The RSC Interest Group for the Biological and Medicinal Chemistry Sector has a number of awards, events and grants supporting the medicinal chemistry community. Here, we will introduce just one of the ways the BMCS celebrates outsanding science in our field.
The BMCS Hall of Fame and Medal
The Hall of Fame and Medal is Individual award which recognizes prominent chemists for outstanding, sustained, contributions to any area of interest to the RSC Biological and Medicinal Chemistry Sector (BMCS), e.g. medicinal chemistry, agriscience, biooorganic chemistry and chemical biology, including teaching excellence, outstanding contributions to the BMCS, or any combination thereof.
Previous Hall of Fame inductees include Professor C Robin Ganellin (2018) and Sir Simon Campbell CBE (2019)
Left: Prof. C Robin Ganellin receives his medal in 2018. Right: Sir Simon Campbell CBE, 2019 BMCS Hall of Fame inductee.
Introducing David Rees, PhD, FRSC, FMedSci, the 2020 Hall of Fame Inductee
In 2020, RSC Medicinal Chemistry Advisory Board member Dr David Rees was chosen to be inducted in the Hall of Fame.
David is the Chief Scientific Officer at Astex Pharmaceuticals, and is a figure recognized internationally for his innovative use of chemistry in drug discovery. He has led collaborations resulting in the discovery of three launched drugs, the anaesthetic agent Sugammadex which has been used in over 30 million patients in 60 countries, and the anti-cancer agents Ribociclib and Erdafitinib, both predicted to achieve blockbuster status. David is well known for his calm authority, scientific rigor and enthusiasm. To find out more about some of his research, see his recent Open Access RSC Medicinal Chemistry Review article (Fragment-based drug discovery: opportunities for organic synthesis)
David Rees will be presented with his Medal and Certificate at the 21st RSC / SCI Medicinal Chemistry Symposium, delivering a presentation entitled “Medicines for Millions”.
Dr David Rees, 2020 Hall of Fame inductee
Have an outstanding chemist in mind who you feel should be in the Hall of Fame?
Submit your nomination for the 2021 inductee from 1st March 2021. Independent nominations may be submitted by e-mail to the BMCS Conference Secretariat outlining the justification and including the nominee’s CV and publication list. Additional independent letters of support to reinforce the nomination are strongly encouraged.
Nominees should be resident in the UK or continental Europe, or have spent a considerable proportion of their career there. There is no requirement to be an RSC or BMCS member. There are no age restrictions, and nominees may have an academic or industrial background.
To find out more about the activities of the BMCS, please see their webpage
