New Members and Member by Distinction of 2026

Dr Blessen Bernard Ambrose is a UK GMC registered physician with over a decade of experience in pharmaceutical medicine across clinical research, medical affairs and drug safety domains. Throughout his career, Dr Ambrose gained extensive experience in global pharmacovigilance operations and has also held international leadership responsibilities, including serving as Deputy Qualified Person for Pharmacovigilance (QPPV) for the Asia-Pacific region and the European Union. Dr Ambrose is an active member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine’s New Technologies Expert Group and is particularly interested in promoting safe and evidence-based innovation while addressing the associated ethical, operational and regulatory challenges.

Dr Joshua Asubiaro MD APDPM MSc MFPM is a physician, entrepreneur, and clinical researcher whose career sits at the intersection of pharmaceutical medicine, psychiatry, and healthcare innovation. Based in Romford, East London, he brings a rare multidisciplinary perspective – one shaped by years across the full breadth of medicine and an equal conviction that lasting change in healthcare happens long before a patient is prescribed a medicine.

Dr Asubiaro began his medical career in general medicine before transitioning into psychiatry, where he developed a deep appreciation for the transformative and complex  role that medicines play in people’s lives. It was this clinical foundation that sparked a pivotal question: what truly goes into bringing a medicine to the patient? In 2017, that question set him on a deliberate path into pharmaceutical medicine to understand drug development, regulation, and clinical research from the inside out.

That journey culminated in a Master’s in Pharmaceutical Medicine and now, membership of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine – a milestone that reflects both academic rigour and an unwavering commitment to the field.

His path through clinical research has been one of deliberate progression from working with established Integrated Research Organisations including Medinova and Accellacare, to serving as Medical Director at Bioluminux, before taking the boldest step of all: founding Clinicalysis. A GCP-compliant Phase II–IV clinical trial site and Integrated Research Organisation based in East London, Clinicalysis is built on a mission to make clinical research accessible to populations that have historically been excluded from it, serving one of the UK’s most ethnically and socioeconomically diverse communities.

Beyond the UK, Dr Asubiaro is actively developing clinical research infrastructure in Nigeria, with a vision to elevate Africa’s participation in global drug development. A clinician, a scientist, and a builder, Dr Asubiaro exemplifies what pharmaceutical medicine looks like when it is driven by purpose.

Dr Ikenna D. Ebuenyi is a physician scientist with over 10 years’ clinical and research experience in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, across healthcare, academia, and the pharmaceutical industry. He leads the Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Inclusion Lab at the University of Pittsburgh, United States.

Dr Ebuenyi holds an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine from the James Lind Institute, Switzerland. He earned his medical degree (MBBS) from Imo State University; a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri; an MSc in Global Mental Health from King’s College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; and a PhD in Transglobal Health jointly awarded by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the University of Barcelona.

Dr Ebuenyi is a Member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (MFPM), a Licentiate of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (LFOM), Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, and a member of the Association of Pharmaceutical Physicians of Ireland.

Dr Olugbenga Farajimakin is an experienced Physician Investigator, Clinical Research Leader, and healthcare entrepreneur with more than 20 years of clinical and medical leadership experience spanning women’s health, gynaecology, healthcare management, and clinical research. He is the Founder and Medical Director of Banke Hospital and the Founder and Principal Investigator of Faraj-Lab Medical Diagnostics and Research Centre in Lagos, Nigeria, where he leads clinical research activities alongside the delivery of patient-centred healthcare services.

Dr Farajimakin obtained his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He subsequently completed a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Medicine, an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). His professional development reflects a longstanding commitment to clinical excellence, research leadership, pharmaceutical medicine, and the advancement of evidence-based healthcare. He is also a Member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom.

His professional interests include pharmaceutical medicine, clinical trial delivery, women’s health, gynaecologic oncology, healthcare innovation, and research capacity development. As Principal Investigator, he has contributed to the implementation of participant-based clinical research programmes and collaborated with international research teams on clinical research initiatives, including sickle cell disorder studies in Nigeria. Through these activities, he has supported the expansion of clinical research opportunities and helped strengthen research capability within underserved communities.

In addition to his clinical and research leadership roles, Dr Farajimakin has developed an active scholarly interest in cancer prevention, public health, and translational medicine. He is the author of peer-reviewed publications in gynaecologic oncology and cervical cancer prevention, with particular interests in healthcare disparities, evidence-based medicine, and improving health outcomes through research.

