ''MMR''. The first dose is generally given to children around 9 months to 15 months of age, with a second dose at 15 months to 6 years of age, ...

, stating with regard to the three-in-one inoculation: "In hindsight it may be a better solution to give the vaccinations separately." Pounder was later reported in the

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...

as having been allocated stock in a business venture with Wakefield to sell products exploiting the public alarm. Pounder has edited over 20 textbooks. He is one of the founding co-editors of the journal ''Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics'', and editor-in-chief of GastroHep.com. His main research interests have included the development of drugs for controlling gastric acid secretion, and the pathogenesis and management of

inflammatory bowel disease Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammation, inflammatory conditions of the colon (anatomy), colon and small intestine, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine a ...

. His interests have included the effects of night time

shiftwork Shift work is an employment practice designed to make use of, or provide service across, all 24 hours of the clock each day of the week (often abbreviated as '' 24/7''). The practice typically sees the day divided into shifts, set periods of ...

on junior doctors, and the design and implementation of junior doctors' rotas. He is a governor of St. Paul's School, London, and chairman of RotaGeek.com.

References

External links

* Academics of University College London 20th-century British medical doctors Living people 1944 births {{UK-med-bio-stub