Tuesday 11th November 2025
JPAG Pharmaceutical Analysis Research and Career fair 2025
Royal Society of Chemistry, London
Based on the great success of the past years, JPAG presents this year's Pharmaceutical Analysis Symposium for postgraduate, undergraduate and early career scientists.

This event will provide the opportunity for you to listen to and hear the latest research being carried out by your peers. Early career scientists (undergraduate, postgraduate, industrial) conducting research in various areas of pharmaceutical science will showcase their work through oral and poster presentations with prizes for best posters and best podium presentations (including the prestigious Geoffrey Phillips Award).

A Careers Fair will also be running in parallel during the symposium and will provide delegates with an opportunity to have 1:1 consultations with career advisors from a selection of pharmaceutical employers and organisations including major pharmaceutical companies, contract research organisations and recruitment advisors. Perhaps your future employer will be here!

High profile Keynote speakers will provide inspirational and enlightening talks for delegates.

And additionally, the Royal Society of Chemistry's Careers Team will give a talk on 'Job Hunting in the Pharmaceutical Industry' and will conduct a 'CV Surgery' at the Careers Fair: these are one-to-one discussions to get invaluable advice on successful job applications. So be sure to bring your CV along!

Come along and network with peers, experienced academics, industrial scientists, high profile keynote presenters, and leading companies who are providing careers advice.

This is an event you will not want to miss!

Registration will open at 9:00am for a 9:30am start, and the day will end with a Careers and Networking drinks reception starting at 4:50pm.

Keynote speakers:


Dr James Heaton - GSK

Dr. James Heaton is an experienced and passionate separation sciences expert that currently holds the position of Scientific Leader of the Analytical and Purification Group within Molecular Modalities Discovery at GSK, Stevenage. Prior to joining GSK, he held several positions at Pfizer R&D UK Ltd in Sandwich, most recently as a Senior Principal Scientist, during which he’d led and delivered project enabling chromatographic methodologies across both drug substance and product development cycles. His work emphasises the use of novel computational techniques and physiochemically driven approaches to chromatographic method development strategies. Before joining industry, James earned his PhD from King’s College London under the supervision of Prof. Norman Smith comprising kinetic and practical studies of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) systems. He further enhanced his expertise through post-doctoral positions in hydrophilic interaction chromatographic (HILIC) with Prof. David McCalley at UWE and in metabolomics with Prof. Elaine Holmes and Dr. Isabel Garcia-Perez at Imperial College London. These formative roles provided him with a robust theoretical and practical foundation in chromatographic systems and detection techniques. He also holds an Honorary Lectureship at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, where he contributes to the MSc Pharmaceutical Analysis course—a program where he was once was a student and having completed his MSc research thesis under the supervision of Prof. Mel Euerby at Astra Zeneca.


Dr Caroline Copeland - King's College London

Dr Caroline Copeland leads a research group at King’s College London in the field of drug-related mortality and harm reduction. As Director of the National Programme on Substance Use Mortality (NPSUM), she has led extensive analyses of coroner-reported drug deaths to identify emerging trends and inform public health responses. Dr Copeland’s research integrates toxicology, epidemiology, and public policy, with a goal of understanding the pharmacological and societal drivers of drug-related mortality. She has published over 35 peer-reviewed papers since 2020, advancing knowledge on the role of prescription medications, novel psychoactive substances, and drug–drug interactions in overdose deaths. Alongside her research, she serves on the UK’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and is an expert consultant on novel psychoactive substances for the European Union Drug Agency, providing crucial evidence to shape national and international strategies on drug harm prevention.

Speakers:
Dr Caroline Copeland - King's College London
Dr James Heaton - GSK
Laura Woodward - RSC Careers Team