Dr Bloomfield has been elected to the Council of the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) as Secretary for External Clinical Affairs.
Psychopharmacology is the science of how medicines and drugs affect the mind and behaviour. The British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) is a learned society and registered charity. The BAP promotes research and education in psychopharmacology and related areas, and brings together people in academia, health services, and industry. Formed in 1974, it is the largest such national association in Europe, and the second largest in the world.
Dr Bloomfield’s interest in psychopharmacology began as a Physiological Sciences undergraduate at Oxford where he took finals in systems and behavioural neurosciences, and pharmacology. His PhD at Imperial College London with Professor Oliver Howes was on how the brain chemical dopamine is involved in psychosis. During this he developed strong collaborative links with Professor Valerie Curran and colleagues in the UCL Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit. Throughout his clinical research fellowship he remained clinically active, working in Professor Howes' clinic for treatment-resistant psychosis at the Maudsley Hospital. He then moved to UCL to take up a National Institute for Health Research Academic Clinical Fellowship and then Lectureship in General Psychiatry. He was awarded a Margaret Temple award to conduct research into how cannabinoids (the drugs in cannabis) affect the mind.
Dr Bloomfield said, “The BAP is a fantastic and truly multidisciplinary organization which delivers high quality scientific and educational meetings. Clinically, excellence in psychopharmacology is a pillar of good psychiatric care.” From a scientific perspective, psychopharmacology is a truly interdisciplinary field – drawing on medicine and psychology to understand how the mind works. Dr Bloomfield shares these cross-disciplinary perspectives and inclusive values through his research, teaching and clinical practice.