The British Pharmacological Society is the primary UK

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership ...

for pharmacologists concerned with research into drugs and the way 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.

Clinical pharmacologists Clinical may refer to: Healthcare * Of or about a clinic, a healthcare facility * Of or about the practice of medicine Other uses * ''Clinical'' (film), a 2017 American horror thriller See also * * * Clinical chemistry, the analysis of bodily flu ...

work as consultants in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

and many hold prominent positions in UK universities.

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, by a letter signed by Gunn, H.H. Dale, and W.E. Dixon and sent to the heads of departments for teaching 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 Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

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 the discussion 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 include

Marthe Vogt Marthe Louise Vogt (September 8, 1903 – September 9, 2003) was a German scientist recognized as one of the leading neuroscientists of the twentieth century. She is mainly remembered for her important contributions to the understanding of t ...

and

Edith Bülbring Edith Bülbring, FRS (27 December 1903 – 5 July 1990) was a British scientist in the field of smooth muscle physiology, one of the first women accepted to the Royal Society as a fellow ( FRS). She was professor of pharmacology at the Univer ...

Publications

The British Pharmacological Society publishes several works which promote pharmacology: *''

British Journal of Pharmacology The ''British Journal of Pharmacology'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed medical journal covering all aspects of experimental pharmacology. It is published for the British Pharmacological Society by Wiley-Blackwell. It was established in 1946 as th ...

'' is published by

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations * Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People * Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer * Wiley Mil ...

*''

British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology The ''British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the British Pharmacological Society. It covers all aspects of pharmaceutical drug, drug action in humans and was e ...

'' is published by

*''Pharmacology Research & Perspectives'' is published by ASPET, British Pharmacological Society and Wiley. *''pA2'' is the e-journal of the British Pharmacological Society. *''Pharmacology Matters'' is the magazine of the British Pharmacological Society.

Presidents

Secretary and Treasurer * 1931 - M. H. MacKeith * 1934 -

Joshua Harold Burn Joshua Harold Burn FRS (6 March 1892 – 13 July 1981) was an English pharmacologist and professor of pharmacology at Oxford University. Burn worked on the internal control of the body by the autonomic nervous system, carrying out seminal wor ...

* 1945 - Frank R. Winton Secretary * 1947 - G. Brownlee * 1952 - D. R. Wood * 1955 - M. Weatherall * 1956 - D. R. Wood * 1957 - W.L. M. Perry * 1961 - J. D. P. Graham General Secretary * 1968 - J. P. Quilliam * 1971 -

John R. Vane Sir John Robert Vane (29 March 1927 – 19 November 2004) was a British pharmacologist who was instrumental in the understanding of how aspirin produces pain-relief and anti-inflammatory effects and his work led to new treatments for heart and b ...

* 1974 - J. F. Mitchell * 1977 - G. P. Lewis * 1980 - A. M. Barrett * 1983 - T. Birmingham * 1986 - G. N. Woodruff * 1989 - A. R. Green * 1992 - J. Maclagan * 1995 - N.G. Bowery * 1998 - T. P. Blackburn President * 1999 - N.G. Bowery * 2001 - Rod. J. Flower * 2004 - J. C. Buckingham * 2006 - G. Henderson * 2008 - Jeff K. Aronson * 2010 - Raymond G. Hill * 2012 - Phil A. Routledge * 2014 - Humphrey P. Rang * 2016 - David Webb * 2018 - Steve Hill

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 *

Henry Hallett Dale Sir Henry Hallett Dale (9 June 1875 – 23 July 1968) was an English pharmacologist and physiologist. For his study of acetylcholine as agent in the chemical transmission of nerve pulses (neurotransmission) he shared the 1936 Nobel Prize in Ph ...

Derrick Dunlop Sir Derrick Melville Dunlop FRSE FRCP FRCPE FRCSE FDS LLD QHP (3 April 1902-9 June 1980) was a senior Scottish physician and pharmacologist at the forefront of British medical administration and policy-making in the late 20th century. He created ...

John Gaddum Sir John Henry Gaddum (31 March 1900 – 30 June 1965) was an English pharmacologist who, with Ulf von Euler, co-discovered the neuropeptide Substance P in 1931. He was a founder member of the British Pharmacological Society and first editor ...

Hans Kosterlitz Hans Walter Kosterlitz FRS (27 April 1903 – 26 October 1996) was a German-born British biochemist. Biography Hans Walter Kosterlitz was born on 27 April 1903 in Berlin. He was the elder son of Bernhard Kosterlitz, a physician, and Selma ...

* Heinz Otto Schild *

John Vane Sir John Robert Vane (29 March 1927 – 19 November 2004) was a British pharmacologist who was instrumental in the understanding of how aspirin produces pain-relief and anti-inflammatory effects and his work led to new treatments for heart and b ...

Members of the society awarded the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accordi ...

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 honorary fellows include: *

Y S Bakhle Yeshwant S. Bakhle (born 1936), is a British pharmacologist. Bakhle studied chemistry, with supplementary chemical pharmacology, in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Oxford, later obtaining both a DPhil and, in 1993, a DSc th ...

Michael Berridge Sir Michael John Berridge (22 October 1938 – 13 February 2020) was a British physiologist and biochemist. Born and raised in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), he was best known for his work on cellular transmembrane signalling, in pa ...

* Thomas Blackburn *

Colin Blakemore Sir Colin Blakemore, , Hon (1 June 1944 – 27 June 2022) was a British neurobiologist, specialising in vision and the development of the brain. He was Yeung Kin Man Professor of Neuroscience and senior fellow of the Hong Kong Institute for Ad ...

Susan Brain Susan Diana Brain is a professor of pharmacology at the School of Cardiovascular Medicine and Sciences at King's College London where she has worked since 1989.Susan Brain's Education Brain completed a PhD in pharmacology at University Colleg ...

Geoffrey Burnstock Geoffrey Burnstock (10 May 1929 – 2 June 2020) was a neurobiologist and President of the Autonomic Neuroscience Centre of the UCL Medical School. He is best known for coining the term purinergic signalling, which he discovered in the 19 ...

Judy MacArthur Clark Judy MacArthur Clark is a British veterinary surgeon, and former President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. She has held government posts in the regulation of veterinary medicine. Career Clark was chairwoman of the Farm Animal We ...

* John H. Coote *

David Colquhoun David Colquhoun (born 19 July 1936) is a British pharmacologist at University College London (UCL). He has contributed to the general theory of receptor and synaptic mechanisms, and in particular the theory and practice of single ion channel f ...

* Sally Davies *

Garret A. FitzGerald Garret Adare FitzGerald is an Irish physician. He is professor of in translational medicine and Therapeutics and chair of the department of pharmacology at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.Roderick Flower *Raymond Hill * Hilary Little * Ian McGrath, former editor-in-chief of the ''British Journal of Pharmacology'' *Sir

Salvador Moncada Sir Salvador Moncada, FRS, FRCP, FMedSci (born 3 December 1944) is a Honduran-British pharmacologist and professor. He is currently Research Domain Director for Cancer at the University of Manchester. In the past, he was the Research Directo ...

*Sir

Michael Rawlins Sir Michael David Rawlins (28 March 1941 – 1 January 2023) was a British clinical pharmacologist and emeritus professor at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. During his medical career he chaired several executive agencies including the ...

* Dame Nancy Rothwell

References

External links

The British Pharmacological Society
*
The British Journal of Pharmacology
' *
The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
' *
Pharmacology Research & Perspectives
' {{Authority control 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