A new research fellowship scheme for early-career pharmacists has been named in honour of Dr Stewart Adams OBE, who led the development of the ubiquitous painkiller ibuprofen in the 1960s. The fellowship will be awarded by the Precision Health Technologies Accelerator (PHTA Ltd) – the University of Birmingham’s flagship facility dedicated to translational health research.
Two fellowships will be funded each year, consisting of £10,000 per year for three years – releasing pharmacists from clinical duties to pursue their research interests in precision medicine. Successful participants will be supervised by either Dr Nazish Khan, a consultant pharmacist in cardiovascular disease, Department of Cardiology (QEHB), University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and senior research fellow at the University of Birmingham, or Dr Amira Guirguis of Swansea University, who is an Associate Professor in Pharmacy and an international expert in substance misuse.
Professor Gino Martini, CEO of PHTA Ltd, explained: “As the former Chief Scientist at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society I didn’t see enough opportunities for pharmacists to pursue research. As a result, the power of research in pharmacy is overlooked – even though Stewart Adams’ development of ibuprofen is a perfect example. We hope the launch of a fellowship programme which bears his name will inspire early-career colleagues to consider breaking into precision medicines research for patient benefit.
“The Midlands and Wales have an established and powerful relationship in the field of precision medicine – including the Midland-Wales Advanced Therapies Treatment Centre – and we’re delighted to be working with supervisors from institutions renowned for their pharmacy education and research.”
Applications are welcomed from MPharm-qualified candidates with less than six years’ experience working in any sector of practice (primary or secondary care). Candidates must be able to outline their proposed research project within precision medicine, as well as providing a letter of support from their employer. Full details including application form and timeline can be found on the PHTA website.
PHTA is currently based at the Institute of Translational Medicine and can facilitate collaborations with clinical-academic experts from across the Birmingham Health Partners ecosystem before we move to No1 BHIC. To discuss capabilities and capacity, contact a member of the team.
The Precision Health Technologies Accelerator (PHTA) is the University of Birmingham’s signature health and life sciences research facility, providing approximately 70,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art laboratory, incubation and collaboration space and was supported with funding from GBSLEP.
PHTA will soon occupy the top three floors of No.1 BHIC – the flagship building of the ambitious Birmingham Health Innovation Campus which is being delivered in partnership with experienced investor-developers Bruntwood SciTech.
Working closely alongside Birmingham Health Partners, PHTA offers access to a wide range of expertise in clinical research, trials and health data, as well as opportunities to work with key opinion leaders across the academic and clinical spectrum. Its physical facilities will include wet and dry lab space; prototype development and small-batch manufacturing; business incubation space and flexible hot-desking.
