ASPET Members Achieve! – Dr. Mary Vore
Dr. Mary Vore of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, has made major contributions to our understanding of the function and biological significance of hepatic transport processes for both endogenous and foreign substances (often referred to as xenobiotics). During her career, Dr. Vore has conducted pioneering studies on how pregnancy and lactation affect hepatic and intestinal transport processes and what are the mechanisms that cause changes in transporter expression and activity.
In her research, Dr. Vore’s laboratory has relied on a strong combination of molecular biology, biochemistry, pharmacokinetics, and in vivo pharmacology to provide insight into the biochemical pathways that regulate the expression of multidrug resistance proteins (MRPs) in the liver and intestines. Her laboratory continues to lead the world in discoveries related to the hormonal regulation of transport proteins and hepatic drug biotransformation.
Her studies on liver cholestasis and the changes in biliary transporter expression and function in response to estrogens and their metabolites have been fundamental in developing the understanding of how endogenous processes affect drug and toxin disposition in the body and ultimately drug response. In addition to her work in hepatic transport processes, Dr. Vore has also studied the role of MRPs in modulating oxidative stress during cancer chemotherapy. Dr. Vore has not only been recognized for her research achievements but she is also known for her outstanding mentorship.
She is the director of the Graduate Center for Toxicology at the Chandler Medical Center and she has personally trained 28 graduate and post doctoral fellows. She is a strong advocate of junior scientists in her field and a tireless mentor.
Dr. Vore has been a member of American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) since 1975, where she has been an extremely active participant in the Divisions for Drug Metabolism and Toxicology. In addition, she served as a member of the Executive Council of the ASPET Drug Metabolism Division from 1977 to 1980, and as a member (1980-1983) and chair (1984) of the Public Information subcommittee of ASPET. Dr. Vore was also a member of the ASPET Membership Committee from 1982-1985. Between 1986 and 89 and again in 2010-2013, she was elected by the ASPET members as the ASPET Secretary-Treasurer (elect, current, past). This is an exceptionally important and time consuming position in which she successfully managed the complex financial aspects of the Society.
In her role as Secretary-Treasurer, Dr. Vore provided thoughtful advice about the future scientific directions of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
If that was not enough, between 1990-92 Dr. Vore served as the chair of the Drug Metabolism Division and between 2007-2010 as the chair of the Division of Toxicology. She was a member (2006-11) and she is now the chair (2014-16) of the Board of Publications Trustees.
She was an Associate Editor for Molecular Pharmacology between 2011 and 2013 and a member of the Editorial Board of Drug Metabolism and Disposition between 1980 and 2011. Few individuals have dedicated so much of their professional time to the advancement of the discipline of Pharmacology.