BPS Prize Lectures

This free webinar will feature talks from recent winners of two BPS awards. The Geoffrey Burnstock Prize (Dr Michelle Halls and Dr Chengan Yao) and the Grahame-Smith Prize (Prof Neeraj (Bean) Dhaun)).

Geoffrey Burnstock Prize

The prize recognises the achievements of established researchers. Named in honour of Professor Geoffrey Burnstock, known for inventing the concept of purinergic transmission and remains one of the most cited pharmacologists in the world. And whose proudest achievement was mentoring students and colleagues, and nurturing the careers of so many of his department, helping their pathway to professorship.

Dr Michelle Halls, Monash University, was the recipient of the prize in 2023 and was recognised for her work on Localised signalling of GPCRs, and GPCR protein complexes facilitate sensitivity to ultra-low concentrations of ligand.

Dr Chengcan Yao was the recipient in 2024, and received the prize for Uncovering the immune mechanisms that underly NSAID-associated adverse effects, and Dissecting the roles of prostaglandins in T cell-mediated autoimmune inflammation.

Grahame-Smith Prize

This bprize recognises outstanding contributions to clinical pharmacology. Named after David Grahame Grahame-Smith, whose work on the pharmacology of the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) began with the identiﬁcation of a key enzyme in its synthesis and continued, through a series of innovative and elegant experiments on its functions and its roles in depression and the tumours that cause the carcinoid syndrome, on the clinical management of which he was an expert.

Professor Neeraj (Beann) Dhaun was the recipient of the prize in 2022. He was recognised for his research on defining and reducing cardiovascular risk in chronic kidney disease.

Tuesday 3 June, 2025
12:00 – 12:05	Welcome & Introduction (Chair: Dr Roisin Kelly-Laubscher)
12:05 – 12:35	“Spatial organisation of beta2-adrenoceptor signalling in triple negative breast cancer”	2023 Geoffrey Burnstock Prize Dr Michell Halls, Monash University
12:35 – 13:05	“The eye as a window to the kidney: multimodal retinal imaging to stratify risk, monitor progression and guide treatment”	2022 Graham Smith Prize Prof Neeraj Dhaun, University of Edinburgh
13:05 – 13:35	“Prostaglandin E2: Protector or Provocateur in Gut Inflammation?”	2024 Geoffrey Burnstock Prize Dr Chengcan Yao, University of Edinburgh
13:35 – 13:50	Open Panel Discussion with all speakers
13:50 – 14:00	Closing Remarks (Chair: Dr Roisin Kelly-Laubscher)

A/Professor Michelle Halls

Winner of the 2023 Geoffrey Burnstock Prize

Talk title: Spatial organisation of beta2-adrenoceptor signalling in triple negative breast cancer

Biography: Associate Professor Michelle L Halls leads the Spatial Organisation of Signalling laboratory at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Monash University, Australia). Her research is focused on understanding how receptors (particularly G protein-coupled receptors) control localised signalling, how this organisation can be hijacked by disease, and how these signals can be targeted to gain greater therapeutic efficacy. Michelle obtained her PhD in Molecular Pharmacology from Monash University in 2007, before training in single cell biology as a NHMRC CJ Martin Fellow at the University of Cambridge, UK. In 2011, she established her research group within the Drug Discovery Biology Theme at MIPS. A/Prof Halls is currently a Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellow and the Deputy Theme Leader for Drug Discovery Biology. Awards include the 2024 ASCEPT Achievement Award, 2023 British Pharmacological Society Geoffrey Burnstock Prize, and 2019 Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Future Research Leader Award.

Professor Neeraj (Bean) Dhaun

Winner of the 2022 Graham Smith Prize

Talk title: The eye as a window to the kidney: multimodal retinal imaging to stratify risk, monitor progression and guide treatment

Biography: Bean is Professor of Nephrology at the University of Edinburgh and a Consultant Nephrologist at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He currently works between Edinburgh and Paris. His expertise is in hypertension, immune-mediated renal disease, in particular vasculitis and complex renal transplantation. He runs the Edinburgh Vasculitis Service.

Bean has research interests in the role of the immune system in the development and progression of hypertension as well as hypertension in the setting of chronic kidney disease. Bean’s research group focuses on the cardiovascular risk associated with the spectrum of chronic kidney disease from early in the disease trajectory through to kidney failure requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation. They perform pre-clinical and clinical pharmacology studies as well as investigating cardiovascular risk at a population level. Their goals are to identify cardiovascular risk early in people with kidney disease and, through experimental medicine studies, to explore novel therapies that might reduce this risk and so potentially improve longer-term outcomes.