Biography
Professor Chris Atterwill
I am a registered Pharmacist (FRPharmS) with a PhD in Pharmacology and both FRCPath & FIBiol for work on Toxicology animal alternatives. I have worked in both Academia & the Pharmaceutical Industry including periods at Oxford University, Kings College-London, & The University of Hertfordshire (UH). Both my research & pharmaceutical experiences have focused on Animal Alternatives for the Safety and Efficacy Testing of Medicines, with a special emphasis on development of novel organotypic cell culture systems of brain , endocrine organs & the liver. I have published widely in this context in the fields of Neurotoxicology & Endocrine Toxicology & have been member of both FRAME (Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments) & ECVAM (European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods ) committees. I am currently a member of the Home Office Animal Procedures Committee (APC) and chair of the APC Openness subcommittee. In the past I have sat on the British Toxicology Society Executive committee & the ABPI safety assessment committee. In the course of my career, as well as co-editing four books in In Vitro Toxicology & Drug Development , I have published over 100 full scientific publications, 3 patents & 150 abstracts at UK & international conferences, and have chapters in various specialist books. I have edited my own toxicology journal (TEN-Toxicology & Ecotoxicology News) and am on the editorial board of three other scientific journals, including ATLA (Alternatives to laboratory animals). In addition, I have attempted to educate both the public & scientific community in on Animal Alternative Methodologies ( in Cellular & Molecular Toxicology) by taking part in BBC & AMRIC video productions, various radio & TV interviews, public debates & many of the commercial conferences in new medicines research & development. I have a passionate interest in developing safe, new & groundbreaking ethical pharmaceuticals ( by both molecular synthesis & from natural products) for life-threatening diseases by using the latest molecular & cellular technologie .In addition, through my background as a Registered Pharmacist I believe strongly in educating the public on the use & abuse of both commercially available & naturally occuring medicines. The application of 'E-Medicine & E-Pharmacy' will be key to this endeavour in future decades, as will the advances in the Molecular & Cellular Methodologies. I will also strive to promote integration of the 3R's principle (Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animal Testing) into all aspects of New Medicines Development & Testing, and contribute both politically and technically through my research in novel animal- alternative methodologies.