APAM 2025

118TH ANNUAL MEETING

3-4 April 2025

Royal College of Physicians

11 St Andrew’s Place, London NW1 4LE

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Inside APAM 2025: Reflections on a Landmark Meeting

Thank you to all who joined us for the Annual Meeting at the Royal College of Physicians in London. For those who were unable to attend, here is a look at what took place.

Opportunities to Network and reflect on shared knowledge, building long term connections
Up-to-date, groundbreaking insights from interdisciplinary exchange
Encouraging reflective inquiry among fellow interdisciplinary researchers

Founded in 1907 by William Osler, The Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland (AoP) had a goal: to advance medicine “in a manner that promotes friendship amongst Physicians”.

Each year, we welcome the greatest minds in translational medicine to our Annual Meeting (APAM), to share ideas, nurture connections, and pursue the very real potential of life-changing breakthroughs — and this year was no different.

Through the doors of London’s Royal College of Physicians, a historic institution at the heart of UK medicine, Physicians and Emerging Clinical Researchers convened for the two-day conference, filling the halls with lively conversations and shared expertise.

Day One Morning Sessions:

The morning ECR sessions at the 2025 Workshop focused on two key themes: Navigating Clinical Academic Training and Patient-Centred Clinical Research – Clinical Trials and Patient Cohorts.

In the first session, Navigating Clinical Academic Training, ECRs explored practical pathways for building a career in academic medicine. Dr Emily Watts opened with a welcome that set the stage for a series of informative talks. Dr Helen Devine shared personal insights into academic training in IMT, while Professor Patrick Chinnery highlighted how the MRC supports early-career clinical researchers. Dr Shera Chok then introduced the role of digital innovation in clinical research, offering real-world examples of how digital health tools can improve outcomes. A session on the AoP Mentoring Programme, led by Prof Sarah Walmsley and Dr Maisha Jobeen, demonstrated the value of structured mentoring for early-career researchers navigating complex academic environments.

The second session, Patient-Centred Clinical Research – Clinical Trials and Patient Cohorts, turned attention to the critical role of patients in shaping impactful research. Prof Helen McShane discussed the challenges and advances in TB vaccine development, while Prof Mala Maini presented on how patient cohorts help define and harness protective immunity. Prof Sir Doug Turnbull concluded the session by emphasising the importance of patient experience in advancing mitochondrial disease research, reinforcing the value of truly patient-centred approaches.

Together, these sessions provided ECRs with a deeper understanding of both the strategic pathways and the ethical imperatives of modern clinical research — from mentorship and funding to patient engagement and translational impact.

Dr Emily Watts
Dr Emily Watts
Professor Helen McShane

ECR Workshop Sessions

Day One: Afternoon Sessions:

The afternoon programme opened with Symposium 1: Open Theme, in partnership with Science Translational Medicine, chaired by Professor Claire Shovlin and Dr Orla Smith. Highlights included the George Griffin Lecture by Professor Sir Doug Turnbull on mitochondrial donation, a plenary on autoimmune cytopenias by Professor Nichola Cooper, and a showcase of emerging research through oral and flash poster presentations.

Symposium 2: Panel of Clinical Academia, chaired by Professor Waljit Dhillo and Dr Emily Watts, brought together national leaders including Professor Patrick Chinnery (MRC), Professor Lucy Chappell (NIHR), Professor Sir Stephen Powis (NHS England), and Professor Andrew Morris (HDR UK) to explore the challenges and future of interdisciplinary translational research.

The day concluded with networking and a formal conference dinner — a valuable opportunity for attendees to connect and collaborate across clinical and scientific disciplines.

Professor Claire Shovlin presents Professor Sir Doug Turnbull with the Award for the George Griffin Lecture at APAM 2025
Professor Claire Shovlin presents Professor Sir Doug Turnbull with the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Translational Medicine at APAM 2025

Day Two: Morning and Afternoon Sessions:

The final day of APAM 2025 brought together experts from across clinical and academic disciplines to examine some of the most relevant and forward-looking topics in medicine today. The programme featured three symposia covering data and AI, environmental health, and new therapeutic approaches — each highlighting the growing role of interdisciplinary collaboration in advancing patient care.

The morning began with Translating Big Data and AI, delivered in partnership with the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Discussions focused on how multi-omics and artificial intelligence are helping to personalise medicine and improve clinical outcomes. Professor Julian Knight spoke on using genomic data to better understand immune responses in infection, while Professor Mihaela van der Schaar outlined how machine learning is shaping real-world decision-making in healthcare.

