The United Kingdom has long been a world leader in the life sciences with a rich history of groundbreaking achievement. The US has played a dominant role in this area for a variety of reasons, including the purchasing power of its economy and a considerable investment in R&D by public, philanthropic, and private sources of capital. Canada also has a flourishing life science industry. As such, the vibrancy of this vast marketplace has attracted the best talent from around the globe.

No one country has contributed more to this growing pool of life sciences talent than the UK. Thousands of individuals, originally trained in the UK, have been attracted to this environment and achieved notable success, many rising to considerable positions of power and influence.

Though these individuals share similar backgrounds in terms of academic training and base culture, there existed no easy way for them to communicate with each other, to take advantage of the wealth of networking opportunities this would afford. Also, many would welcome the opportunity to remain connected with the life science scene in the UK and the chance to utilize mechanisms for giving something back to their country of origin.

Other countries, such as India, Ireland and Israel, have successfully mobilized their departed talent, allowing funds, goodwill and expertise to flow back to the mother country. The UK has lagged in this regard. In this electronic world, where communication is increasingly fast and efficient, it is surely time to alter this dynamic.

BELS is an association of members that aims to connect and foster relations and interaction among an enthusiastic group of British expatriates involved in the life sciences in North America. It will bring this community together for mutual benefit and enable this talent to connect back into the UK life sciences arena.

The concept for BELS was first conceived in 1999 by Nigel Gaymond after spending 15 years in the life sciences, first as a Vice Consul at the British Consulate-General in Boston where he served as the UK's lead officer for biotechnology, then running Gaymond International, his own consultanty practice, servicing the industry on both sides of the Atlantic.

Nigel secured grant funding from the UK Department of Trade and Industry to assist in launching the organization to satisfy two broad communities. BELS provides an environment for its members to network with each other to develop business and social relationships of great value to them as individuals, their organizations, and the industry at large. BELS also provides a gateway between this talent pool and the UK life science scene, whereby members may connect into and remain informed about UK developments and utilize mechanisms to get involved in UK affairs. However, members are under no obligation, and may join simply for networking and business development purposes.