Dear members,
I’m delighted to write to you as the incoming ASCEPT President. Since attending my first ASCEPT meeting, I’ve felt part of an extraordinary community – warm, supportive, and deeply inquisitive – committed to advancing research, education, and professional excellence. To now serve as President is truly an honour.
I’m privileged to take the reins at such an exciting time. ASCEPT co-hosted the ASCEPT-Hypertension Australia Joint Scientific Meeting in Adelaide last week, a wonderfully successful collaboration. You can read more in the meeting recap from co-chairs Dr Luke Grundy and Dr Quynh Nhu Dinh, who expertly crafted an outstanding scientific program. Thank you to Hypertension Australia, our meeting co-chairs and organising committee, Expert Events and our wonderful sponsors. Make sure you catch our summary of ASCEPT Fellows, awardees and prize winners, too. What a week!
As the host society for the 20th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (WCP2026), Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand will be center stage when more than 2,000 delegates gather in Melbourne this July. I’m especially proud that the Congress offers heavily subsidised registration rates for students, early- and mid-career researchers, and attendees from developing economies. Many keynote speakers have already been announced, with more to come. Late-breaking abstract submissions open mid-January and close 16 February – don’t miss the chance to present your latest work!
Earlier this week, we received wonderful news from the British Pharmacological Society: their highest honour, BPS Honorary Fellowship, has been awarded to ASCEPT Past President Professor Kevin Pfleger and ASCEPT member Professor Roy Goldie. Congratulations also to Professor Simon Dimmitt on his election as a BPS Fellow.
At our AGM last week, members ratified the 2026–2030 Strategic Plan: Looking to the Future. The newly formed Board is ready to implement strategies that will keep ASCEPT vibrant, relevant, and inclusive for all pharmacologists and toxicologists across Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. This plan is one of many initiatives championed by our outgoing President Bridin Murnion, whose tireless efforts have strengthened partnerships, introduced two prestigious new awards, and ensured transparent processes. Bridin, on behalf of ASCEPT and personally, thank you for your extraordinary leadership – you leave big shoes to fill!
Thank you to everyone who completed the Membership Survey; winners are announced below and results are now being analysed. There’s still time to complete the equally important EDI Survey, which closes at the end of the month. Please also note key dates for ASCEPT awards – many have earlier timelines this year so they can be presented at WCP2026. Details are later in the newsletter.
Finally, the tragic events in Bondi last weekend have deeply affected our community. As we approach the end-of-year break, I encourage you to reach out to friends and family who may be struggling. May we all find comfort in compassion and connection.
2026 promises to be a fabulous year for ASCEPT. I can’t wait to share it with you all.
Happy holidays,
Associate Professor Nicola J. Smith
President – ASCEPT
ASCEPT recognises the diversity of its membership and is committed to the values, attitudes and conduct of equity, diversity and inclusion to create a collegial, collaborative and successful professional community.
In this edition
2026 Board
The 2026 ASCEPT Board comprises Associate Professor Nicola Smith (President), Associate Professor Bridin Murnion (Immediate Past President), Associate Professor Daniel Wright (Secretary), Associate Professor Hesham Al-Sallami (Treasurer), and Directors Professor Arduino Mangoni, Professor Kellie Charles, Dr Luke Grundy, Dr Brendan Wilkins, Associate Professor Jack Flanagan, Dr Elizabeth Johnstone, Associate Professor Slade Matthews, Associate Professor Darren Roberts, Professor Elly Djouma, Associate Professor Andrew Rowland, Dr Mouna Sawan , Associate Professor Simon Foster and Dr Chantal Donovan (Observer).
Important dates for your calendars
WCP2026
IUPHAR
ASCEPT Awards
2 March – Nominations open for:
- ASCEPT Achievement Award
- Bellberry New Investigator Award
- ASCEPT Elizabeth Davis Teaching Excellence Award
- ASCEPT EDI Award
- Garth McQueen Award
16 March – Nominations CLOSE for
- ASCEPT Lecturer
- ASCEPT Fellows
4 May – Nominations CLOSE for:
- ASCEPT Achievement Award
- Bellberry New Investigator Award
- ASCEPT Elizabeth Davis Teaching Excellence Award
- ASCEPT EDI Award
- Garth McQueen Award
Mighty Networks transition is complete!
Thank you to everyone who signed up to Mighty Networks at the ASM last week. Please note that as of this week, all Google Groups email addresses will be disabled, meaning that any communication with SIGs and the ASCEPT membership must be via Mighty Networks.
Expert Events have put together an excellent ‘how-to’ guide if you are still to sign up. Remember to set up notifications to receive email updates of important posts.
