University of Strathclyde: Recognition for three Strathclyde Professors
Three Strathclyde Professors have received recognition for their work from prestigious bodies in recent weeks.
Professor Marion Bennie, Professor of Pharmacy at Strathclyde, has been made a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Professor Iain Black has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) and Professor Phil Taylor appointed a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.
Professor Bennie has held a number of senior clinical leadership posts across NHS Scotland, most recently as Chief Pharmacist for Public Health Scotland.
She lead the collection and provisioning of Scotland’s national medicines intelligence resources – shaping feedback to the health system to drive improvements in patient care and generating new evidence through over 100 publications in the field of pharmacoepidemiology and healthcare research through her academic role.
She is also a founding member of the Scottish Medicine Consortium and has built national and international collaboratives to support the safe and effective use of medicines.
Research led by Professor Bennie has helped patients and healthcare practitioners to ensure the safer use and prescribing of high risk medicines, influenced Scottish healthcare policy, improved healthcare practice in Scotland and internationally and improved patient wellbeing.
The work was submitted as an impact case study as part of the Research Excellence Framework 2021.
Professor Bennie said: “I am delighted to be honoured as a Fellow of the RCPE. Our work on supporting the safe and effective introduction and use of medicines has only been achievable through the collaborative teams I have had the privilege to lead or be part of, working across academia and clinical practice throughout my career.
“Medicines remain a key tool in the armoury for our health systems and the need for better intelligence on how to target their use to maximise benefits and minimise harm through better use of real world data will be the basis of tomorrows clinical decision tools for clinician and patients.”
Deeply humbled
Two other Strathclyde academics have also been recently recognised for their work.
Professor Iain Black was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) for his work in climate change education. The award was presented by Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of the RSGS with Executive Dean of the Business School David Hillier also present.
The honorary fellowship is conferred for services to the RSGS and to society and sustainability. It was first awarded in 1888 with previous recipients including Sir Ernest Shackleton, Annie Lennox, Mark Carney, Sir David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg and Professor Anne Glover, Special Advisor to the Principal at the University of Strathclyde.
Professor Black recently joined the University of Strathclyde Business School as Professor of Sustainable Consumption to lead on the school’s sustainability strategy and develop the Climate Solutions Programme. This is a partnership between the RSGS and the Institute of Directors which provides solutions focussed climate change and sustainability education and training to KE and internal audiences.
Professor Black said: “I am deeply humbled to be awarded this honorary fellowship. The award is primarily based on work developing, along with a range of experts, highly impactful training that sought to go beyond climate literacy to provide businesses and individuals the knowledge, skills and motivations to find solutions to the climate crises. The Royal Scottish Geographical Society, driven by Mike Robinson, has been at the centre of national and international efforts in this area, and I would like to recognise this and thank them for their leadership.”
Professor Phil Taylor was appointed a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences at a reception in St Anthony’s College, Oxford where he received his award from Will Hutton, President of FAcSS.
Professor Taylor said: “It was a great honour to be nominated by the British Universities Industrial Relations Association and to be elected as a Fellow.”