We Are
our Purpose & Mission
The HSBCP is a non-profit, non-governmental organization supported by membership fees and donations. The objectives of the Society are to promote and advance the discipline of basic and clinical pharmacology by supporting research in the field, encouraging college graduates to pursue a career in pharmacology, facilitating national and international collaborations, and contributing to pharmacology education and teaching at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
HSBCP is also involved in disseminating authoritative information to the pharmacology community and to the public. Both the Society as an organization and its individual members are committed to working together with colleagues worldwide to help shape the future of Pharmacology in the face of the constant scientific and societal changes that our discipline faces, directing special emphasis on the fostering of a new generation of pharmacologists who are well-trained to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.
The General Assembly elects the Executive Committee of the HBCSP for two-year terms. Elections take place at the end of the biannual symposia of HSBCP, and only active members who have fulfilled their obligations to the Society are eligible to vote. The Committee consists of seven members, including the president, vice-president, secretary-general, treasurer, and three councilors. All the executive boards of the HSP/HSBCP society can be found Below:
Board of Directors
Faculty of Medicine,
School of Health Sciences
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Faculty of Pharmacy,
School of Health Sciences
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Faculty of Pharmacy,
School of Health Sciences,
University of Patras
School of Medicine
University of Crete
–
Translational Research Centre
Pharmacology-Pharmacotechnology
Biomedical Research Foundation
of the Academy of Athens
Faculty of Medicine,
School of Health Sciences
University of Thessaly
History
The journey of Greek pharmacology
The first Professor of Pharmacology was Dr. George Ioakeimoglou, who was elected Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Athens Medical School in 1928. However, the initiative to create a Society for Pharmacology in Greece is credited to Professor Marios Marselos from the University of Ioannina. While attending an IUPHAR meeting, it became clear that although Greek pharmacologists could attend IUPHAR scientific events, for Greece to join the Union, a national society was required. The idea to form a Society was greeted with enthusiasm by two other colleagues attending that meeting, Christina Spyraki and Zeta Papadopoulou-Daifoti, from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, who were instrumental in getting the Society off the ground. After a long preparation period, the Hellenic Society of Pharmacology (HSP) was officially founded on March 29, 1984, by 21 pharmacologists (Table 1), all of whom were faculty members at Greek Medical Schools. Around the same time, several new Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Veterinary Science, and Nursing were being created throughout the country. In these newly founded academic organizations, pharmacology teaching and research groups emerged.
Today, there are 15 Pharmacology Laboratories in universities
Laboratories of Pharmacology in the Hellenic Universities
| University | Laboratory | Faculty / School / Institute | Establishment Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National and Kapodistrian University of Athens | Pharmacology | Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences | 1845* |
| Pharmacology | Faculty of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences | 2015 | |
| Aristotle University of Thessaloniki | Pharmacology Α | Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences | 1962** |
| Pharmacology | Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, School of Health Sciences | 1987 | |
| Pharmacology | Faculty of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences | 1987 | |
| Clinical Pharmacology | Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences | 2016** | |
| University of Ioannina | General Pharmacology | Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences | 1980 |
| University of Patras | General Pharmacology | Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences | 1983 |
| Molecular Pharmacology | Faculty of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences | 1995 | |
| University of Crete | Pharmacology | Medical School | 1987 |
| Democritus University of Thrace | Pharmacology | Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences | 1993 |
| University of Thessaly | Pharmacology | Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences | 1993 |
| Clinical Pharmacology | Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences | 1999 | |
| Pharmacology and Toxicology | Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, School of Health Sciences | 2000*** | |
| University of Peloponnese | Biochemistry, Occupational Physiology, Physiology, and Pharmacology | Faculty of Nutritional Science and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences | 2022 |
*The independent Laboratory of Pharmacology was attached to the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 1932. It was named the Laboratory of Experimental Pharmacology until 2007, when it was renamed the Laboratory of Pharmacology.
**The Laboratory of Experimental Pharmacology, as named till 1992, was divided into the A and B Laboratories of Pharmacology in 2009. In 2016, the Laboratory of Pharmacology B was renamed to the Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology.
***Derived from merging the Laboratories of Pharmacology and Toxicology, both established in 1996.
The Society was renamed in 2013 to the Hellenic Society of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (HSBCP), emphasizing the cooperative work between basic and clinical researchers interested in the discipline of pharmacology within a common organization, bringing basic research, translational efforts, and clinical practice closer together, thus offering an environment that encourages synergy and collaboration in pharmacological research.
HSBCP encounters approximately 200 active members from academic laboratories, clinics, and research centres, as well as a limited number of scientists working in Greek pharmaceutical companies at local branches or multinational companies.
