The Biosciences Federation (BSF) was a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

body formed in 2002.

Function

The Federation aimed to unite the

bioscience ''BioScience'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. It was established in 1964 and was preceded by the ''AIBS Bulletin'' (1951–1 ...

community over issues of common interest that related to both research and teaching. These organisations are a key component of the UK's

knowledge economy The knowledge economy, or knowledge-based economy, is an economic system in which the production of goods and services is based principally on knowledge-intensive activities that contribute to advancement in technical and scientific innovation. ...

. It also aimed to influence the formulation of UK policy relating to biosciences, and to promote public debate on ethical issues. Its interests were in using knowledge gained in research to benefit society, and the impact of legislation on the life sciences industry.

Events

Each November, it would hold the ''Life Sciences Careers Conference''.

Structure

During October 2009, the Biosciences Federation was merged with the

Institute of Biology The Institute of Biology (IoB) was a professional body for biologists, primarily those working in the United Kingdom. The Institute was founded in 1950 by the Biological Council: the then umbrella body for Britain's many learned biological societie ...

(IoB) to form the

Society of Biology The Royal Society of Biology (RSB), previously called the Society of Biology, is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom created to advance the interests of biology in academia, industry, education, and research. Fo ...

(which boasts some 80,000 members). The last president of the Federation was Dame Nancy Rothwell (2006–9); Richard Dyer, former director of the

Babraham Institute The Babraham Institute is a life sciences research institution focussing on healthy ageing. The Babraham Institute is based on the Babraham Research Campus, partly occupying a former manor house, but also laboratory and science facility buil ...

, was the chief executive officer (2006–9). Sir

Tom Blundell Sir Thomas Leon Blundell, (born 7 July 1942) is a British biochemist, structural biologist, and science administrator. He was a member of the team of Dorothy Hodgkin that solved in 1969 the first structure of a protein hormone, insulin. Blun ...

was a former president (2004–6).

Affiliated organisations in the federation

From 2007, the Biosciences Federation encompassed 51 member or associated organisations that covered the entire range of life sciences; these included *

Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) is the trade association for over 120 companies in the UK producing prescription medicines for humans, founded in 1891.

Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) is a British organization founded in 1936 to promote ethology and the study of animal behaviour. ASAB holds conferences, offers grants, and publishes a peer-reviewed journal, ''Animal Behaviou ...

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () (AZ) is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, UK. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...

* Biochemical Society * British Andrology Society * British Association for Psychopharmacology *

British Ecological Society The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest ...

British Neuroscience Association The British Neuroscience Association (BNA) is a scientific society with around 2,500 members. Starting out as an informal gathering of scientists meeting at the Black Horse Public House in London to discuss brain-related topics (the 'London Black ...

British Pharmacological Society The British Pharmacological Society is the primary UK learned society for Pharmacology, pharmacologists, concerned with research into drugs and the ways in which they work. Members work in academia, industry, regulatory agencies, and the health se ...

* British Society of Animal Science * British Society for Cell Biology *

British Society for Developmental Biology The British Society for Developmental Biology (BSDB) is a scientific society promoting developmental biology research; it is open to anyone with an interest in the subject who agrees with the principles of the Society. History The British Society f ...

* British Society for Immunology * British Society for Neuroendocrinology * British Society for Proteome Research * British Society for Medical Mycology * British Toxicological Society * Experimental Psychology Society * Genetics Society * Institute of Animal Technology *

* Institute of Horticulture * Laboratory Animal Science Association *

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

* Nutrition Society * Physiological Society *

Royal Microscopical Society The Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. It was founded in 1839 as the Microscopical Society of London making it the oldest organisation of its kind in the world. In 1866, the Society gained it ...

Society for Endocrinology The Society for Endocrinology is an international membership organisation and registered charity representing scientists, clinicians and nurses who work with hormones. The Society was established in 1946, and currently has approximately 3,000 mem ...

Society for Applied Microbiology Applied Microbiology International, formally known as the Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM), is the oldest microbiology society in the UK founded in 1931. Its objective is to advance for the benefit of the public the science of microbiology ...

Society for Experimental Biology The Society for Experimental Biology is a learned society for animal, cell and plant biologists. It was founded in 1923 at Birkbeck College to "promote the art and science of experimental biology in all its branches". It aims to demonstrate the im ...

* Society for General Microbiology * UK Environmental Mutagen Society *

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...

Activities

The Federation responded to government consultations on biology-related issues; these responses were published on the Federation's website. It also distributed science policy news to a range of organisations that included universities, research councils, pharmaceutical companies and government bodies. The Federation hosted several life sciences careers conferences and symposia on issues such as

open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...

publishing. It also supported the annual award for scientific communication.

References

External links

Society of Biology homepage
{{Authority control Biology organisations based in the United Kingdom Life sciences industry Organisations based in Cambridge Organizations established in 2002 Organizations disestablished in 2009 Professional associations based in the United Kingdom 2002 establishments in the United Kingdom