2011 ASPET Award Winners

John J. Abel Award

    
    Laura M. Bohn
    Scripps Research Institute
    Jupiter, Florida

Laura Bohn, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Scripps Research Institute Department of Molecular Therapeutics, and Department of Neuroscience in Jupiter, Florida is the recipient of the 2011 John J. Abel Award, sponsored by Pfizer.  Dr.Bohn receives the John J. Abel Award as an outstanding young investigator for her contributions that have helped shape the field of pharmacology.

Dr. Bohn received undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and Chemistry from Virginia Tech.  She received her Ph.D. from St. Louis University School of Medicine and began post doctoral training at Duke University Medical Center where she was promoted to assistant research professor.  Following Duke, she accepted a position at the Ohio State University College of Medicine in the Department of Pharmacology, established her own laboratory, secured NIH funding, and was promoted with tenure.  In 2009, she accepted a tenured associate professor position at Scripps in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics.

Dr. Bohn is recognized for her expertise in the regulation of G protein coupled receptor signaling and how it relates to drug responsiveness in vivo.  She is particularly known for her work on serotonergic and opioid functions.

 Dr. Bohn has received recognition research awards from Ohio State and has been named the Joseph Cochin Young Investigator Awardee by the College on the Problems of Drug Dependence in recognition of her contributions to the field of drug abuse and addiction research.  She currently serves on the executive committee of the Neuropharmacology Division of ASPET, serves as an ad hoc reviewer of minority NRSA fellowships, and is a standing member of the Molecular Neuropharmacology and Signaling Study Section.  She is the current mini-review editor for Molecular Pharmacology, an ASPET journal. Dr. Bohn is also active in community outreach to inform the public about her science and serves as mentor in the Kenan Scholars program that provides research experience to high school and undergraduate students in Palm Beach County, Florida.

Julius Axelrod Award

   Elaine Sanders-Bush
   Vanderbilt University
   Nashville, Tennessee

Dr. Elaine Sanders-Bush has been named the recipient of the 2011 Julius Axelrod Award in Pharmacology by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).  Dr. Sanders-Bush is  Professor Emerita of Pharmacology  at Vanderbilt University and former Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute. The Julius Axelrod Award is given to recognize outstanding scientific contributions in research and mentoring. The Award was established to honor the memory of the eminent American pharmacologist who shaped the fields of neuroscience, drug metabolism and biochemistry.

Internationally known for her research on serotonin, a key brain chemical involved in normal behavior and brain diseases such as major depression and schizophrenia, Dr. Sanders-Bush arrived at Vanderbilt University in 1962 to pursue graduate training.  She earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and after postdoctoral training in psychopharmacology, she joined Vanderbilt as Assistant Professor of Pharmacology. During her tenure at Vanderbilt she has made seminal contributions to our understanding of serotonin synthesis, metabolism and function .  Her research has made a lasting impact on the field and helped shape our understanding of these important research areas.

Dr. Sanders-Bush has also been a leader in development of neuroscience research and graduate education at Vanderbilt.  She led the creation of a new Ph.D. program in Neuroscience and served as its director from  its inception in 1997 until 2008.  She has always taken a strong interest in training the next generation of neuroscientists  , including the establishment of a partnership with Meharry Medical College to develop an innovative program for increasing diversity in scientific research.  In recognition of this outstanding commitment, she won Vanderbilt’s first Levi Watkins, Jr. Award for Leadership in Diversity in 2002. 

Pharmacia-ASPET Award in Experimental Therapeutics

   Jan Balzarini
   Rega Institute for Medical Research
   Leuven, Belgium

 Dr. Jan Balzarini, of the Rega Institute for Medical Research at The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium is the recipient of the 2011 Pharmacia-ASPET Award for Experimental Therapeutics.  The Pharmacia-ASPET Award for Experimental Therapeutics is given annually to recognize and stimulate outstanding research in pharmacology and experimental therapeutics—basic laboratory or clinical research that has had, or potentially will have, a major impact on the pharmacological treatment of disease.  This award is funded by an endowment from Pharmacia (now Pfizer) and by ASPET. 

Dr. Balzarini received his Master in Biological Sciences, Master in Bioscience Engineering,and Doctorate in Bioscience Engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven.  He is recipient of the Pharmacia-ASPET Award for his outstanding contributions to the discovery, development, and molecular understanding of the pharmacology of antiviral and anticancer nucleoside and non-nucleoside agents.  He is internationally recognized as an expert in antiviral drug development and has identified new chemotherapeutic targets for antiviral and anticancer therapy. Dr. Balzarini has been at the forefront of, and directly involved in, the discovery and eventual pre-clinical development of a variety of entirely new and innovative therapeutic leads and concepts.   

Dr. Balzarini has received national and international awards including two international UNESCO prizes and the prestigious Rene Descartes prize of the European Commission for Scientific and Technological Excellence in European Collaborative Research.

Epilepsy Research Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Pharmacology of Antiepileptic Drugs

   Asla Pitkanen
    University of Eastern Finland
    Kuopio, Finland

Dr. Asla Pitkanen, Professor of Neurobiology, University of Eastern Finland is the recipient of the 2011 ASPET-Epilepsy Award.  The Award is sponsored by ASPET and the International League Against Epilepsy.  The award is to recognize and stimulate outstanding research leading to better clinical control of epileptic seizures.

