Professor Burnstock attained international recognition for his unique contribution in the field of purinergic systems. He has extensive involvement with industry, advising on drug developments for a wide range of disorders including pain, bladder incontinence, cystic fibrosis, osteoporosis, Alzheimers disease, dry eye, asthma, contraception, inflammation and vasospasm. Professor Burnstock has consultancies or chairmanships of scientific advisory boards of large pharmaceutical and venture capital companies. These include Roche Bioscience (Palo Alto), Inspire (Durham), Link (Raleigh), Biorex (Budapest) and NeoTherapeutics (Irvine). Previously he was a scientific advisor to Servier (Paris), Abbott Laboratories (Chicago), Eisai (Tokyo and London) and Recordati (Milan). He is currently Director of the Autonomic Neuroscience Institute at the Royal Free and University College Medical Schools. His early training was at London University followed by postdoctoral positions in Oxford and the USA. He was Chairman of the Department of Zoology in Melbourne for 12 years before becoming head of the Department of Anatomy & Developmental Biology at University College London. Professor Burnstock was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1986 and was subsequently awarded the Royal Medal in the year 2000. Recent honours include Honorary Fellowship of both the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He is a Non-Executive Director of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and Chairman of their Board of Clinical Studies. He was the first President of the International Society of Autonomic Neuroscience and sits on the editorial board of more than 20 international journals.