Dr Farajimakin is passionate about advancing pharmaceutical medicine and strengthening clinical research capacity across Africa. He remains committed to mentoring future healthcare and research professionals while promoting ethical, patient-centred, and scientifically rigorous clinical research. Becoming a Member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine represents an important milestone in his professional journey and reflects his commitment to the highest standards of professional practice within pharmaceutical medicine.

Dr Oluwatosin Idowu MBBS, MFPM is an Associate Medical Director in Patient Safety at AstraZeneca, where she leads and supports patient safety activities across digital health technologies and medical devices, helping to ensure the safe development and use of innovative healthcare solutions.

She holds an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine from the James Lind Institute, Switzerland, awarded with High Distinction. Dr Idowu obtained her medical degree from the Crimean State Medical University named after S. I. Georgievsky, Ukraine, and gained clinical experience in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom before transitioning into pharmaceutical medicine and clinical research.

Her early industry experience included working as a Clinical Research Physician within an early phase unit. There, she supported Phase I and First-in-Human clinical trials, gaining experience in the early stages of medicine development and clinical research. She subsequently moved into patient safety, where she has developed expertise in safety strategy, risk management, regulatory compliance, and cross-functional collaboration across digital health and medical device programmes.

Throughout her career, Dr Idowu has been driven by a commitment to advancing patient-centred healthcare while balancing innovation with the highest standards of safety and scientific integrity. She is particularly interested in the evolving role of digital technologies in healthcare and the opportunities they present to improve patient outcomes while maintaining robust oversight and governance.

Dr Avinash Kakade is a pharmaceutical physician with nearly two decades of experience across clinical development, medical affairs, pharmacovigilance, regulatory sciences, and pharmaceutical medicine. Since beginning his industry career in 2007, he has worked at the intersection of science, medicine, and patient care, contributing to the development and responsible use of medicines that improve health outcomes.

Dr Kakade earned his MBBS from Mumbai University and has further strengthened his professional expertise through an MPhil in Statistics, PMP from PMI USA, a Leadership and Management programme at INSEAD, and an MBA from DY Patil University, Mumbai. He is currently Global Head of Pharmacovigilance at Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd and has previously held roles at Amgen, Cipla, and Lupin.

Throughout his career, Dr Kakade has remained committed to advancing professional standards, ethical practice, and continuous learning within the pharmaceutical industry. He believes that pharmaceutical medicine extends beyond the development of medicines and encompasses the broader responsibility of improving patients’ lives through evidence-based decision making, innovation, and collaboration.

A strong advocate for professional development and knowledge sharing, he actively engages with healthcare and life sciences communities through mentoring, thought leadership, and educational initiatives. His widely read #PsalmOfLife reflections connect lessons from medicine, leadership, human behaviour, and everyday experiences, encouraging professionals to reflect on the deeper purpose behind their work. He is also a frequent speaker at industry conferences, academic institutions, and professional forums, where he shares insights on pharmacovigilance, pharmaceutical medicine, leadership, and patient centric healthcare.

Becoming a Member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine marks an important milestone in his professional journey, reflecting his commitment to the highest standards of pharmaceutical medicine and his dedication to serving patients, colleagues, and the wider healthcare community.

Dr Ryan Lea is an Associate Clinical Development Director at Weatherden, where he provides clinical leadership and strategic support to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies across early-stage drug development. His work spans clinical development, translational medicine, and scientific strategy, with experience across immunology, oncology, psychiatry, and respiratory medicine.

Dr Lea gained his medical degree from the University of Oxford, where he developed early interests in psychiatry, medical education, and clinical leadership. He subsequently practiced as a doctor in hospitals across London.

At Weatherden, Dr Lea has supported early-phase clinical trial design and oversight, indication selection, target product profile development, and has worked as a programme physician for several first-in-class assets for both biotechs and pharma. He was awarded the Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine in 2025 and has a particular interest in early-phase clinical development and the progression of novel therapies into clinical practice.

Dr Prasad Nandapurkar is a pharmacovigilance professional with around 20 years of global experience in drug safety and clinical practice. He holds a medical degree (MBBS) from India and a master’s degree in pharmaceutical medicine from James Lind Institute, Switzerland.

After gaining experience in clinical practice, he transitioned to the pharmaceutical industry. Since last 15 years, as a pharmacovigilance physician he has been contributing to patient safety throughout the lifecycle of medicinal products. His experience covers a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas, including both innovator drugs and generics/biosimilars. His expertise includes signal management, clinical trials safety monitoring, risk management and continuous risk-benefit evaluation.

