RPS Honours and Fellowship

Our members deserve recognition for their great work in pharmacy. 

That's why we present our RPS awards for achievement and dedication across the profession.

If a pharmacist you know deserves to be recognised and lauded for their work, then nominate them below for an RPS Honour or Fellowship.

• The Hanbury Medal
• The Harrison Medal
• The Barnett Award
• OPERA (Outstanding Pharmacy Early-career Researcher Award)
• The RPS Charter Award 
• RPS Fellowship and Honorary Fellowship
• The Daniel Thomas Award

We're also linked to the Maplethorpe Fellowship.

The Hanbury Medal

For high excellence in the prosecution or promotion of original research in the Natural History and Chemistry of Drugs.

Awarded in memory of British botanist and pharmacologist Daniel Hanbury, who died in 1875.

Nominations for the Hanbury Medal are not currently open.

Find out more about the Hanbury Medal.

Who is eligible?

Nominees for the Hanbury Medal must be:

• Distinguished pharmacy professionals with a long career involving pharmaceutical research
• Significant contributors to pharmaceutical science
• A recognised authority within pharmacy
• Have had a substantial, positive, and lasting impact on the field
• Actively encouraging juniors to further their knowledge
• An RPS member.

Any questions about eligibility or nominations? Contact the RPS Science & Research team

The Harrison Medal

Nominations for the 2024 Harrison Medal are now closed.

The Harrison Medal is awarded for outstanding contributions in advancing pharmaceutical science.

Set up in memory of pharmaceutical chemist Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Frank Harrison, who died in 1918, the Harrison Medal is awarded every two years by the RPS’ Chief Scientist. 

See the list of previous award winners.

Who is eligible?

Nominees for the Harrison Medal must be:

• Having a substantial, positive, and lasting impact on the field
• Established in pharmaceutical research and mid-way through their research career
• Actively advancing the pharmaceutical sciences
• Actively encouraging juniors and peers to further their knowledge
• An RPS member.

We encourage nominations from all sectors of the pharmacy profession, as long as the individual is able to meet the listed criteria.

Find out more about the Harrison Medal.

Any questions about eligibility or nominations? Contact the RPS Science & Research team

The 2024 Harrison Award winner

Congratulations to Professor Ryan Donnelly, the 2024 winner of the RPS Harrison Award, for his outstanding contribution to advancing pharmaceutical science.

Professor Donnelly is Chair in Pharmaceutical Technology at Queen’s University Belfast’s School of Pharmacy and Director of Research.

Read the news story.

The Barnett Award

Dr Adam Pattison Rathbone announced as 2025 Barnett Award winner

The 2025 winner of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society is Dr Adam Pattison Rathbone, in recognition of his exceptional commitment to mentorship and professional development in pharmacy.

A clinical academic at Newcastle University, for over 15 years, Adam has developed pharmacy education and supported the profession, leading innovations in clinical teaching, placements and case-based learning, and publishing widely on new approaches to pharmacy education.

Dr Adam Pattison Rathbone, said, “It is a real honour to have been nominated for this award. Nina was an amazing inspiration to many pharmacists, including me. I hope I can continue to support others and help as many people as she did throughout her career. Thank you to those who nominated me and to all the mentees, mentors and colleagues I’ve been able to work with. It is only the support that I have received myself, from many different people, that has allowed me to go on to help and support others the way I do, so thank you.”

The RPS Barnett Award is named in memory of Professor Nina Barnett, who died in September 2023. It is awarded to RPS members who have made outstanding contributions to the growth and development of the pharmacy profession.

The award celebrates individuals who have dedicated their careers to supporting, mentoring, and advancing others, and have instilled a culture of professional development excellence within the profession.

Any questions about the Barnett Award? Email our friendly Education Team: [email protected]

Outstanding Pharmacy Early-career Researcher Award

For early-career stage researchers who have made major contributions to high-quality research.

Our Outstanding Pharmacy Early-career Researcher Award (OPERA) celebrates contributions by up-and-coming researchers to the advancement of the science of medicines and clinical pharmacy.

It was launched in 2022 by Professor Parastou Donyai, RPS Chief Scientist, with the Pharmaceutical Journal.

