David Jones, editor of the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, wins APS Innovative Science 2017 award

David Jones, editor of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology (JPP) and pro-vice chancellor (Education and Students) at Queen’s University, Belfast, has received The Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences (APS) Innovative Science 2017 award.

The award, sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, recognises significant innovation which has the potential for application within the pharmaceutical industry. Jones was presented with the award during the eighth APS International PharmSci Conference, which was held at the University of Hertfordshire between 5 and 7 September 2017.

Jones’ research focuses on the characterisation, formulation and engineering of pharmaceutical materials and dosage forms, and of biomedical devices. He is named on six patents, including one for antimicrobial paint, and has published more than four hundred research papers and communications. He has also authored two textbooks.

Jones said that he was “delighted and honoured” to win the APS prize. The title of his winning presentation, ‘Don’t play what’s there; play what’s not there: Innovating within the Pharmaceutical Sciences’ was, he said, an adaptation of a quote by jazz musician Miles Davis and was designed to capture the essence of research within the pharmaceutical sciences.

“Pharmaceutical scientists are natural innovators”, he went on to say. “Our educational backgrounds and the research space in which we work offer opportunities to solve problems at both the theoretical and practical levels.”

“We seek to design and develop solutions to real problems, whether clinical or manufacturing, by using innovations and never seeking to be derivative in our solutions. My research has allowed me to apply my diverse background to successfully address many clinical problems, resulting directly in commercial products.

“It is a wonderful experience seeing your research result in commercial products and I have been humbled by comments of patients who use these products”.