Royal Pharmaceutical Society
The first Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Barnett Award has been given to Joanne Brown, senior research and innovation programme manager at the Medicines Optimisation Innovation Centre in Northern Ireland.
Brown received the award at the RPS Annual Conference, held in London on 8 November 2024.
Prior to her current role, Brown was clinical education lead at the Northern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland — a role she held for over 15 years.
In a statement, the RPS said: “Joanne has supported pharmacy professionals at all career stages — from undergraduate students to consultant-level practitioners.
“[Her] influence has been profound, extending beyond her formal duties to provide one-on-one mentoring for over 50 individuals through postgraduate training.
“She actively encourages personal growth through tailored guidance, creating a supportive culture and positively impacting pharmacy education across various sectors.”
Brown said that she was “honoured and humbled” to receive the award.
“Professor Nina Barnett was inspirational. She has given us a tremendous legacy and demonstrated, by her practice, the type of pharmacy professionals we should aspire to be,” Brown added.
Claire Anderson, president of the RPS, said: “[Brown’s] dedication to advancing her peers and her role as a compassionate mentor truly embodies the spirit of the Barnett Award.
“It celebrates those who shape the future of pharmacy by guiding and inspiring the next generation of pharmacists, and we’re proud to recognise those who, like Nina, have made a lasting impact on others in our profession.”
The Barnett Award was established in 2023 in memory of Nina Barnett, who died in 2023 and was one of the first pharmacists in the UK to be appointed as a consultant pharmacist.
Among many of her achievements, Barnett helped to develop the RPS mentoring programme. The RPS said the award recognises those who have “dedicated their careers to supporting, mentoring and advancing others, and have instilled a culture of professional development excellence within the profession”.
Also at the conference, Sion Scott, lecturer in behavioural medicine and lead postgraduate research tutor at the University of Leicester, was presented with the 2024 Outstanding Pharmacy Early-Career Researcher Award (OPERA), having been announced as the winner in June 2024.
Scott was chosen for his research into the use of behavioural science to facilitate the routine proactive deprescribing of medicines where the risks outweigh their benefits.
In a statement made in June 2024, he said: “I am delighted to have been recognised by my professional body, the RPS, for the contribution that my research is making to the advancement of the science of medicines and clinical pharmacy.”
Amira Guirguis, MPharm programme director at Swansea University Medical School and chair of the RPS science and research committee, also said at the time that Scott’s research was “undoubtedly making a notable contribution to the future of pharmacy research, making him an outstanding candidate and worthy recipient of this award”.
