Siyaram Pandey in lab coatBiochemistry professor Siyaram Pandey has been elected president of the Natural Health Products Research Society of Canada.

Prof to preside over national group promoting natural health products research

UWindsor professor Siyaram Pandey has been elected to the role of president of the Natural Health Products Research Society of Canada (NHPRS).

“I am humbled and excited to be elected as the president,” says Dr. Pandey, chemistry and biochemistry professor.

“I am looking forward to working with NHPRS members to bring together excellent researchers and clinicians with traditional health practitioners from First Nations communities and promote high-quality scientific and clinical research with natural health products.”

For the past several years Pandey has been a member of the society’s board, and he served as its president from 2013 to 2015.

“We have our joint conference NHPRS with Canadian Health and Food Association next year in Vancouver, which will bring experts form both societies together,” he says.

“My emphasis would be to bring conventional clinicians, oncologists, neurologists, geriatricians, and general practitioners to this forum and get the clinical validation of some of very exciting and effective natural health products accelerated.”

Windsor hosted the 10th annual meeting of NHPRS in 2013, says Pandey, and it was one of the most successful NHPRS conferences.

“I am hoping to bring the annual NHPRS conference to Windsor in 2025 or 2026,” says Pandey.

“I must also mention that I am very proud of our students who have consistently performed very well and won several awards at the NHPRS conferences in the past.”

The society promotes scientifically rigorous exploration and education on natural health products and supports research to enable their informed and appropriate use. It is a federally incorporated non-profit organization founded in 2003 by academic, industry, and government researchers from across Canada.

—Sara Elliott