Motto | Improving health through research |
---|---|
Formation | 1 November 1998 |
Location |
|
President
|
Sir Robert Lechler |
Mission | To promote medical science and its translation into benefits for society |
Website | acmedsci |
The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. Its stated objectives are to improve health through research and promote benefits for society from medical science, attempting to influence policy, link state and commercial health and research organisations, and encourage dialogue about the medical sciences.As of December 2015[update] its president is Sir Robert Lechler.
The Academy was established in 1998 following the recommendations of a working group chaired by Michael Atiyah, former president of the Royal Society. A single national organisation was formed to support biomedical scientists and clinical academics working together to promote advances in medical science. It is one of the five learned academies in the United Kingdom, with the Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering, British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The intention of the founders was to create a national resource outside the framework of Government, with the expertise and authority to deal with scientific and societal aspects of public policy issues in healthcare.
The formation of the Academy occurred against a backdrop of increasing fragmentation and specialisation within the medical profession. The Academy merged with the Novartis Foundation in 2008, and moved to a dedicated headquarters building at 41 Portland Place in October 2010. This building provides office space for its 25 members of staff, and has rooms for events and conferences.
As of May 2015[update], the academy had 1,169 Fellows drawn from fundamental biological sciences, clinical academic medicine, public and population health, health technology implementation, veterinary science, dentistry, medical and nursing care and other professions allied to medical science as well as the basic fundamental mathematics, chemistry, physics, engineering, ethics, social science and the law.