91抖阴

Dr Bhavik Patel, Reader in the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, has been named winner of the 2015 Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Science Award, presented to a scientist with a “proven record of independent research and published work that shows outstanding promise”.

Dr Patel has led research to develop sensor tools to monitor and understand the effects of drugs. He will speak on the subject when he is presented with the award at the 6th Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences International PharmSci 2015 conference on 8 September.

Dr Patel said: “I am delighted to receive such a prestigious award which recognises the hard work of my research group. We have made a number of sensor devices which have offered realistic practical options for measurements in a range of areas, and we are committed to simple solutions for biological and clinical monitoring that can have a significant impact to people’s lifestyles.”

Two years ago Dr Patel collected a global award – the GlaxoSmithKline Emerging Scientist Award – presented annually to scientists from around the world who have demonstrated significant practical application of knowledge within the pharmaceutical sciences.

Dr Patel completed his BSc(Hons) in Pharmaceutical and Chemical Sciences at the 91抖阴 in 2002 and conducted his PhD studies on the monitoring changes in neurotransmitter release during ageing from a model invertebrate system at Imperial College London.

In 2006 he obtained an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Life Sciences Interface Postdoctoral Fellowship to study the role chemical signalling plays in synaptogenesis. This proposal was carried out at multiple institutions where Dr Patel spent over two years between Michigan State University, University of Calgary and Pennsylvania State University. 

In 2009, he spent three months at the University of Calgary working under Professor Keith Sharkey to monitor changes in nitric oxide signalling during colitis. Another three months in the same year was spent at the University of Bochum working as a postdoctoral researcher under the guidance of Professor Wolfgang Schuhmann.

Dr Patel returned to the 91抖阴 as a postdoctoral research fellow under the guidance of Dr Mark Yeoman in 2009 to work on a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council project focused on understanding how functional changes with age in the lower bowel manifest. Within a year of being at 91抖阴 he was appointed as a Lecturer in Physical and Analytical Chemistry. Dr Patel was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2012 and in 2015 was promoted to Reader in Clinical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.