Keynote speakers
Opening keynote speaker
Prof Steve Webb, Royal Perth Hospital
Dr Steve Webb is an ICU specialist at Royal Perth Hospital, a Professor of Critical Care Research at Monash University, Director of Clinical Trials at St John of God Subiaco, and Deputy Chair of the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance. He has been an investigator on trials with an accumulated sample size of more than 50,000 patients, is a named investigator on more than $115 M of competitive research funding, and has published more than 180 manuscripts including in the NEJM (7), JAMA (5), and The Lancet (2). He has particular experience with Bayesian adaptive platform trials and other innovative designs such as cluster cross-over trials. He was the global leader of the REMAP-CAP platform trial that reported treatment effect of multiple different interventions for patients with severe COVID-19 infection.
British Pharmacological Society (BPS) keynote presentation
Prof Andrew Tobin, The University of Glasgow, UK
Andrew attained a 1st class honours degree in Biochemistry from London University. Following D.Phil studies at the University of Oxford and post-doctoral positions at Bristol Myers, Squibb and the University of Leicester Andrew established an independent group in 1996 with the first of three Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowships (SRF). Primarily focused on the physiological function and signalling of GPCRs, Andrew’s group have investigated key paradigms in GPCR biology. In particular, he has generated novel genetic and chemical genetic mouse models, and employed mouse models of disease to define the action of GPCR targeted drugs in the regulation and modification of human diseases including neurodegeneration. Now at the University of Glasgow Andrew is the Director of the new £113M Advanced Research Centre (ARC) where he continues his work on GPCRs focused on defining the novel paradigms in pharmacology that will allow for the rational design of next generation drugs.
Japanese Pharmacological Society (JPS) keynote presentation
Prof Hitoshi Hashimoto, Osaka University, Japan
Prof Hitoshi Hashimoto is one of the leading researchers in neuropsychopharmacology and is currently investigating fundamental neurological mechanisms underpinning brain functions and psychiatric disorders using a whole-brain imaging system, block-FAce Serial microscopy Tomography (FAST) and an array of neuroscience methods. His research is, using advanced whole-brain imaging technology, to relate neural activity and gene expression profile of each neuron in the understanding of brain functions/psychiatric disorders and drug actions.
British Toxicology Society (BTS) keynote presentation
Dr Amy Chadwick, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, The University of Liverpool, UK
Dr Amy Chadwick is a lecturer working in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of Liverpool where she leads the Bioenergetics Group within the Drug Safety Theme and is the Director of the Seahorse Respirometry Facility. Her research interests are to define and understand the complex role of the mitochondria, and dynamic cellular bioenergetic responses, in the onset of adverse drug reactions in some individuals. In particular, Dr Chadwick’s research has focussed on understanding the mitochondria as a target for drug toxicants and she has developed novel screens and models for identifying and ranking mitotoxicants during preclinical drug discovery, as well as performing research to elucidate the molecular mechanisms induced. To date, drug-induced mitochondrial toxicity has been investigated across a range of organ systems, including liver, heart, skeletal muscle and the immune system. Dr Chadwick’s group has also pioneered research to define the role of personal bioenergetic phenotype and genotype in defining individual susceptibility to drug-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Here, the use of real-time respirometry is critical to define personal basal bioenergetic capacity and the functional response of metabolic capacity in drug- or disease-induced pathophysiology, in both in vitro and clinical samples, 2D and 3D. Excitingly, the influence of mitochondrial genotype, at a haplogroup level, is being uncovered through the creation of transmitochondrial cybrid cell lines, which incorporate donor mitochondria (platelet-derived), of known haplogroup, against a constant HepG2 nuclear background.
RAND Medal Lecture
Prof Christopher Sobey, La Trobe University
Prof Chris Sobey is a world leader in stroke and hypertension research, with more than 230 publications, 18,000 citations and an h-index of 71. He has been a Senior Editor of the British Journal of Pharmacology since 2016. His work has led to a better understanding of the pathologies of stroke and hypertension facilitating the identification of new therapeutic opportunities. His team’s recent basic research discoveries have translated into a world first Phase 1 Clinical Trial to assess the safety of amnion cell therapy in acute stroke patients. This nomination highlights an exceptional career in medical research.