B.V. Rama Sastry, Ph.D.
Honors for Clinical Pharmacology faculty, student
Vanderbilt University Medical Center enjoyed a noticeable presence at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, held in Orlando, Fla., March 2-5. With 2,200 members, ASCPT is the largest scientific and professional organization serving the discipline of clinical pharmacology.
Alastair Wood, M.D., professor of Pharmacology and Medicine, received the 2005 Rawls-Palmer Progress in Medicine Award from ASCPT for his achievements related to drug discovery and research. Established in 1978, the Rawls-Palmer Progress in Medicine Lecture and Award recognizes a clinical pharmacologist for significant contributions to drug investigation that bring the efforts of modern drug research to the care of patients.
Pharmacogenetics, or the genetic factors underlying differences in drug response, has been the focus of much of Wood's research. He has investigated genetic variations that affect drug metabolizing enzymes, adrenergic receptors and ethnic differences in drug response. Wood, who also is associate dean for External Affairs at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, recently chaired the Food and Drug Administration's advisory panel on COX-2 inhibitors.
At the meeting, Wood delivered the Rawls-Palmer Progress in Medicine Lecture, entitled "Pharmacogenetics: Implications for prescribing and drug development." He also addressed a workshop on Corporate Influence in Research in his talk “How do medical journals cope with corporate influence in research?”
Also at the meeting, Kyle Arneson, a fourth-year student in the Medical Scientist Training Program, was awarded a Paul Calabresi Medical Student Fellowship by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 1965 to promote public health through scientific and medical research.
Also, Ute Schwarz, M.D., research instructor of Medicine, received an ASCPT Presidential Trainee Award.