David Webb (pharmacologist)

David John Webb, CBE, FRCP, FRSE, FMedSci (born 1 September 1953) is a British physician, scientist and clinical pharmacologist, who currently holds the Christison Chair of Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh.

David Webb

CBE, FRCP, FRSE, FMedSci
Born
David John Webb

1 September 1953
Greenwich, London, England
EducationDulwich College
Alma materThe London Hospital Medical School
OccupationClinical pharmacologist
EmployerUniversity of Edinburgh
ChildrenMark Webb
Parent(s)Alfred and Edna
Scientific career
Institutions

He was appointed to the Christison Chair of Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh in 1995, and from 1998 to 2001 he was Head of the University's Department of Medical Sciences there. He established its Centre for Cardiovascular Science in 2000.[1]

Early life and education

David Webb was born on 1 September 1953 to Alfred And Edna Webb, and was educated at Dulwich College before studying medicine at the London Hospital Medical School. Following junior appointments, Webb worked at the Medical Research Council Blood Pressure Unit in Glasgow and trained as a cardiovascular physician and clinical pharmacologist at St George's Hospital and Medical School.[1]

Career and research

Webb moved to a senior lectureship in medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1990, where he directed its newly established Clinical Research Centre. He was appointed to the Christison Chair of Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh in 1995. He headed the Department of Medical Sciences and led a Wellcome Trust Cardiovascular Initiative from 1998 to 2001, then created and led the University's Centre for Cardiovascular Science from 2000 to 2004.[1]

Webb has acted on behalf on several professional organisations:[1] He served as clinical vice-president of the British Pharmacological Society from 1996 to 1998 and later as its president from 2016 to 2018;[2] chair of the Royal College of Physicians' Committee on Clinical Pharmacology during 1998 and 1989; and chaired the British Pharmacological Society's committee of heads and professors of clinical pharmacology from 2004 to 2007. He became the vice-president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 2006 and served until 2009.

Advocation for clinical pharmacology and prescribing safety

In 2006, Webb advocated with colleagues against the decline of clinical pharmacology as a speciality within the United Kingdom, noting that the number of clinical pharmacologists had dropped by 24% from 1993 to 2003, whereas the number of practitioners in all other medical specialties had increased by 79%.[3] He also participated in raising awareness about poor medical undergraduate prescribing skills[4][5] and in 2009 he provided evidence to the United Kingdom select committee on patient safety regarding prescription errors,[6] of which an excerpt is shown below:

It is widely recognised that newly qualified doctors are at the sharp end of prescribing, and that this work is largely unsupervised. Although junior doctors are protected from undertaking many high-risk practical procedures, they are able to prescribe powerful medicines from their first day of clinical work. Here, clinical pharmacists are well recognised to play a very important support and educational role. Nevertheless, there is a critical need to provide medical students with an undergraduate education and training in therapeutics and prescribing that prepares them effectively to fulfil this role, and to be able to develop as an effective prescriber thereafter. Essential support in prescribing can be provided, and several studies have suggested that the delivery of targeted education can improve prescribing performance and reduce prescription errors.

— Memorandum by Professor David Webb (PS 89)

This ultimately led to the creation and introduction by the British Pharmacological Society and UK Medical Schools Council of the Prescribing Safety Assessment,[7] which is now taken by all undergraduate medical students in the United Kingdom.[8][9][10]

Cardiovascular research

Webb's scientific research focuses on novel treatments for hypertension and cardiovascular risk, particularly with regards to blood vessel structure and function. His publications include first-in-human studies with renin inhibitors[11] and endothelin antagonists,[12] including exploration of the role of endothelin antagonists as treatment for vascular and renal disease.[13] He has also contributed to the current understanding of arterial stiffness and its role in cardiovascular risk.[14][15][16]

Awards

Webb was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1992,[1] a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 1999,[17] and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2004.[18] He is an honorary fellow of the British Pharmacological Society[19] and of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Physicians. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to clinical pharmacology, research and education.[20]