Table 1. Founder members of the Hellenic Society of Pharmacology, as presented in the HSP’s statute, which was ratified in 1985.
| Name | University |
|---|---|
| Dionisios Varonos | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| Zoi Papadopoulou-Daifoti | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| Christina Spyraki | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| Athanasios Paradellis | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki |
| Constantinos Triantafyllides | Democritus University of Thrace |
| Vasileios Kokkas | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki |
| Vassiliki Mirtsou-Fidani | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki |
| Maria Giala | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki |
| Nikolaos Βalamoutsos | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki |
| Michael Kouvaris | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| Panagiota Galanopoulou | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| Charikleia Karageorgiou | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| George Papadopoulos | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| Christina Tesseromati | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| Anastasia Sfikakis | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| Marios Marselos | University of Ioannina |
| Michael Maragoudakis | University of Patras |
| Andreas Delitheos | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| John Papadopoulos | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| Nikolaos Sitaras | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens |
| George Logaras | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki |
The first elected president of HSP was Professor Marios Marselos, and the first scientific event of the Society took place in 1987 in Athens.
However, during most of the 1980s and 1990s, the HSP was able to sponsor only a limited range of activities, including a few independent and joint meetings with other scientific societies. With the leadership of Professor M.Ε. Maragoudakis of the University of Patras, the 1st Panhellenic Congress of Pharmacology was held in Athens in 2000. The following year, a national meeting on drug safety was held. These events signalled the beginning of a new era for the Society. Since 2000, a Congress of Pharmacology has been held every even year, with the participation of 5-10 international speakers. In alternate years, a smaller one-day meeting (symposium) is sponsored, during which the General Assembly and the elections for the executive board members of the society take place. The HSBCP also organizes international meetings as well as national and international seminars and summer schools. All the HSP/HSBCP conferences and symposia are presented under the society’s activities.
01.
Members of HSP/HSBCP who served as Presidents of the Hellenic National Organization for Medicines:
02.
Members of HSP/HSBCP who served as members of the Board of the Hellenic National Organization for Medicines:
03.
Members of HSP/HSBCP who served as chairpersons of the Committees for the evaluation and reimbursement of medicines in Greece:
Museum of Pharmacology
The idea of establishing
a Museum of Pharmacology
originated with Associate Professor I. St. Papadopoulos of the Faculty of Medicine at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and the project began in 1998 within the Laboratory of Pharmacology.
The museum was completed in 2003 through the contributions of Professors Panagiota Galanopoulou, Charis Karageorgiou, and Charis Liapis.
profile of HSBCP
Since its foundation, HSBCP has been a member of the Federation of European Pharmacological Societies (EPHAR) and the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR), appointing representatives to the General Assemblies of these international organizations.
HSBCP has also maintained membership in the European Association for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (EACPT) since 2006. Its delegations actively participate in and present research at all major events in the field, including the EPHAR Congress, the EACPT Congress, and the World Congress of Pharmacology. Additionally, several HSBCP members serve on European committees that influence drug approval and policy.
Members of the HSBCP who have represented the HSBCP in international pharmacology meetings and committees.
| Delegate/Councillor | Meeting/Society |
| Marios Marselos | IUPHAR Drug Metabolism Section, councillor, 1998-2002 |
| Charis Liapi | EPHAR Council Meeting 2002 delegate, San Francisco, USA |
| Charis Liapi | IUPHAR Council Meeting 2002 delegate, San Francisco, USA |
| Charis Liapi | EPHAR Council Meeting 2003 delegate, Porto, Portugal |
| Charis Liapi | EPHAR Council Meeting 2006 delegate, Peking, China |
| Vangelis Manolopoulos | EACPT Council Meeting delegate, 2007-2011 |
| Chrysanthos Zamboulis | EACPT Council Meeting delegate, 2007-2011 |
| Charis Liapi | EPHAR executive committee councillor, 2006-2012 |
| Evangelia Papadimitriou | EPHAR Council Meeting delegate, 2010 |
| Vangelis Manolopoulos | EACPT Council Meeting delegate, 2011-2015 |
| Dimitrios Kouvelas | EACPT Council Meeting delegate, 2011-2015 |
| Charis Liapi | EPHAR Honorary Auditor, 2012-2016 |
| Katerina Tyligada | IUPHAR Immunopharmacology Section, Treasurer 2012-2018 |
| Andreas Papapetropoulos | EPHAR, Secretary General 2016-2020 |
| Katerina Tyligada | IUPHAR Immunopharmacology Section, Vice President 2018-2022 |
| Vangelis Manolopoulos | EACPT Council Meeting delegate, 2019-2023 |
| George Papazisis | EACPT Council Meeting delegate, 2019-2023 |
| Andreas Papapetropoulos | EPHAR, President 2022-2024 |
| Evangelia Papadimitriou | EPHAR Council Meeting delegate, 2023 |
| Evangelia Papadimitriou | EPHAR Council Meeting delegate, 2024 |
| George Papazisis | EPHAR Council Meeting delegate, 2025 |
| Christina Dalla | European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECN), Councillor 2025-2028 |