Later in the day, Health and a Changing Environment explored the intersection between environmental change and public health. Speakers addressed the impact of climate, pollution, and warming trends on long-term care and disease burden, with contributions from Professor Frank Kelly and Professor Lea Berrang Ford. The afternoon closed with Changing Paradigms with Emerging Therapeutics, where speakers including Professor Andrew Baker and Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed addressed progress in gene therapy and pharmacogenomics. Dr Susan Galbraith’s Osler Lecture offered insight into how oncology drug development may evolve by 2030.

Throughout the day, poster sessions during tea and lunch breaks gave Early Career Researchers a platform to present their work, engage with peers, and speak directly with senior figures in clinical science. These moments allowed for valuable feedback and increased visibility for emerging voices in the field. The day ended with Q&A sessions, presentation of awards, and closing remarks — bringing to a close another successful meeting for the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland.

Professor Claire Shovlin presents Dr Susan Galbraith with the Osler Lecture Award at APAM 2025
Professor Claire Shovlin presents Dr Susan Galbraith with the Osler Lecture Award at APAM 2025
Celebrating excellence: Miss Taisha Peplowska is awarded the Osler Prize at this year’s APAM meeting
Celebrating excellence: Miss Taisha Peplowska is awarded the Osler Prize at this year’s APAM meeting
Previous Years Osler Medal and Prize Winners

Attendees were given the chance to submit posters, highlighting their research within their field of expertise.

Further to our celebrations, the day continued to bless our attendees with incredible inspiration as we listened in on various oral presentations from our speakers.

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Supporting Information

The AoPGBI Annual Meeting featured almost 50 presentations on the latest research in translational medicine. 

Keynote speakers included Professor Sir Doug Turnbull, Emeritus Professor of Neurology at Newcastle University, Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Chief Executive Officer, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Professor Andrew Morris, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, Director, Health Data Research UK and Professor Mihaela van der Schaar, Chair in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Medicine, University of Cambridge 

We are incredibly proud of the community that we bring together every year and our gratitude grows with every new member that walks through our doors.

As a new generation of members join The Association of Physicians, our community is enriched even further, blending wisdom with enthusiasm to advance this crucial aspect of medicine.

Our Vision:

  • Engage and inspire the wider scientific and public community: Raising the profile of interdisciplinary translational research
  • Develop the careers of translational researchers: Supporting personal and professional progress
  • Share ideas and knowledge: Creating relationships that support those within the community to contribute to research developments

The Association of Physicians is open to all clinicians, Emerging Clinical Researchers (ECRs), industry affiliates and fellows.

Members are key players in our flagship annual meeting, taking advantage of discounted fees, a subscription to QJM and active collaborative interdisciplinary debate and research.

Join The Association of Physicians

APAM 2026 – University of Birmingham – 14-15 May 2026 – more details to follow

Dr Emily Watts APAM 2025

Dr Emily Watts

Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Career Development Fellow, University of Edinburgh

I am a respiratory physician and Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Career development fellow based in Edinburgh. My research interests are in understanding the molecular mechanisms which underpin neutrophilic inflammatory lung disease. Using air pollution as a model of inflammation my fellowship is focused on how neutrophils sense and respond to inflammatory and metabolic cues in the environment and how this drives neutrophil synthetic and inflammatory capacity.

Professor Sir Doug Turnbull

Emeritus Professor of Neurology Newcastle University

Sir Doug Turnbull is Emeritus Professor of Neurology, Newcastle University (UK). Professor Turnbull was Director of the Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research and Director of the MRC Centre for Ageing and Vitality. He was the clinical lead for the NHS Highly Specialised Service for Rare Mitochondrial Diseases of Adults and Children.

Professor Turnbull’s research focused on understanding the role of mitochondria in health and disease. This has led to a new understanding of the importance and complexity of mitochondrial DNA disease, the development of a novel method to prevent the transmission of mitochondrial DNA disease (mitochondrial donation).

