CRS- A Global Community

Would it surprise you to know that the Controlled Release Society has members on every continent? CRS Local Chapters– national or regional associations of delivery science researchers– have recently achieved this distinction with the 2019 establishment of a Brazil Local Chapter and South Africa Chapter in 2021. Local Chapters act as regional “embassies” for the CRS, serving to educate and disseminate knowledge in the field of delivery science; connect local scientists to each other; and support young scientists training in the field. Today, the CRS supports 19 Local Chapters representing 28 countries, listed in the table below.

Local Chapters were first proposed by Professor Nicholas Peppas in 1994 and launched shortly thereafter. One longstanding tradition of the Chapters is to organize annual or biennial symposia to disseminate new research and connect local scientists. A summary of the 1997 UK Local Chapter Symposium, featuring luminaries like Peppas, David Clarke, and Ruth Duncan, is even available online: https://www.pharmweb.net/pwmirror/pw9/ukcrs/pharmweb91c.html! The next local Symposia will be held by the New Zealand (November 21-22) and Australian (November 24-25) Chapters. For more information about these events, please refer to the Local Chapter websites.

Another set of signature events of the Local Chapters are sessions at the CRS Annual Meeting featuring scientific talks by Local Chapter members. Speakers are generally selected for scientific excellence with an eye towards balancing diversity across geography, gender, and career stage. These sessions are critical for scientists in Local Chapters to highlight their work to an international audience, and for the international society to demonstrate support of its globalized base. The CRS provides travel grant funding for students in Local Chapters to attend the Annual Meeting.

During the pandemic, the Chapters developed virtual programming for scientists to engage in dissemination of their work. One successful endeavor has been collaborative webinars between 2-3 Local Chapters, in which each Chapter nominates a member scientist to give a short presentation and answer audience questions. These webinars have been organized every 2 months since 2021. The most recent webinar was led by the Spanish-Portuguese, Brazil, and Canadian Local Chapters, and the next webinar will be featuring the Italy and Germany Local Chapters on November 24.

Bruno Sarmento, a CRS Director-at-Large and Chair of the International Committee, has been a major force behind the recent accomplishments of the Local Chapters, including producing the webinar series and launching the Brazilian Local Chapter. He is honest about the challenges facing Local Chapters today, including fundraising and engaging leaders to keep the Chapter active, especially during the pandemic. However, he is optimistic about the value Local Chapters bring to regional scientific communities and the international CRS community. “Sometimes, it is easy to know what researchers are doing in countries far away without knowing what our neighbors are studying. Local Chapters can connect neighbors and are good for collaboration in drug delivery research.” Students and young scientists are especially incentivized to join a Local Chapter; their membership fees should be free or reduced and there are many opportunities to get involved and gain visibility. Above all, joining a Local Chapter means joining a community, because in a Local Chapter, the international CRS community quickly becomes neighbors and friends.