Dr Peter Simpson appointed to SLAS board of directors
Dr Peter Simpson, Medicines Discovery Catapult’s Chief Scientific Officer, has been elected to the Board of Directors at the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS), the world’s pre-eminent community of life sciences professionals working to advance research through the use of technology.
SLAS is a non-profit, mission-driven Society that serves a global membership base of more than 18,000 professional and aspiring scientists from industry, academia and government institutions.
During his three-year term that begins in February 2018, Peter will join other Board members in supporting the organisation’s current strategic direction and guide the Society’s continued growth in Europe. The SLAS Board of Directors has committed to a focus on growing the Society’s impact within Europe and supporting the needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises within drug discovery in particular.
At Medicines Discovery Catapult, Peter is establishing state-of-the-art research capabilities for this new national centre of applied R&D expertise. He is deploying innovative research partnerships, to help companies accelerate their drug discovery progress and validate new technologies.
With extensive experience in drug discovery at major pharmaceutical companies, Peter was elected to the SLAS Board on account of his expertise and strategic drug discovery knowledge. Previously Director of Discovery Sciences at AstraZeneca, he pioneered its industry-leading Open Innovation strategy for early discovery. Peter has also led on innovation policy across the UK’s Northern Powerhouse as Director of N8 Research Partnership of eight research-intensive universities.
Dr Peter Simpson, Chief Scientific Officer at Medicines Discovery Catapult, says:
“As the largest international network of its kind, SLAS represents individuals at the forefront of global scientific innovation. The life sciences research community is moving into an exciting era of closer collaboration across institutional boundaries, enabling new models for drug discovery and technology innovation. I’m delighted to be joining SLAS’s Board of Directors at this pivotal time. I look forward to working with colleagues to drive the strategy of SLAS, helping researchers learn about and respond rapidly to new opportunities, which will lead to the research breakthroughs of the future.”
Peter is joined in his role by two new Board Directors also based within Europe: Emilio Diez, an experienced Pharmaceutical Industry consultant, and Severine Tamas, Managing Partner of Novoptim.
Vicki Loise, CEO of SLAS says:
“We help the world’s leading scientists stay on top of innovation, breakthroughs in scientific technology, and to work together to achieve results for their organisations and the industry as a whole. Peter’s wealth of expertise and experience will help us achieve our goals and transform research, and we welcome him as an excellent addition to our Board of Directors.”
Follow Peter Simpson on Twitter @PeterSimpsonUK
For more information on Medicines Discovery Catapult visit https://md.catapult.org.uk/
For more information about SLAS visit https://www.slas.org/
