McCann Health's new scientific council offers agency and science brainpower all in one place

McCann Health is corralling a brain trust of top scientists for its new Global Scientific Council to serve pharma and healthcare clients. The new unit will have a core of 20 McCann Health Ph.D.s and scientists, but will also have the ability to tap more than 450 scientific experts across its global network.

The council will serve as the senior-level select group that will work to galvanize not only the McCann science community around the world, but also reach out to external organizations such as NGOs, governments, research institutions and major hospitals to bring different perspectives together, Charlie Buckwell, global president of the council, said.

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Some of the overall goals of the council will include translating science into engaging communications, exploring the challenge of the clinical care gap and identifying and working on specific areas of need where there may be an emerging challenge, he said. Fake news impact on science or antimicrobial resistance, for instance, might become topics for ideation and solution building, Buckwell said.

“If you think of the complexity of new innovative therapies coming through—whether it be gene therapy or precision medicine—the science is getting more complicated,” he said. “There is an opportunity to help both our clients and their customers with the accurate and meaningful translation of science into health communications.”

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The council will have its first meeting in May to discuss specific areas it will begin to explore, Buckwell said. Leading the council along with Buckwell are Daniel Carucci, who is global medical director for McCann Health and will serve as global medical director of the council, and Alice Choi, who is global head of McCann Health's Complete Medical Communications and will serve as executive director of the council.

John Cahill, global CEO of  McCann Health, said in a news release, “Not only does it enable McCann Health to make a real and tangible difference in key areas of need in medical science and bring added value to clients, it provides a platform for our scientists to have a meaningful voice in the global science and health debate.”