Journal of IiME Volume 4 Issue 1 www.investinme.org SPEAKERS and ABSTRACTS of the 5th INVEST in ME INTERNATIONAL ME/CFS CONFERENCE Our 2007 conference was spread over two days, as a trial of developing the conference into a larger event going forward. The job of conference chair needs to be professionally performed. It became evident then that we should consider inviting a known professional to chair the conferences in order to provide greater depth and some impartiality during the conference day. Our intention was also to enable a wider awareness of the conference and the information provided. Invest in ME approached Professor Malcolm Hooper to chair the major Invest in ME conference of 2008 which dealt with sub grouping of ME. For 2009 we invited Professor Jonathan Brostoff of King’s College to chair. Both chairmen performed excellently and enhanced both conference days. This year we again welcome back Professor Hooper. Conference Chair: Professor Malcolm Hooper Emeritus Professor of Medicinal Chemistry Sunderland University, UK Professor Malcolm Hooper has served at many UK universities as well as in India and Tanzania. He has inaugurated links with Indian research institutions and universities and celebrated 25 years of productive and on-going links which have, particularly, involved the design and development of new drugs for tropical diseases and an exploration of natural products associated with Ayurvedic medicine. He has published some 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals in the field of medicinal chemistry together with major reviews on the Chemotherapy of Leprosy, the Chemistry of Isatogens. He edited one book on the Chemotherapy of Tropical Diseases. He acted as a referee for a number of important journals and served on one editorial board. He has served on committees of the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC). Professor Hooper is a member of a number of learned bodies, including the Royal Chemical Society, the British Pharmacological Society and the Society for Medicines Research, where he has Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) served on the committee for 12 years and served as Chairman for 2 years. This involved the planning and organising of major national and international conferences. He was appointed Chief Scientific Advisor to the Gulf Veterans Association (GVA) and accepted by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as their nominee on the Independent Panel established to consider the possible interactions between Vaccines and NAPS tablets. He has also served on the Gulf Support Group convened at the Royal British Legion. His involvement with the GVA brought contact with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/M.E.) and related disorders. Gulf War Illness/Syndrome (GWI/S) has much in common with M.E./CFS. He is Patron of the Sunderland and South Shields M.E. Association and a member of the John Richardson Research Group, which includes eminent physicians and scientists performing research into CFS/M.E.. He has addressed meetings of the Pesticide Exchange Network and consulted to the Organo-Phosphate Information Network (OPIN). He worked with the Autism Research Unit (ARU) at the University of Sunderland for over 20 years, leading to involvement in biochemical studies to offer help, support and treatment for people with autism. This has also lead to research and urineanalysis of Indolyl-Acroyl-Glycine (IAG), which is an unusual metabolite found in excess of 90% of people examined in different groups of GWV, M.E./CFS and Organo-Phosphate (OP) poisoning sufferers. He served on the General Synod of the Church of England from 1970 to 1980 and he is a Christian Lay Leader, Preacher and Teacher. He has been involved in three environmental campaigns: • Toxic waste dumping, including campaign against sewage in the sea presenting to the Select Committee on Sewage Treatment and Disposal • GWI/S, presenting to the Defence Select Committee • M.E./CFS and OP/Pesticide poisoning Invest in ME invited Professor Hooper to chair the 3rd Invest in ME International ME/CFS Conference 2008. For additional articles by Professor Hooper on the IiME web site see http://tinyurl.com/2wkbaar Page 45/56
46 Publizr Home