Previous OPERA winners

2024 - Sion Scott, a lecturer in behavioural medicine and lead postgraduate research tutor at the University of Leicester

2023 - Stephen Kelly, a lecturer in pharmaceutical microbiomics at the Queen’s University, Belfast School of Pharmacy.

RPS Charter Award

For work done by an individual ‘for the Society and the wider profession’ in promoting the interests of pharmacy at an outstanding level.

The RPS Charter Award is only awarded if there is a suitable candidate. The Award is not presented every year.

Who is eligible?

Any Member or Fellow of the Society is eligible for nomination, except current Board and Assembly members, who have been ineligible for nomination/receipt of the award whilst holding office since March 2020.

A panel consisting of the President, Treasurer, and the three National Board Chairs assess all nominations and, with input from the Chief Executive and/or Chair of the Panel of Fellows as appropriate, agree the recipient.

How to nominate

Nominations for the RPS Charter Award can only be made by members of our Pharmacy Boards or Assembly.

Prior to the Charter Award, RPS awarded the Charter Medal. Find out more about the RPS Charter Award and Medal.

RPS Fellowship

For RPS members who have attained distinction in their pharmacy career.

Who is eligible?

To become a Fellow, a member must have:

• Made an outstanding original contribution to the advancement of pharmaceutical knowledge
• Attained distinction in the science, practice, profession or history of pharmacy
• Demonstrably have gone above and beyond in their day job.

How to nominate

RPS Fellows are nominated by their peers, and chosen by our distinguished Panel of Fellows. We encourage nominations for pharmacists from all sectors of the profession.

Nominations can be submitted at any time, but our Assembly-appointed Panel of Fellows (which assesses all nominations for new Fellows) meets just twice a year to review nominations.

The next closing date for nominations is Wednesday, 23 April 2025.

For more details, or to nominate someone for a Fellowship, visit our RPS Fellows page.

RPS Honorary Fellowship

Honorary Fellowships are for individuals not normally eligible for RPS membership.

In 1953, the RPS was authorised to award Honorary Fellowships to individuals through a supplementary Charter. The first recipient of the Honorary Fellowship was Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who was given the award by then president E. A. Brocklehurst in May 1955.

Who is eligible?

To be awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the RPS, an individual must, in the opinion of the Assembly, have:

• Attained distinction in a particular aspect or aspects of pharmacy
• Made a distinguishing and distinctive contribution to pharmacy or the RPS
• Distinguished themselves in any of the branches of knowledge referred to in the objects of the Society
• Achieved eminence in public life.

How to nominate

Nominations can only be made by RPS members who sit on the RPS Assembly, National Boards, or other governing bodies. Nominations must be kept confidential.

To submit a nomination, write to the President at [email protected]

To be considered, nominations must include:

• A CV or ideally full biographical details (two pages max) of the nominee, and the reasons why the individual is worthy to be an Honorary Fellow; in particular, explain how the nominee has met at least one of the above criteria
• A CV or biography summary and citation of max 500 words
• Support from two RPS members.

The President will then discuss the proposed nomination with the CEO, and circulate this to the Assembly for a final decision.

Daniel Thomas Award

For dedicated service to pharmacy.

The Daniel Thomas Award recognises dedicated service by RPS members who have lost their lives while working in pharmacy.

The award was first presented in November 2023, and the first recipient was RPS Fellow Nina Barnett, who dedicated her life to coaching and mentoring members of the healthcare family and was an instrumental part in developing the RPS mentoring programme.

Who is eligible?

The Daniel Thomas Award is open to any RPS members who have lost their lives while at work.

How to nominate

To nominate someone for the RPS Daniel Thomas Award:

1. Email your submission(s) to [email protected]
2. Include name, photograph, date of birth and a short biography (max 100-words) for public use
3. Nominations must be sent or endorsed by an immediate family member
4. This award can only be given to RPS members who die while working as pharmacists.¹

Recipients of the award will be announced at our Annual Conference in November. Recipients families will receive a personal letter and card acknowledging their loved one’s dedication to the profession.

Find out more about the Daniel Thomas Award.

¹ If you feel a submission meets the spirit rather than the letter of this guidance, please get in touch; this is an inclusive honour, and we are happy to discuss personal circumstances.