References
  1. Lois Reynolds, Tilli Tansey, eds. (2008). Clinical Pharmacology in the UK, c. 1950-2000: Influences and institutions. Wellcome Witnesses to Contemporary Medicine. History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group. ISBN 978-0-85484-117-2. OL 27024688M. Wikidata Q29581757.
  2. "Professor David Webb awarded CBE". 9 October 2020. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  3. Maxwell SR, Webb DJ (March 2006). "Clinical pharmacology—too young to die?". Lancet. 367 (9513): 799–800. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68316-5. PMID 16530562. S2CID 41932172.
  4. Aronson JK (May 2006). "A prescription for better prescribing". British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 61 (5): 487–91. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2125.2006.02649.x. PMC 1885053. PMID 16669839.
  5. Heaton A, Webb DJ, Maxwell SR (July 2008). "Undergraduate preparation for prescribing: the views of 2413 UK medical students and recent graduates". British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 66 (1): 128–34. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2125.2008.03197.x. PMC 2485268. PMID 18492128.
  6. Webb D (2009). "House of Commons - Health Committee - Written Evidence". Archived from the original on 25 April 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  7. Aronson JK (February 2010). "Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics in the UK--a great instauration". British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 69 (2): 111–7. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2125.2009.03604.x. PMC 2824471. PMID 20233173.
  8. Maxwell SR, Cameron IT, Webb DJ (February 2015). "Prescribing safety: ensuring that new graduates are prepared". Lancet. 385 (9968): 579–581. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62339-4. PMID 25706071. S2CID 205975461.
  9. Maxwell SR, Coleman JJ, Bollington L, Taylor C, Webb DJ (October 2017). "Prescribing Safety Assessment 2016: Delivery of a national prescribing assessment to 7343 UK final-year medical students". British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 83 (10): 2249–2258. doi:10.1111/bcp.13319. PMC 5595977. PMID 28449302.
  10. Maxwell SR, Webb DJ (July 2019). "Improving medication safety: focus on prescribers and systems". Lancet. 394 (10195): 283–285. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31526-0. hdl:20.500.11820/21f69a6b-555e-4ce1-a4f4-97fee487aad1. PMID 31272692. S2CID 205990918.
  11. Webb DJ, Cumming AM, Leckie BJ, Lever AF, Morton JJ, Robertson JI, et al. (December 1983). "Reduction of blood pressure in man with H-142, a potent new renin inhibitor". Lancet. 2 (8365–66): 1486–7. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(83)90824-3. PMID 6140568. S2CID 7225723.
  12. Haynes WG, Webb DJ (September 1994). "Contribution of endogenous generation of endothelin-1 to basal vascular tone". Lancet. 344 (8926): 852–4. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(94)92827-4. PMID 7916401. S2CID 23388587.
  13. Dhaun N, Webb DJ (August 2019). "Endothelins in cardiovascular biology and therapeutics". Nature Reviews. Cardiology. 16 (8): 491–502. doi:10.1038/s41569-019-0176-3. hdl:20.500.11820/70834c34-9404-4855-89c2-8a0fb1016ba8. PMID 30867577. S2CID 76664095.
  14. Wilkinson IB, Fuchs SA, Jansen IM, Spratt JC, Murray GD, Cockcroft JR, Webb DJ (December 1998). "Reproducibility of pulse wave velocity and augmentation index measured by pulse wave analysis". Journal of Hypertension. 16 (12 Pt 2): 2079–84. doi:10.1097/00004872-199816121-00033. PMID 9886900. S2CID 19246322.
  15. Oliver JJ, Webb DJ (April 2003). "Noninvasive assessment of arterial stiffness and risk of atherosclerotic events". Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 23 (4): 554–66. doi:10.1161/01.ATV.0000060460.52916.D6. PMID 12615661.
  16. Ben-Shlomo Y, Spears M, Boustred C, May M, Anderson SG, Benjamin EJ, et al. (February 2014). "Aortic pulse wave velocity improves cardiovascular event prediction: an individual participant meta-analysis of prospective observational data from 17,635 subjects". Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 63 (7): 636–646. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2013.09.063. PMC 4401072. PMID 24239664.
  17. "Professor David Webb". Academy of Medical Sciences. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  18. "Professor David John Webb FRSE - The Royal Society of Edinburgh". Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  19. "British Pharmacological Society: Honorary Fellows' Directory". Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  20. "No. 63135". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 2020. p. B11.
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