Our President, Professor Sir Robert Lechler FMedSci, celebrates the Royal Charter awarded to the Academy this year and considers what the future holds.
The Academy of Medical Sciences has come a long way in the 21 years since we were established to advance biomedical and health research and its translation into benefits for society. Receiving a Royal Charter is an indication of the importance of this role as it demonstrates our value to society and our public status.
Our achievements
The Academy has achieved so much. Our work has improved career structures and given better job security to biomedical and health researchers, secured greater funding for science, influenced UK and international policy, inspired and involved patients and the public, and brought together the NHS, academia, and industry.
The Academy has established a medical sciences ‘brain trust’ of nearly 1300Fellows, and supported thousands of early career researchers.
So it is fitting that our essential role has been formally recognised by being granted a Royal Charter from her majesty the Queen this year. The granting of new Charters is comparatively rare and is reserved only for eminent professional bodies or charities which have a solid record of achievement.
The Charter shows the Academy is now firmly established as one of the UK National Academies. It is a mark of the importance and quality of our work, and is recognition of our stability and permanence. A Charter also recognises the professional and expert status of our Fellows and protects the value of the post-nominal ‘FMedSci'
Thank you to everyone who has worked with us
I want to extend my thanks to all of our Fellows, early career researchers, collaborators and staff for making the Academy what it is today and for your role in guiding our future.
I also wanted to give a special mention to our funders and donors - as a Charity our good work depends entirely on your support.
The future
The work of the Academy could not be more important as we move towards 2020. We will continue to let politicians know that a no deal Brexit would be a disaster for UK science. We will continue to make the case that biomedical and health research must be high priority for the next government. We will continue to forge international collaborations, and interrogate immigration policy, to ensure UK science remains at the centre of the global research community.
We will offer truly innovative career support to the brightest minds in science, run a lively schedule of UK and international meetings, and continue our policy work on topics as varied as death and dying, the NHS academia interface and chronobiology.
So at this year’s AGM we will be celebrating that the Academy will be championing medical science for the good of society whatever the future may hold.
Having a Royal Charter does not automatically mean that the word ‘Royal’ is added to our name and there is no requirement for us to change our name. The Academy will be known as ‘Academy of Medical Sciences’
The Charter application was discussed by Privy Council on 23 May 2019. On 12 June the Queen granted an order for the Charter to be sealed which happened on 3 September 2019. The business, assets and liabilities of the existing Academy charitable company moved to the new Charter body on 30 November 2019. From 1 December 2019, all activities previously operated by the charitable company are managed by the royal charter body with a new Registered Charity No. 1185329 and Royal Charter Registration No. RC000905
To find out more about the achievements of the Academy of Medical Sciences, visit our 20 year celebration page.
To find out more about how you can support the work of the Academy, see our dedicated support us webpage.