Nominee Stories

Sam Salek
Professor of Pharmacoepidemiology & Regulatory Science, University of Hertfordshire
 
Lifetime Achievement Award winner 2025

How did you feel when you were nominated?

When I was nominated, it was amazing news, something that I felt was very serene. And of course it goes without saying, I was incredibly honoured to be informed that I was nominated. This meant that I was among those people who had been nominated for this Award previously, that I had certainly looked up to in the past and admired in the world of regulatory science and regulatory affairs. I was privileged to intimately know some of those people in terms of working relationships and the friendships that had continued. Some of them are sadly no longer with us, but those were the people that certainly pioneered in regulatory science in the UK and beyond, and were instrumental in the development and establishment of what used to be BIRA before it was changed so TOPRA and became an international organisation. So that was an amazing feeling to find out I was nominated.

What does this recognition mean to you, both personally and professionally?

TOPRA has been an organisation that has been close to my heart from the beginning and that goes back to 40 years ago. So being recognised as a lifetime achievement winner, I felt that I have truly become part of the family of TOPRA. I always felt that, but this really signified the moment this happened. It’s an enormous privilege and honour to be counted among those people who were past recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award. And I certainly will go on and cherish this honour. 

This is also dedicated to those people who have shaped my profession and shaped where I am today and all those things that we have achieved together with TOPRA. TOPRA will certainly continue to be part of my life, continuing both with the University of Hertfordshire as well as other ventures that I do with TOPRA, to continue to have it as part of my professional and personal life.

How did you feel when you won?

It is really hard to describe the moment that I found out that I was successful in receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. It was partly realising I'm now at the age of being seen as one of the grandfathers of the regulatory science industry! But also the feeling of fulfilment and knowing that I have been able to make a difference. With all 60+ PhD students that I have helped working in different aspects of regulatory science and putting the patients at the centre of their activities in terms of access to new medicine and closing the gap between the first market that the drug is launched and those other markets in the low and middle income countries. So all of that makes me realise that I have been able to make a difference.

I must say that this recognition has certainly made me more enthusiastic about what I do. All the activity that I am still involved in, I am now doing with with much more enthusiasm since the being awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from TOPRA.

What would you say to encourage people to nominate their friends and colleagues for the awards?

I have witnessed many young people and also those who have been working in the regulatory space for some years gain an identity through the TOPRA Awards. It gives people a sense of purpose. Nominating someone is an important thing for us and all the people who are responsible for managing different teams to do within the regulatory affairs community, to seize on the opportunities of the TOPRA Awards and really think seriously about nominating their colleagues.

I have been privileged enough to feel the joy of just being nominated for any of these Awards. My plea to all the people who work in regulatory sciences, whether you are managing a large team or a small team or just a colleague that you work alongside with, don't think that you’re too junior to nominate somebody else, or even too senior to consider myself. All you need to do is just spend an hour here and there and think about who you think is worthy of any of those TOPRA Awards and nominate them. 

What advice would you give to someone who is aspiring to win such an award in the future?

I would say that anyone should think that they are worthy to be nominated or even be a recipient of any of the TOPRA Awards. You should not be thinking whether you are worthy of it or not, because the work that you do to be nominated is really dedication and the passion that one shows in whatever they do on a daily basis.
What really drives us in our profession is the passion that we have for the work that we do. 

I have seen those people who show passion and dedication in what they do on a daily basis and come to work really looking forward to starting their work every day are those who really continue to become successful and go from strength to strength. The TOPRA Awards are there to give those individuals a professional identity and a sense of purpose. And that is when you realise that having a passion is the central, most important part of everything we do.