𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐲𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 was a visionary pioneer and international leader in integrative medicine research and development. He was co-founder and Co-Director of the King's Centre for Integrative Chinese Medicine (CICM) initiative and co-founder and former Head of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science at King's College London, and was co-founder and former Treasurer of the GP-TCM Research Association.[1-8]

In honour of 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐲𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬, King’s CICM is creating the 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐲𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 with the full support of his family to continue his life's work. It will provide crucial support to the next generation of scientists who embody his innovative spirit. [9,10]

Tributes from colleagues and friends

“Peter was an internationalist and pioneer in the field of natural product chemistry: one of the first to recognise the importance of NMR spectroscopy to the structural elucidation of natural products.” [2]

“Peter belonged to a rare breed. He was a man with a clear vision, able to create and grasp opportunities for the greater good.” [2]

”Peter set high standards: leading by example.” [2]

"He made a huge contribution to King's." [5]

"He was one of the founding members of our Association and had contributed greatly during these years." [5]

"Peter was truly one of the world's great people." [5]

"An English gentleman, a husband, a father, a Big B.rother, a teacher, a mentor, a scientist, an enabler, a pioneer and a visionary. We will miss him forever." [1,5]

Peter's contribution to Integrative Medicine

Peter's contribution to Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) was profound and multifaceted. [1,6-10] A world-leader in many areas of TCM, he championed the King’s CICM initiative and held senior roles on the Board and Executive Council of the landmark EU-China FP7 GP-TCM Project and its subsequent Research Association.

He was a pioneer in applying omics technologies to TCM research. His highly cited metabolomic studies of herbal products led to a series of patents for integrated omics quality control methods. He also developed Chem-TCM, a 21st-century database now licensed to Tim Tec LLC.

Together with his devoted wife, he pioneered high-quality, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in the UK. Their landmark 1985 BMJ paper, which demonstrated feverfew's efficacy in migraine prophylaxis, has been cited over 470 times.

Widely admired as a lecturer and a key advisor to the herbal industry, Peter also served on the advisory committees of the British Pharmacopoeia Commission and the medicines regulator, the MHRA.

My research on TCM herbal antifibrotics and TCM-inspired investigations into the role of kidney defence mechanisms in kidney health and disease also hugely benefited from his irreplaceable mentorship, invaluable collaboration and inspirational encouragement and support.

More details on Professor Hylands’ contribution to the development of integrative Chinese medicine and King's CICM are summarised in references [7] and [8].

What Will the Award Support?

This award is dedicated to empowering early-career researchers—undergraduate, MSc/MRes, PhD students and post-doctoral fellows—who are applying 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 to advance Integrative Chinese Medicine (ICM). This includes research in:

• Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.

• Advanced bioimaging and diagnostics.

• Network pharmacology and data science.

• Molecular science and 'omics technologies.

The award will co-fund their training and research at King's CICM, enabling them to pursue bold ideas that bridge traditional knowledge, modern technology and tomorrow's medicine.

A Lasting Tribute

Upon learning of the proposal to establish the 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐲𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝, his wife, Debs Hylands, shared her heartfelt support: "Thank you so much for sending this proposal. It is incredibly exciting. Peter would have been so happy."

By contributing to this award, you are honouring a great scientist and directly investing in the future leaders of medical innovation. Your donation will ensure that Professor Hylands' passion for technology-driven discovery continues to catalyse breakthroughs in health and medicine.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 £𝟏𝟎 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

£𝟏𝟎 — Helps a student present their first research poster

£𝟓𝟎 — Covers lab consumables or analysis costs

£𝟏𝟎𝟎 — Supports a hands-on herbal extraction workshop and access to specialist equipment for plant compound analysis

£𝟏𝟓𝟎 — Covers the cost of a three-day training course in cutting-edge single-cell RNA-seq bioinformatics

£𝟐𝟎𝟎 — Funds conference travel for an early-career researcher

£𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎 — Supports a short research internship or BSc/MSc training project

£𝟓,𝟎𝟎𝟎-𝟏𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 — Funds the research cost of a postdoctoral fellow for 6-12 months

£𝟑𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 — Supports the research cost of a PhD student for three years

Donations under this call will be ring-fenced to fund the 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐲𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝. Donors will receive their 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 by email — please let us have your email address — and may opt to join the 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠'𝐬 𝐂𝐈𝐂𝐌 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞 to receive regular updates. If you have any questions or need our help, we will be happy to hear from you.

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 to help nurture the scientific pioneers of tomorrow.

Qihe Xu, MD, PhD

qihe.xu@kcl.ac.uk

References:

1. In Memoriam: Professor Peter John Hylands (1946–2019). Xu Q. GP-TCM RA Newsletter, 2019

2. Tribute: Peter Hylands. Auyeung V, Davies G, Forbes B, Hider R, Mason J, Page J, Taylor D, Weinman J, Martini G. Pharm. J., 2019

3. Hylands PJ. Treasurer's Travels. The July/August 2014 Newsletter of The GP-TCM Research Association.

4. Memorable Moments with Professor Peter Hylands (The Newsletter of the GP-TCM Research Association, The June 2019 Special Edition. In memoriam Peter John Hylands)

5. Professor Peter Hylands Was Honoured by His Colleagues and Friends at King's and Worldwide

6. Integrative Chinese Medicine. Xu Q, Hylands PJ. GP-TCM RA Newsletter, 2017.

7. Professor Peter Hylands’ contributions to integrative Chinese medicine. Xu Q. GP-TCM RA Newsletter, Oct. 2019.

8. 2019年10月《中医药规范研究学会信息通报》发表的编者按《彼得·海蓝子教授与整合中医药学》中文翻译版

9. The King's CICM Website

10. 伦敦国王学院整合中医药学中心官网