He has worked with various pharma companies including Novartis and Viatris as well as contract research organizations. He held various leadership roles in these companies. Prasad has been a subject matter expert and also a mentor throughout these roles. Currently he is working as Senior Pharmacovigilance Physician at PrimeVigilance, an Ergomed group company.

Dr Eamon O Murchu is a pharmaceutical physician with over 10 years’ experience in medicines regulation, pharmacovigilance, health technology assessment and public health. He currently works as a pharmacovigilance physician at the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) in Ireland and is serving a second term on the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) of the European Medicines Agency, contributing to the evaluation of the safety and benefit–risk balance of medicines across the European Union.

Prior to joining the HPRA, Eamon worked as Senior Health Technology Assessment Analyst at HIQA, Ireland’s statutory HTA body, leading national assessments of medicines, vaccines and public health programmes. He completed a PhD at Trinity College Dublin on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which directly informed the introduction of a publicly funded national PrEP programme in Ireland in 2019.

In addition to his medical degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Eamon holds a Master of Public Health with First Class Honours from University College Dublin. His academic work includes more than 20 peer-reviewed publications, with over 1,500 citations, spanning infectious diseases, vaccinology, pharmacoeconomic modelling and health policy.

Dr Ashish Shrestha is a GMC-registered physician, Physician Investigator, Global Lead for Clinical Trials, and Lead Physician at Bioluminux Clinical Research. He has over a decade of experience spanning clinical medicine, pharmaceutical medicine, and clinical research across Nepal, Bangladesh, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
His career combines clinical expertise with operational and strategic leadership in clinical research. He has played a key role in establishing and developing clinical research sites, building research infrastructure, implementing systems and processes to support ICH GCP compliance, and strengthening organisational readiness for industry-sponsored clinical trials. His work spans central oversight of research sites and teams, site readiness, investigator oversight, quality management, regulatory compliance, patient safety, operational governance, and multi-site trial delivery.

In his current leadership role, Ashish oversees clinical trial operations across multiple research sites in the United Kingdom and the United States. Working closely with sponsors, CROs, investigators, and research teams, he supports the successful delivery of clinical trials while maintaining high standards of scientific integrity, quality, and participant safety. Alongside his leadership responsibilities, he remains actively involved in patient-facing clinical research activities, working directly with study participants and contributing to research that advances patient care and access to innovative treatments.
Ashish holds an MSc in Pharmaceutical Medicine and has particular interests in clinical trial quality, research ethics, diversity and inclusion, leadership development, and strengthening clinical research capacity in underserved regions.

He serves as panelist on the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Forum and contributes to initiatives that promote equitable participation, representation, and opportunity in healthcare and clinical research. He has also been involved in research ethics activities that support the responsible conduct of research and the protection of participants involved in clinical studies.

Beyond his operational and leadership responsibilities, Ashish is passionate about raising awareness of pharmaceutical medicine and clinical research as a career pathway. Through mentoring, professional networking, educational initiatives, and engagement with healthcare professionals from around the world, he actively supports greater understanding of the speciality and encourages the development of future leaders within pharmaceutical medicine and clinical research.

Passionate about advancing high-quality clinical research, Ashish believes that strong governance, ethical practice, diverse participation, and collaborative leadership are essential to improving patient outcomes and accelerating medical innovation globally.

Dr Lydia Spurr attained Membership of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine following completion of the Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine. She is currently an Internal Clinician and Clinical Reviewer at TÜV SÜD Approved and Notified Bodies, where she is involved in clinical evaluation and assessment supporting the conformity assessment of medical devices in the UK and EU. Her role also involves development and refinement of clinical review and post-market surveillance processes with the aim of advancing patient safety and regulatory excellence.

She graduated from Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry before working in clinical and academic positions within the NHS, predominantly in internal and respiratory medicine. She holds Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) and was awarded Doctor of Medicine (Research) from Imperial College London in 2023 for research into autonomic and multisystem complications in neuromuscular disorders. In addition to her clinical and research achievements, she has contributed to medical education as editor of a medical careers textbook published by Oxford University Press.

Dr Spurr has established a growing leadership profile in medical device regulation and healthcare innovation. She is Chair of the Clinical Investigation and Evaluation Working Group of Team-AB, the organisation representing UK Approved Bodies, where she helps shape approaches to clinical evaluation and regulatory practice across the sector. She has also contributed to the Health Systems Working Group of the National Commission for AI in Healthcare and is a member of the FPM New Technologies Expert Group.