2005 AAPS Award Winners

In the opening session of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists' (AAPS, ) 2005 Annual Meeting and Exposition, AAPS President Jerome P. Skelly, PhD, presented 41 innovative researchers with awards commemorating their contributions to the pharmaceutical sciences.

Gordon L. Amidon, PhD, AAPS Distinguished Pharmaceutical Scientist Award; James W. McGinity, PhD,AAPS Research Achievement Award in Pharmaceutical Technologies; Christopher J. Roberts, PhD,New Investigator Grant in Pharmaceutics and the Pharmaceutical Technologies; and David W. Grainger, PhD,PhRMA Foundation 2005 Award in Excellence in Pharmaceutics.

The 2005 AAPS Award winners are:

AAPS Distinguished Pharmaceutical Scientist AwardSponsored by AstraZeneca

Gordon L. Amidon, PhD, a professor of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Michigan, is internationally recognized for his ground-breaking research in the field of drug absorption, transport phenomena, prodrugs, and solubility and dissolution. He has published more than 250 papers and 300 abstracts, and has been granted 17 US patents. He also has contributed to more than 30 books and monographs, and co-edited and contributed to 5 books. Amidon has received numerous awards including four best-paper awards from the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmaceutical Research, an honorary degree from Uppsala University in Sweden for contributions to oral drug delivery, and honorary membership to the Chilean Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

AAPS Research Achievement Award in Pharmaceutical TechnologiesSponsored by GlaxoSmithKline

James W. McGinity, PhD,

is a professor and division head of pharmaceutics at the University of Texas at Austin. His research has focused on the areas of pharmaceutical technology and novel drug delivery systems, including solid dosage forms, aqueous film coating of pellets and tablets, powder technology, materials science, transdermal systems, hot-melt extrusion, and controlled drug delivery. McGinity has authored more than 130 scientific publications and been issued 23 US patents.

New Investigator Grant in Pharmaceutics and the Pharmaceutical TechnologiesSponsored by Pfizer Central Research

Christopher J. Roberts, PhD, is an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Delaware. His current research topics include studying the dynamics and stability of low-and high-molecular weight amorphous solid pharmaceuticals; the experimental and molecular-modeling approaches to predicting and controlling protein aggregation kinetics; the mechanisms and pathways of protein aggregation relevant to pharmaceutical and biotechnology products; and the development of improved methods for predicting pharmaceutical stability and shelf-life.

PhRMA Foundation 2005 Award in Excellence in Pharmaceutics

David W. Grainger, PhD, is a full professor of chemistry at Colorado State University. He has exhibited a strong commitment to educating students and professionals in undergraduate general chemistry and the important aspects of materials chemistry in biologic systems.

AAPS Research Achievement Award in Biotechnology

Richard D. DiMarchi, PhD, is a professor of chemistry at Indiana University and a retired group vice -president at Eli Lilly and Company where he provided leadership for more than 20 years in biotechnology, endocrine research, and product development. The goal of his current research on protein structure and function is to develop proteins with enhanced therapeutic properties through biochemical optimization with non-natural amino acids. He coined the term for this new field of study: "chemical-biotechnology." He helped discover and develop the designer insulin, rDNA-derived Humalog, which is the first demonstration that structurally altered biosynthetic proteins can improve pharmacological performance without increasing risk to the patient's immune system.

New Investigator Grant in Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Drug MetabolismSponsored by Abbott Laboratories

Carolyn A. Fairbanks, PhD, is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota in the departments of pharmaceutics, pharmacology, and neuroscience. Her research focuses on studying the mechanisms underlying synaptic malleability and developing therapeutic treatment for adverse central nervous system events mediated by neural plasticity (i.e., opioid analgesic tolerance and addiction). Fairbanks has contributed to 20 original research articles, and has received awards from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the American Pain Society.

AAPS Research Achievement Award in Clinical SciencesSponsored by PRACS Institute

David J. Greenblatt, MD, has shown in his clinical work that pharmacokinetic and intrinsic changes in drug sensitivity may both contribute to exaggerated drug response in the elderly. He has used in vitro drug metabolism models to identify and predict clinical drug interactions, and to demonstrate age-dependent changes in the expression of hepatic CYP3A isoforms in experimental animal and human models.

AAPS Research Achievement Award in Pharmaceutics and Drug DeliverySponsored by Pfizer, Inc.

Vladimir P. Torchilin, PhD, has made outstanding contributions to the field of drug delivery. He developed the first immobilized and magnetic thrombolytic enzymes used to treat thrombi (blood clots formed within blood vessels); prepared first generation immuno-liposomes and targeted them in vitro; invented polychelating polymers to modify antibodies using metal atoms for in vivo imaging; developed a new family of polymeric micelles to better deliver poorly soluble drugs; and discovered a new family of antibodies to treat various types of tumors. Torchilin's research has contributed to more than 300 original papers; 100 reviews and book chapters; 10 books; 200 lectures and seminars; and 40 patents.

AAPS Journal Manuscript AwardSponsored by Prevalere Life Sciences, Inc. and GlobePharma, Inc.

James D. AndyaChung C. Hsu, PhDSteven J. Shire, PhD

Outstanding Manuscript Award in Analysis and Pharmaceutical QualitySponsored by the Analysis and Pharmaceutical Quality (APQ) Section

Eva M. Lenz, PhDHenrik Lindberg, PhD

AAPS Meritorious Manuscript AwardSponsored by Pfizer Central Research

Rick Morrison, PhDSaeho Chong, PhDPer Artursson, PhD

AAPS Excellence in Ligand Binding AssaysSponsored by Linco Diagnostic Services, Inc.

Lin Yang, PhD

AAPS Lipid-based Drug Delivery AwardSponsored by Gattefoss Corporation

Anette Mllertz, PhD,

Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award in Pharmaceutical TechnologiesSponsored by Solvay Pharmaceuticals.

Pankaj P. Dayal, Florida A&M University

Susan D'Souza,

University of Kentucky

Loice Kikwai-Mutua,

Florida A&M University

AAPS Postdoctoral Fellow Award

Vanessa M. D'Souza, PhD,

University of Maryland

AAPS Graduate Student Symposium in Analysis and Pharmaceutical QualitySponsored by UCB Pharma

John Carr,

Northern Illinois University

Yuerong Hu,

Purdue University

Mary E. Robbins,

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Guodong Zhang,

University of Georgia

>AAPS Graduate Student Symposium in BiotechnologySponsored by Pfizer Global Biologics

Srikanth Sriadibhatla,

University of Nebraska Medical Center

Guoxiang Shen, Rutgers,

The State University of New Jersey

Bin Lu,

West Virginia University

Bakul S. Bhatnagar,

University of Connecticut

AAPS Graduate Student Symposium in Drug Delivery and Pharmaceutical Technology

Sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Sagarika Bose,

University of Connecticut

Jerry Yong Hew Heng,

Imperial College London

Otilla M. Koo,

University of Illinois at Chicago

Ritesh Jain,

University of Missouri-Kansas City

Jigna D. Patel,

University of Kentucky

Preetanshu Pandey,

West Virginia University

AAPS Graduate Symposium in Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, Drug Metabolism, and Clinical Sciences

Sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company

Antara Banerjee, University of Maryland at Baltimore

Nagendra V. Chemuturi,

University of Iowa

Jiyun (Sunny) Chen,

Ohio State University

Weili Huang,

University of Washington

Scott M. Ocheltree,

University of Michigan