Founded in 1907 by William Osler, The Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland (AoP) had a goal: to advance medicine “in a manner that promotes friendship amongst Physicians”.
Each year, we welcome the greatest minds in translational medicine to our Annual Meeting (APAM), to share ideas, nurture connections and pursue the very-real potential of life changing breakthroughs; and this year was no different!
Through the doors of Newcastle’s Frederick Douglass Centre, in the home of interdisciplinary medicine, Physicians and Emerging Clinical Researchers convened for the two-day conference, filling the halls with lively conversations and shared expertise.
Day One: Morning Sessions
On the first day, a morning of Emerging Clinical Researchers was hosted by global experts in the world of translational medicine.
Professor Sir Adrian Hill and Professor Marian Knight MBE provided an incredible kickstart to APAM by speaking on career development and policies as a researcher.
As the day progressed, our ECRs found inspiration in networking with others and motivation in mentoring opportunities with the North East England Mentoring Organisation (NEMO).
The morning was rounded off with short talks from top professors and experts, aiming to support our ECRs in their careers as clinical academics.
Our ECR workshop was concluded by an engaging roundtable discussion, where all insights were welcomed and encouraged.
Day One: Afternoon Sessions
After lunch, our main programme commenced with the first symposium; an open theme presentation hosted by joint-chairs Professor Chris Day CBE and Professor Hossein Ardehali.
Professor Chris Day, Vice-Chancellor and President of Newcastle University, said: “The conference has been excellent; the quality of the speakers, the posters, the Frederick Douglass Centre as a venue…it’s been uniformly brilliant. It’s been even better than I could have hoped for.”
After a short break to celebrate our peers on their incredible work in the field, the afternoon progressed with The George Griffin Lecture: Developing Malaria Vaccines – A Translational Odyssey by Professor Sir Adrian Hill, who received the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Translational Medicine.
In partnership with the Serum Institute of India and AstraZeneca the Jenner Institute developed a ChAdOx1 vector-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine which saved an estimated 6.2 million lives in 2021 alone.
The Association of Physicians of GB and Ireland is the home of a thriving community of interdisciplinary translational clinical research, where physicians, scientists, clinicians, and industry experts come together to bridge the gap between basic science and practical applications – all in the pursuit of improving patient care.
Osler Medal awardee 2024
Further to our celebrations, the day continued to bless our attendees with incredible inspiration as we listened in on various oral presentations from our speakers.
Supporting Information
The AoPGBI Annual Meeting featured almost 50 presentations on the latest research in translational medicine. Keynote speakers included Professor Sir Adrian Hill, Director and Founder of the Jenner Institute and Mittal Professor of Vaccinology at Oxford University, Professor Cathie Sudlow OBE, Chief Scientist & Deputy Director of HDR UK, and Director of the BHF Data Science Centre Chair of Neurology and Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, and Professor Sir John Burn, Professor of Clinical Genetics, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University.
Attendees were given the chance to submit posters, highlighting their research within their field of expertise.
Supported by our partner, Life Arc, our second symposium of the day, speaking on rare diseases, was hosted by Professor David Jones OBE and Dr Catriona Crombie.
Day One was concluded with an incredible dinner at Six. This was an opportunity for our attendees to relax in the company of their fellows, sharing stories and insights, organically creating relationships with one another and fueling their passion within the industry.
Day Two: Morning Sessions
The final day of APAM was opened by Professor David Burn and Dr Jonathan Pimm with a symposium on Ageing and Multimorbidity.
Professor Burn’s reputation for research in the field of neurology and dementia associated with Parkinson’s is renowned. Professor David Burn took up the position of Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of Newcastle on the 1st February 2017, proving an engaged integration of research.
Throughout the morning, an incredible array of knowledge was shared through oral presentations and short talks.
Day Two: Afternoon Sessions
The final afternoon of APAM was opened with our fourth symposium: Population Health & Data Science in Partnership with HDR UK.
This was chaired by Professor Sophie Hambleton and Mr Amarpreet Singh Judge. Professor Cathie Sudlow provided an exclusive look into her Health Data research, and was followed by Professor Patrick Chinnery’s talk on Evolution revealed through large-scale population genomics: impact for human health.
After lunch, our final symposium of APAM 2024 was hosted by Professor Quentin Anstee and Dr Orla Smith, providing insights into novel therapies and diagnostics.
We were blessed with a variety of incredible speakers of short talks and oral presentations throughout the afternoon which concluded with a Q&A session, inauguration and a prize giving ceremony to close.
Osler prize winner
Osler prize winner is awarded a travel fellowship to present their poster at the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) Conference in Chicago in 2025.
We are incredibly proud of the community that we bring together every year and our gratitude grows with every new member that walks through our doors.
As a new generation of members join The Association of Physicians, our community is enriched even further, blending wisdom with enthusiasm to advance this crucial aspect of medicine.
Our Vision:
- Engage and inspire the wider scientific and public community: Raising the profile of interdisciplinary translational research
- Develop the careers of translational researchers: Supporting personal and professional progress
- Share ideas and knowledge: Creating relationships that support those within the community to contribute to research developments
The Association of Physicians is open to all clinicians, Emerging Clinical Researchers (ECRs), industry affiliates and fellows.
Members are key players in our flagship annual meeting, taking advantage of discounted fees, a subscription to QJM and active collaborative interdisciplinary debate and research.
Next year’s meeting will be held at:
The Royal College of Physicians, London
Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th April, 2025
