Blog » Professor John Callan

Professor John Callan

20th March 2013

Role: Leading Scientist

Company: University Of Ulster

Track Record: Leading scientist, Professor John Callan is the first holder of the prestigious Norbrook Chair in Pharmaceutical Science at the University of Ulster.

What does your job entail?
My job entails teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students on our pharmacy and pharmaceutical science degree programmes and undertaking research in pharmaceutical science.

The research side of the job involves writing proposals for funding to government bodies, charities and industry to support our research and to publish the research outcomes in scientific journals.

I have recently been appointed as the first holder of the Norbrook Chair in Pharmaceutical Science at the University of Ulster.

Renowned NI pharmaceuticals company, Norbrook Laboratories, has partnered with the University to establish the endowed Chair with a £1m donation.

Over the course of five years, I will provide research leadership and establish internationally competitive agenda-setting research, focusing on the development of new, targeted therapies for the treatment of disease.

This Chair will establish the Norbrook Laboratories Professorship within the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University’s Coleraine campus and will directly contribute to the University’s Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, which is ranked top for research power by the UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), 2008.

I also directly supervise a team of researchers working on various projects. All areas are equally enjoyable.

Is it 9-5?
Not strictly. I tend to be in the office from at least nine-to-five, particularly during term-time and will often do some work in the evenings and weekends.

How did you get into this line of work?
I have always enjoyed teaching and tutored A-Level chemistry during my PhD. Similarly, I have always had a passion for undertaking research and the only occupation where you can really do both is academia.

Toward the end of my postdoctoral fellowship in 2004, I was offered another fellowship at the Institute of Fluorescence in the USA.

Around the same time, I was also offered a lectureship at Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen, which I accepted.

Outline your career to date?
My first academic job was as a lecturer in Pharmaceutical Chemistry in the School of Pharmacy at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.

I stayed at RGU for five years and thoroughly enjoyed working there, but an opportunity came up to move to the University of Ulster as senior lecturer in the new School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, in 2009, which I accepted.

I was then promoted to Reader in 2010 and Professor of Pharmacy in August 2012 and have now been appointed to the founding Norbrook Chair in Pharmaceutical Science.

This position will enable me to devote more time to research.

Tell us about your qualifications/training
My early education was at St Mary’s Boys’ Primary School in Strabane and then St Columb’s College in Londonderry.

I completed my BSc (Hons) degree in Chemistry at QUB in 1995 and my PhD in Polymer Chemistry also from Queen’s in 1999.

I then worked in the pharmaceutical industry for four years before returning to Queen’s as a research fellow in the group of Professor AP DeSliva in 2003, where I stayed until moving to RGU in 2004.

What qualities are required for your job — personal and professional?
A solid understanding of your own subject area, a willingness to learn new subject areas and an ability to prioritise what’s important. Good communication skills are also vital as you are constantly interacting with students, colleagues and the public.

What are the biggest challenges and rewards of your work?
From a teaching perspective, the challenge is to constantly ensure that the courses we deliver are the best they can possibly be, so our students get the highest standard of education and training they deserve. It is also extremely rewarding to see a student finally grasp a particular concept they had previously been struggling with, and to see students that you have previously taught being successful in their chosen career.

From a research perspective, there is a constant challenge to secure funding to support our research, which in the current climate is proving more and more difficult.

I am delighted to be appointed to the Norbrook Chair and look forward to working closely with the company.

How do you spend your free time?
I spend time with my family and play golf when I get the opportunity.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.

I’ve represented Ireland at under 21 level and Ulster at senior level in golf, and have played with the likes of Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Peter Lawrie and Bradley Dredge.

Who has inspired you most in your life?
My parents have been hugely inspirational and have supported me in everything I have done. Professionally, Professor AP DeSilva who taught me as an undergraduate and later became my postdoctoral supervisor, has also been extremely supportive and inspirational.

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