Mighty Networks allows SIGs to post announcements, events, and updates in one central location, with members able to engage through comments and receive notifications.
ASCEPT-Hypertension Australia Joint Scientific Meeting
This year, our Annual Scientific Meeting was held as a joint conference between ASCEPT and Hypertension Australia at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 9–12 December 2025. What a wonderful meeting it was! With overwhelmingly positive feedback from members of both organisations.
Congratulations to all the ASCEPT awardees at the ASCEPT-Hypertension Australia Joint Scientific Meeting. Click below to find out who won and why!
The ASCEPT Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) committee were hard at work increasing the visibility of our diverse membership at the 2025 ASCEPT & Hypertension Australia Joint Scientific Meeting.
It was inspiring to see many attendees proudly wearing our EDI badges to increase visibility and awareness of our diverse communities. Our badges this year represented Indigeneity, LGBTQIA+, Cultural and Linguistic Diversity (CALD), Neurodiversity, and Disability/Ability.
Thank you to everyone who filled out the ASCEPT EDI Survey. This survey is will close at the end of the month, and responses will be collated and shared with the ASCEPT membership in the new year.
Pictured below are the 2025 ASCEPT EDI Committee who have been working together to implement EDI initiatives throughout the year. Left to right: Brendan Wilkins, Danial Saifuddin, Nilushi (Nel) Karunaratne, Betty Exintaris, Elly Djouma, Bridin Murnion, and Tina Hinton. Not pictured: Rima Caccetta, Marina Junqueira Santiago, and Nick Holford.
This year, the ASCEPT EDI Committee partnered with Hypertension Australia to deliver the workshop “Visibility in STEM and Medical Practice/Research/Higher Education: Empowering Diverse Voices”. This workshop was a great opportunity for attendees to hear about Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and culturally diverse experiences.
Our speakers (Associate Professor Courtney Ryder and Associate Professor Darren Roberts) and panellists (Dr Norma Bulamu, Dr Rikeish Muralitharan, Dr Maria Alejandra Pinero de Plaza, Alexander Burke, and Dr Danial Saifuddin) ignited a deep discussion of why awareness is important to avoid subconscious bias in our everyday interactions with our diverse communities.
We extend our thanks to everyone that attended and contributed. Pictured below is a photo from the workshop.
We are pleased to report that exceptional gender equity was achieved at the 2025 ASCEPT & Hypertension Australia Joint Scientific Meeting. Among the 331 speakers, 39.9% identified as man/male, 55.6% as woman/female, and 4.5% were unspecified. These figures closely align with the gender identity data of the 404 registrants: 39.6% male, 52.2% female, 2.3% preferred not to answer, and 5.9% not specified. Comparable gender equity was also reflected in the appointment of session chairs.
Bellberry-ASCEPT Partnership on New Approach Methodologies Workshop Summary
The Bellberry–ASCEPT New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) lunchtime session at the ASM highlighted the growing momentum of the partnership’s work. Leanne Weekes opened with an overview of the NAMs landscape in Australia before presenting key outcomes from Meeting #1, held at the 2024 ASM in Melbourne. That meeting underscored the importance of deeper industry engagement, which in turn led to Meeting #2 being hosted at AusBiotech in October 2025. Andrew McLachlan then outlined the process and findings from Meeting #2, drawing together insights from both meetings and explaining what the increasing use of NAM evidence means in practice for animal researchers, HRECs, sponsors, and regulators. A notable takeaway for the audience was that HREC applications for FirstinHuman studies already include NAMs—sometimes as standalone evidence, sometimes alongside animal models.
A panel discussion followed, featuring Prof Andrew McLachlan AM (Bellberry/ASCEPT/University of Sydney), Kylie Sproston (Bellberry CEO), A/Prof Nicola Smith (ASCEPT President/UNSW Sydney), A/Prof Michael Ward (Bellberry HREC Chair/University of Adelaide), and Prof Carl Kirkpatrick (ASCEPT/Monash University). The panel explored a broad range of issues, reinforcing several key messages:
- NAMs will complement rather than replace animal research, with decisions guided increasingly by the overall weight of evidence;
- the transition toward broader NAM adoption will be gradual and carefully managed, with HRECs playing a central role in FirstinHuman decisions; and
- no single NAM can replicate the breadth of an animal model, meaning a suite of methods will be needed.
The session emphasised three overarching themes: animal research remains essential to discovery, NAMs are powerful additional tools, and education for researchers, reviewers, and consumers will be critical. The programme’s main output, a set of guiding principles to support HRECs and regulators in assessing NAMbased packages, will now be developed and presented at WCP 2026 in Melbourne.
