Our Trustees
Malcolm Harrison (Chair)
Malcolm is the Chair of Pharmacy Research UK, having first joined the board as a trustee in 2016, and becoming chair in 2021.
Malcolm is the Chief Executive of the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA). The CCA is the trade association for large pharmacy operators in England, Scotland and Wales. Previously Malcolm worked as part of the Walgreens Boots Alliance International Healthcare Public Affairs team. In 2016 Malcolm became a Fellow of the NHS Innovation Accelerator programme, working with NHS England and the Academic Health Science Networks to develop new ways in which innovation and technology in pharmacy can be brought to market at scale within the NHS.
Malcolm previously worked in a variety of roles within Boots UK both as a pharmacist and within retail operations. Malcolm has been a registered pharmacist for over 20 years and is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. He holds a CIPR Diploma in Public Affairs.
Professor Brian Edwards
Brian is Emeritus Professor of Health Care Development at the University of Sheffield where he was Dean of the School for Health and Related Research. Prior to this he had an extended career in health services management which included the management of a large teaching hospital and two NHS regions [Trent and West Midlands]. He was a member of the NHS Management Board and Chair of a large mental health Trust.
He was President of the Hospital Committee for Europe for three years. He continues to add to his extensive writings on health policy which include the history of the NHS. His master classes on health management and ethics continue to be very popular. Brian was previously a Trustee of the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust.
Raymond Anderson
Raymond is a pharmacist, running two busy community pharmacies in Portadown in Northern Ireland. Alongside this he has held a wide range of professional and non-executive roles, including as President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland and President of the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association.
He currently sits on the European Medicines Agency Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee, appointed as a healthcare professional representative by the European Commission. He had also held a number of non-executive roles outside the world of pharmacy. He joined the Pharmacy Research UK trustee board in 2019.
Susan Ashelby
Sue was a member of the Pharmaceutical Trust for Educational and Charitable Objects (PTECO), and became a founder trustee for PRUK on its formation in 2012. She worked in the hospital sector as a clinical pharmacist and went on to teach at the Cardiff University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In addition she has experience as a pharmaceutical adviser in general practice.
Professor Rachel Elliott
Rachel is a professor in Health Economics at the University of Manchester. Rachel trained as an industrial pharmacist and was one of the first critical care specialist pharmacists in the UK. Her research focus is the application of applied health economics and economic evaluation to medicines policy, prescribing and consumption. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
Tase Oputu
Tase joined the PRUK board in 2023, having worked in the NHS and hospital pharmacy for over 27 years. Tase’s roles have included working in Tanzania with Voluntary Services Overseas, public health strategy with the Healthcare Commission and several senior hospital pharmacy manager roles in hospitals in London and the South East.
She is currently the Lead Pharmacist for Medicines Commissioning and Pathways at Barts Health NHS Trust, and sits on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s English Pharmacy Board and Assembly.
Tase is passionate about Equality, Diversity & Inclusion. She is a graduate of the Ready Now NHS Leadership Academy programme for senior BME leaders. She has chaired BME staff networks at Newham Hospital and Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. Tase was a school governor for four years.
Jess Purkiss
Jess joined the Board of Trustees in March 2022. Her career pathway changed with the help of a PRUK Bursary. Working as a Community Pharmacist for 20 years she used the catalyst of the bursary and the knowledge she learnt to become research pharmacist lead and a member of the Research Governance Board for a mental health trust.
A specialist in elderly care, frailty and deprescribing, she completed a Masters in Research and Leadership and is passionate about the role of pharmacists and their skills specifically with regards to roles in genomics and individualised care. She now works in a primary care network to improve the care of elderly people in care homes where she plans to use her skills for individualised care of the elderly and frail patients.
Ravinder Singh Chahil
Ravinder is currently the Senior Vice-President and General Counsel of Zealand Pharma A/S a Danish based biotech specialising in therapeutic peptides. Ravinder brings international experience in intellectual property law in the life science sector, with expertise in litigation, licensing, mergers, and acquisitions. Additionally, he has experience with financing, securitization, and capital markets. Prior to his in-house roles as Director of Intellectual Property at Polpharma SA and Actavis Group Hf, he worked for 10 years in private practice in London, practicing contentious and non-contentious intellectual property law. He has an undergraduate degree (BSc Hons) in Pharmacology from the University of Leeds, was called to the Bar in 1992 (Middle Temple) and requalified as a solicitor in 2002 (England & Wales).
Dr Dimitri Varsamis
Dimitri Varsamis works at NHS England on health strategy and policy. He
has worked in a variety of roles across the healthcare sector, as well as NHS
England he has held roles at the Care Quality Commission, the Healthcare
Commission and a number of health trusts. He has a background in
academic research, as well as previous experience in non-executive and
advisory roles. He joined the Pharmacy Research UK trustee board in 2019.
