Raymond Playford is a clinician scientist, specializing in gastroenterology. His roles include Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of West London, UK and Chairman of the Herbal Medicines Advisory Committee of the MHRA (the UK equivalent of the FDA). Professor Playford received a medical degree from St. Bartholomew's Medical School, obtained both a PhD and a DSc and is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal College of Physicians, and the Royal College of Pathologists. He has published over 150 original scientific and clinical papers, with a particular interest in the role of growth factors in health and disease and the value of nutraceuticals, such as bovine colostrum in clinical practice.