ASCEPT Members Survey Prize Winners
Thank you to all our members who participated in the ASCEPT Member Survey! We received over 100 responses, which will be collated early in the new year. The ASCEPT Board will carefully review your suggestions and share a summary of the outcomes ahead of WCP2026. Stay tuned for upcoming member initiatives designed to ensure we continue delivering the best opportunities for our community.
And now, the prize winners… Survey respondents went into the draw to win a free registration for the 2027 APSA-ASCEPT Annual Scientific Meeting on the Gold Coast (Tuesday 30 November – Friday 3 December). Runners-up receive complimentary ASCEPT membership for 2026. Winners were selected via a random prize wheel:
- First Prize: Madison Coward-Smith
- Runners-up: Ivan Sammut (NZ), Jennifer Deuis (Australia), Iris Lim (Australia)
Congratulations to all our winners and thank you once again to everyone who shared valuable feedback. Your input helps shape the future of ASCEPT.
Last chance to complete the ASCEPT EDI Survey
This is a final reminder to complete the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Survey. If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to participate, we would greatly value your input. The survey closes at the end of December.
Your participation and insights are incredibly valuable and will help us shape a more inclusive and equitable Society. A reminder that the survey is anonymous and should take most members 5-10 minutes to complete.
This survey aims to describe the diversity of the ASCEPT membership. Diversity includes career level, age, gender, Indigeneity, nationality, culture, faith, carer status, ability, and LGBTQIA+ identity. Data obtained from this survey will guide ASCEPT’s future initiatives to build an inclusive, culturally competent community and promote equity across all society activities and interactions.
A full description of this project is available in the Recruitment Letter and Participant Information Statement and Consent Form. You must read the Participant Information Statement and Consent Form prior to providing your consent to participate in this survey.
The survey should only be completed once per member.
Have your say (closing Jan 23rd): the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Review of Human Tissue Laws
Message from ASCEPT President Nicola Smith:
The Australian Law Reform Commission is currently reviewing human tissue laws – see HERE for details and terms of reference. I encourage as many researchers as possible to engage with this review, particularly those who work with COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE CELL LINES.
In several jurisdictions, cell lines are not subject to human tissue regulations. For example, the UK treats cells that have replicated outside the body as “manufactured,” meaning they fall outside the scope of the Human Tissue Act once a line is established. By contrast, Australian legislation does not explicitly exclude “cell lines” from its definition of human tissue. As a result, any research in Australia involving commercially available cell lines must obtain human ethics approval. At present, not all research institutions are aware of this stipulation and to remedy the situation will swamp our existing HRECs.
The Human Tissue Laws Review provides an opportunity for our research community to call for Australia to come into line with other countries. I encourage as many of you to make individual submissions as possible – ask your lab members to do the same. Some suggested wording is as follows:
Exemption of commercially available cell lines from needing human ethics review
I/we recommend that research involving the use of established human somatic cell lines be made exempt from review provided that they meet the following criteria:
- The established cell lines are commercially available or can be obtained from established repositories (e.g., ATCC). and;
- The cell lines are either de-identified and not linked to any personally identifiable information or are identified and available in the public domain, and unlikely to cause harm to the original donor or their relatives.
- The researcher will comply with any consent terms attached to the use of the cell line.
- The proposed research will not develop the cell lines as therapeutics.
- The proposed research does not involve the use or derivation of embryonic stem cells.”
Please note that the Review of Human Tissue Laws: Discussion Paper (2025) is a comprehensive document. The call for submissions states that you only need to address the areas relevant to your own interests.
If there are other areas of importance to the ASCEPT community, please reach out to ascept@ascept.org or share your thoughts on Mighty Networks and we will try to incorporate your suggestions.
IUPHAR Updates
IUPHAR Lifetime Achievement Award
The IUPHAR Lifetime Achievement Award recognises individuals who have made exceptional and sustained contributions to pharmacology through scientific excellence, leadership, mentorship and global impact, with nominations closing on 19 December.
IUPHAR nominations for Executive Committee membership
The International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) Nominations Committee is now accepting nominations for President-Elect, Treasurer and Executive Committee positions. The terms for all the positions will begin July 1st, 2026.
Preparing to Apply: A 250-word nomination letter (letter of support) by the member society, 250-word motivation letter by the candidate stating why the candidate is applying for the position and a structured CV are required.
Nominations are accepted until 31 January 2026.
IUPHAR notice of phishing emails
IUPHAR been made aware of a phishing scam targeting IUPHAR members. Please note that the IUPHAR Executive Committee will never request funds directly from members. If you receive any such communication, please do not engage with it and delete the message immediately.