Dr. Pitkanen received her Masters in Biochemistry and Medical Degree from the University of Kuopio in Finland.  She began her career in neuroscience as a first year medical student, working with patients with multiple sclerosis and then Alzheimer’s disease.   She began her research career in epilepsy by investigating GABA-A receptors in cortical cobalt model of epilepsy in the rat.   

Among Dr. Pitkanen’s many contributions to the study of epilepsy are her seminal contributions to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of epileptogenesis, the process by which an injured brain becomes epileptic.  She has developed novel models of epilepsy induced by brain trauma and stroke.  She has pioneered use of magnetic resonance imaging in charactering these and other models.  These models provide a valuable framework for assessing efficacy of novel therapeutics aimed at prevention of epilepsy. 

Dr. Pitkanen is also active internationally in increasing the visibility of epilepsy research.  She was one of the organizers of a 2008 workshop on “Research Priorities in Epilepsy for the Next Decade.”  This workshop detailed epilepsy research priorities that should be investigated and funded in Europe.  She has served as Secretary General of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, Member of the Commission of the European Affairs of the International League Against Epilepsy, Vice President of the Epilepsy Society of Finland, and as a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Epileptology Meeting in Finland.  

Torald Sollmann Award

  Marcus M. Reidenberg
   Weill Cornell Medical College
   New York, New York

 Marcus M. Reidenberg, M.D., Professor of Pharmacology, Medicine, and Public Health at the Weill Cornell Medical College is recipient of the 2011 Torald Sollmann Award.  The Award was established to commemorate the pioneering work in America of Dr. Torald Sollmann in the fields of pharmacological investigation and education.  Dr. Reidenberg was selected for this Award because of his outstanding and productive research career, his significant contributions to medicine utilizing education, research, and service and his unparalleled service to ASPET and the discipline it represents.

Dr. Reidenberg majored in botany at Cornell University and received his M.D. from Temple University. After his internship, he was a postdoctoral fellow in pharmacology at Temple and in general practice while in the U.S. Navy.  Following his service, he returned to Temple as an Instructor in Pharmacology and Resident in Medicine.  He joined the faculty and would remain at Temple until 1975 when he moved to Cornell with faculty appointments in Pharmacology and Medicine.  He has been Assistant Dean since 1988, and received an appointment in the Department of Public Health in 2003. 

Dr. Reidenberg’s research has been in the area of clinical pharmacology.  His work has focused on reasons for individual differences in response to medications.  Dr. Reidenberg promoted the principle of proper controls to study adverse drug reactions and reported that patients with renal failure metabolized some non-excreted drugs differently than patients with normal kidney function.  His report of impaired plasma protein binding of organic acids proved essential for proper interpretation of drug levels in patients and his data for phenytoin binding is in clinical use today.  He recognized that individual differences in dose-response could be used to improve therapeutics, and he moved the concept of individualized drug therapy into the mainstream.   Dr. Reidenberg raised the banner of addressing control of symptoms in 1982 and over the past 25 years the broad concept of symptom control has gained mainstream acceptance in medicine.  More recently, treatment of chronic pain and the pharmacology of gossypol for reproductive health and cancer have been subjects of his 50-year research career. 

Over many years, Dr. Reidenberg has provided exemplary leadership to the discipline of pharmacology, including roles in ASPET, IUPHAAR, ASCPT, and advisory service to the FDA and NIH.  He has worked extensively with the World Health Organization and its Essential Medicines Program and is a member of the WHO Expert Panel on the Selection and Use of Essential Drugs.  Dr. Reidenberg served as WHO advisor to the Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China in 1993 and is currently active in the Essential Medicines activities of WHO. 

Dr. Reidenberg's lecture is entitled “Drug Discontinuation Effects are Part of the Pharmacology of a Drug: Cardiovascular Drug Discontinuations,” will be presented on Tuesday, April 12 from 8:30-9:20 am in Room 143A/B of the Washington Convention Center.

Drug Metabolism Division Early Career Achievement Award

  Emily E. Scott
   University of Kansas  
   Lawrence, Kansas

Dr. Emily Scott, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Kansas is the recipient of the 2011 Drug Metabolism Early Career Achievement Award, established by ASPET’s Division for Drug Metabolism to recognize excellent original research by early career investigators in the area of drug metabolism and disposition.

After graduating with a degree in Marine Biology from Texas A&M University in Galveston, Dr. Scott would earn her Ph.D. from Rice University.  In 2004, following postdoctoral work at Rice and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Dr. Scott accepted a faculty position as Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas. 

Dr. Scott has made important contributions to the field of drug metabolism by publishing a series of pioneering papers on cytochrome P450 structure-function relationships.  She has firmly established herself as one of the leading figures in P450 structure and mechanism studies.  Her work has had a tremendous impact not only on the field of drug metabolism, but also on a number of other related research related areas of significant clinical and public health concerns, such as lung cancer chemoprevention and mechanisms of chemical toxicity.

Dr. Scott is also actively involved in the professional aspects of the drug metabolism field, serving as Councilor of ASPET’s Drug Metabolism Division and having organized several symposia.  She also actively participates in teaching at the University of Kansas and serves as Course Coordinator for several classes.  Additionally, Dr. Scott directs Masters and Ph.D. research of several students at Kansas.

Dr. Scott will present a lecture, titled “(CYP)2B or Not 2B: That is the Question,” on Tuesday, April 12 from 2:00-2:50 p.m. in room 140B of the Washington Convention Center.