The developer one of the most common anaesthetic drugs has been announced as the guest speaker at this year’s Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Fellowship Day.
Fellowship Day 2019 takes place at The Royal Institution on Friday, September 20 when the RCVS will be welcoming its fourth cohort of 29 new Fellows who are joining the learned society under the initiative’s three new routes to entry.
The occasion will showcase some of the best of veterinary science and endeavour.
This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. John (Iain) Glen MRCVS who will be delivering a presentation titled ‘Try, try and try again: some personal reflections on the development of the anaesthetic propofol’.
Dr. Glen’s ground-breaking work at the AstraZeneca anaesthetics research team led to the discovery and developed propofol.
Listed by the World Health Organisation as an ‘essential medicine’, propofol is one of the most common anaesthetic drugs in use today.
For this work, Dr. Glen was awarded the Lasker-DeBakey Medical Research Award in 2018 which is given to medical researchers who make contributions to the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of disease.
The event will also see the return of the ‘Fellows of the Future’ competition, in which undergraduate and postgraduate veterinary students are invited to present a current or recent research project.
Each presentation will be judged by a panel and a prize will be awarded to the best presentation.
‘Amazing and impactful work by vets’
Anthony Roberts, RCVS Director of Leadership and Innovation, said: “This is our fourth Fellowship Day and it is starting to become a major event in the veterinary calendar at which we celebrate the new cohort of Fellows, showcase the amazing and impactful work of the wider Fellowship and inspire the next generation of veterinary surgeons.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Glen as our keynote speaker. He is a wonderful example of how veterinary knowledge, expertise and skill can not only benefit animals, but also have a wider application as well. In his case, discovering a drug that has been used as an anaesthetic by millions worldwide.
“We also look forward once again to a range of interesting and eye-opening presentations from veterinary surgeons both established and new.”
The full agenda for the day, which will be hosted by current Fellowship Board chairman Prof. Nick Bacon, is available to view on the RCVS website. Details on how to register and book tickets for the event are also available on the site.