Mala Maini

Professor Mala Maini

Professor of Viral Immunology, University College London

Mala Maini is a Professor of Viral Immunology in the Institute of Immunity and Transplantation, Division of Infection and Immunity at UCL, London and an Honorary Consultant Physician in the viral hepatitis clinic. Her lab studies adaptive immunity to hepatitis B, liver cancer and SARS-CoV-2 to inform the development of immunotherapies and vaccines for these major causes of morbidity and mortality. Through access to well-characterised patient cohorts, human tissue samples and models, their studies provide insights into beneficial and dysfunctional T and B cell responses. The lab is particularly interested in dissecting and harnessing tissue-resident immunity for frontline sentinel surveillance of viruses and cancer.  Mala enjoys mentoring and supporting her lab members to obtain fellowships and develop their careers. Work in the Maini lab is funded by Wellcome (including Mala’s Investigator Award), UKRI, Cancer Research UK, ERC Horizon 2020 and the Royal Free Charity.
 

Professor Helen McShane

Professor of Vaccinology, University of Oxford

Helen McShane FRCP, PhD, FMedSci is Director, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre; Professor of Vaccinology, University of Oxford; Deputy Head, Medical Sciences Division and an Honorary Consultant Physician in Infectious Diseases.
Since 2001, Helen has lead the TB vaccine research group at the University of Oxford, and has expertise in vaccine design through to phase IIb efficacy testing. She led the development of the first candidate TB vaccine to enter efficacy testing, and now works on alternate routes of delivery and the development of controlled human infection models for TB and SARS CoV2.

Prof. Sarah Walmsley

AoPGBI Executive Committee Member and Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Edinburgh

I am a Professor of Respiratory Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Honorary Consultant Physician, NHS Lothian and Co-Director of the Edinburgh Clinical Academic Training Scheme.  I undertook my medical training at the University of Edinburgh graduating in 1997, and an MRC training fellowship at the University of Cambridge with award of my PhD in 2004.  My specialist training in Respiratory Medicine was in Sheffield, where I also held a Welcome Intermediate Fellowship, prior to my move to Edinburgh as a Welcome Senior Clinical Fellow.  During this time, I had two periods of maternity leave.  I am currently based in the Centre for Inflammation Research in the Institute for Regeneration and Repair in Edinburgh.  My work is focused on understanding how local oxygen and nutrient availability in the inflamed environment can reprogram neutrophil behaviour in both acute and chronic inflammatory lung disease states.

APAM 2025

Dr Shera Chok

GP, NHS
Founder and Chair, The Shuri Network
NED, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
National Lead for Community Settings, NIHR

Shera Chok is a GP in the NHS and is the former Chief Medical Officer at NHS Digital. She is an experienced national clinical leader who has worked at Board and Director levels since 2000 and has led the redesign and implementation of new models of care, digital innovation, clinical governance, workforce and leadership development at national and local levels.
She started the award-winning national Shuri Network in 2019 as she is passionate about increasing diversity, innovation and safety and to encourage other women from minority ethnic groups to lead and engage with digital transformation.
She has been recognised as an AI Visionary by the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Health Innovation Network & Department of Health and Social Care in 2025 and won the Zenith Global Health Special Recognition Award in 2023. She was awarded the prestigious Richard von Weizsäcker Fellowship by the Robert Bosch Foundation in 2023 and won the HSJ Race Equality Award winner in 2021 with the Shuri Network.
She advised ministers as a member of the NHS Independent Reconfiguration Panel for seven years and worked at Barts Health, the largest acute hospital trust in the NHS as Director of Primary Care for six years, helping to improve patient pathways across organisational boundaries.
Shera has volunteered as a clinician in countries including Sudan, Laos, Indonesia and Greece with NGOs working in war and disaster zones and with displaced populations. She studied at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard School of Public Health on an NHS executive leadership programme. She has completed an M.B.A., M.A. in Inter-professional Education and a Nuffield Trust Fellowship on cross-organisational learning with Sunderland Athletic Football Club.

Helen Devine APAM 2025

Dr Helen Devine

Newcastle University, Clinical NUAcT Fellow and Honorary
Consultant Neurologist

Dr Helens Bio coming soon

Professor Patrick Chinnery

Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council

Patrick Chinnery is Professor of Neurology at the University of Cambridge and an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. He runs a combined clinical and laboratory research programme based in the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit and has been supported by Wellcome since 1995 including a Principal Research Fellowship. He is known for his expertise in rare inherited diseases that affect the nervous system. His lab has been studying the genetic basis of mitochondrial disorders for over two decades, harnessing the power of whole genome sequencing and developing new treatments through experimental medicine and early phase trials. He jointly chairs the NIHR BioResource for Translational Research in Common and Rare diseases, is Executive Chair of the UK Medical Research Council and life sciences lead for UK Research and Innovation.