As reported by Peter Stonier and Pravin Chopra
The Great Hall of King’s College London set the stage Monday 22 May 2023, for an illustrious Award ceremony.
The event was to welcome and felicitate 72 prime contributors to the research and availability of medicines for the treatment and benefit of patient communities around the world – an acknowledgment richly deserved from a dedicated career path and outstanding contributions to medicines development through sustained endeavor. The prestigious award of Global Fellow in Medicines Development (GFMD) comes after rigorous assessment of the nominee’s academic and vocational record, experience and achievement in this multidisciplinary scientific and medical enterprise, with societal contribution and recognition.
28 new and 20 current Fellows converged at this momentous occasion, from far-flung shores – as apart as Hong Kong and Brazil — for sharing this celebratory platform. With 43 new Fellows online. This 2nd cohort of 72 GFs joins the 117 of the 1st cohort (2020) to galvanize the unique concept and foundation of a Global Fellowship in Medicines Development. The presentations to the attending Awardees were accompanied by sharing vignettes of personal interests, aspirations, dreams, passions, and family — bringing a human face to the elegant proceedings.
The august platform afforded the opportunity to enunciate the ideology of the Fellowship, that defines keeping the patient’s well-being front-and-center, harnessing global efforts towards better medicines, to benefit communities and societies, or, fostering a why, a sense of purpose and identity, or, celebrating mentorship, while nurturing talent, or, building bridges across organizations and borders. The Fellows, embodying the Academy and King’s College London’s aspirations, already epitomize and live out an advanced career path, providing exemplary global standing worth emulation by both contemporaries and future generations.
It was further expounded that the Fellowship aims to accomplish its purpose under the auspices of the Academy, inviting the Fellows to light up and strengthen their path for the benefit of others following in their footsteps. The occasion also reflected the fervent hope that Global Fellows will reciprocate this recognition by making a commitment to the Fellowship’s 5C engagement strategy, by Championing pharmaceutical medicine / medicines development as an established profession, Communicating awareness of the intrinsic value of this novel professional recognition, Connecting with peers, Cultivating professional bodies and associations in pharmaceutical medicine / medicines development, and Collaborating with / contributing to the Academy’s programs to raise awareness of current issues and opportunities in the medicines development arena.
With appreciation for the 2023 Global Fellows Working Group, the audience was also given a flavor of the stringent criteria adopted in heralding the Fellows.
Initial, spontaneous feedback on both the Fellowship movement and the gathering was enthusiastically gratifying – with accolades ranging from “Unique group”, “First Fellowship for Medicines Developers”, “Great initiative”, and critically, “How can we help”, with enthusiasm, willingness, and ambition.
At this crossroads, what’s next for the Fellowship? Communiques, global virtual collaborations and brainstorming, self-governed steering committees, mentorship offerings, opinions, scientific events, publications, discourses …. more to come!
Many congratulations — and wishing good fortune — to all Global Fellows.
Disclaimers
- The material in these reviews is from various public open access sources, meant for educational and informational purposes only
- Any personal opinions expressed are those of only the author(s) and are not intended to represent the position of any organization(s)
- No official support by any organization(s) has been provided or should be inferred
