Leslie Turnberg, Baron Turnberg

Leslie Arnold Turnberg, Baron Turnberg is British medical professional and an author of many publications and books related to the medical and health services fileds. His experience extends to areas of research in these fields, and maintaining a clinical practice. He has published four books and some 150 articles on medical and scientific research.

Medical positions
Turnberg holds honorary fellowships from sixteen different UK and overseas colleges and has held many different positions within the medical field, including Professor of Medicine at University of Manchester from 1973 to 1997 and President of the Royal College of Physicians from 1992 to 1997. His present appointments include President of the Medical Protection Society, Chairman of the Board of the Public Health Laboratory Service, President of the Medical Council on Alcoholism, scientific adviser to the Association of Medical Research Charities; trustee of the Wolfson Foundation, Vice President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and Chair of the UK Forum for Genetics and Insurance. Turnberg also serves as a consultant gastroenterologist at Hope Hospital in Salford, and the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

Refinement and reduction of animals in research
In May 2004 the UK Government announced that it is establishing a national centre for "best practice" in animal testing called The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research. The board of the new centre is chaired by Lord Turnberg. The focus of the centre is on the "three R's": the replacement, refinement, and reduction of animal testing. The "three R's" were first published in the 1959 by WMS Russell and Rex Birch in the book The Principles of Humane Experimentation Technique. The centre will explore alternatives to animal testing, such as experiments on cultured cells or using computer simulations

The UK government currently still regards animal testing as necessary, but science minister Lord Sainsbury of Turville said that a "major opportunity" now existed to make progress in improving the welfare of animals used in testing through the three R's.

The centre will be housed within the Medical Research Council's existing Centre for Best Practice for Animals in Research (CBPAR) and build upon its work.

Knight and Baron Turnberg
Turnberg, of Cheadle in the County of Cheshire, was knighted in 1994 and was made Baron Turnberg for life by Letters Patent on May 4, 2000.