AAPS Announces 2006 Award Winners

SAN ANTONIO, TX. (October 29, 2006) – In the Opening Session of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists’ (AAPS) 2006 Annual Meeting and Exposition, AAPS President, Jay Sisco, Ph.D., presented the following ground-breaking researchers with awards commemorating their contributions to the pharmaceutical sciences:

Mario L. Rocci, Jr., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Prevalere Life Sciences, Inc., has played an important role in supporting the approval of several major, new drugs. He has helped streamline the drug development process, raised the standard of practice of the pharmaceutical sciences in developing nations, and provided financial support for students interested in the pharmaceutical sciences. Dr. Rocci worked to expand global access to electronic biotechnology and pharmaceutical scientific journals. Sponsored by Abbott Laboratories, this award recognizes distinguished service in advancing the pharmaceutical sciences and AAPS.

Patrick P. DeLuca, Ph.D. has made substantial contributions in inducing thermal transitions during the lyophilization process, improving cycles through the addition of mass transfer accelerators, and allowing formulation of biopharmaceuticals through the use of cryoprotectants. Funded by a gift from Dr. Wurster, this award recognizes individuals who have made significant research contributions to the pharmaceutical sciences in the specific field of pharmaceutics.

Joseph B. Schwartz, Ph.D. was the Burroughs-Wellcome Professor of Pharmaceutics and Director of Industrial Pharmacy Research at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (University of the Sciences in Philadelphia) and made tremendous contributions to his students and the pharmaceutical sciences. Sponsored by the Cordis Corporation and Global Pharmaceutical Sourcing Group, this award recognizes excellence in education in the technologies related to pharmaceutics. Sadly, Dr. Schwartz passed away on August 18, 2006. His family will attend the awards ceremony on his behalf.

Russell S. Mumper, Ph.D. is currently an associate professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kentucky. His research focuses on the use of nanotechnology to engineer small nanometer-sized particles and create improved drug therapies and vaccines. His research investigates methods to engineer lipids containing anticancer drugs and vaccines, examines how these particles interact with blood and other tissues, and tests methods to target these particles to specific cells in the body. Sponsored by Gattefossé, this award is intended to recognize outstanding research pertaining to lipids and their role in drug delivery.

Karen Hapgood, Ph.D. is with Monash University in Australia. She is currently focusing on pharmaceutical granulation where there is a continuing need to understand the underlying science and physics, including the nucleation and granulation of hydrophobic drugs. Sponsored by Pfizer Central Research, this is a one-time grant of $25,000 to support the research efforts of an individual actively engaged in training graduate students and conducting research in pharmaceutics, drug delivery and/or the pharmaceutical technologies.

The Research Achievement Awards recognize outstanding scientists who conducted fundamental research resulting in significant impact on the field.

Mohammed Jemal, Ph.D. received the 2006 AAPS Research Achievement Award in Analysis and Pharmaceutical Quality. Born and raised in Ethiopia, Dr. Jemal is currently a senior research fellow at Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute in Princeton, New Jersey. His outstanding scientific contributions to bioanalytical sciences and pharmaceutical analysis result from use of concepts, techniques and methodologies he developed for the analysis, bioanalysis and quality assessments of pharmaceutical compounds/products, an essential component in drug discovery and development. The AAPS Analysis and Pharmaceutical Quality Section and Merck Research Laboratories sponsored this award.

F. Ivy Carroll, Ph.D. has been granted the 2006 AAPS Research Achievement Award in Drug Design and Discovery, sponsored by KP Pharmaceutical Technology, Inc. Dr. Carroll ‘s research includes developing the dopamine transporter-selective 3-phenyltropane analog RTI-336 to treat cocaine abuse and the selective kappa opioid receptor antagonist JDTic to prevent cocaine-use relapse.

Kathleen Giacomini, Ph.D. is the recipient of the AAPS Research Achievement Award in Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and Drug Metabolism, sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline. Dr. Giacomini is considered a leader in the field of pharmacogenomics of membrane transporters, and is the principal investigator of a large NIH-sponsored project focused on characterizing genetic variation in membrane transporters.

Ajaz S. Hussain, Ph.D. received the AAPS Achievement Award in Regulatory Sciences. Dr. Hussain has performed pioneering research in pharmaceutical applications of artificial neural networks. His work at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the Process Analytical Technology Initiative is widely considered to be one of the most significant steps in transforming the global pharmaceutical manufacturing enterprise and its associated regulatory policies. This award is sponsored by the Chiron Corporation.

AAPS Meritorious Manuscript Award –

Sponsored by Pfizer Central Research

AAPS Outstanding Manuscript Award in Analysis and Pharmaceutical Quality

Sponsored by the Analysis and Pharmaceutical Quality (APQ) Section

                         Peter L.D. Wildfong, Ph.D.

                         Nicole A. Morley

The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) is a professional, scientific society of 13,000 members employed in academia, industry, government and other research institutes worldwide. Founded in 1986, AAPS provides a dynamic international forum for the exchange of knowledge among scientists to enhance their contributions to health. AAPS offers timely scientific programs, on-going education, information resources, and opportunities for networking and professional development. To learn more about AAPS, please visit www.aapspharmaceutica.com.

Editors Note: To request an interview with or photograph of a 2006 Award Winner, please contact Sarah Pfeiffer at PfeifferS@aaps.org, or on-site at the AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition Press Room, located in Room 212 of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, at 210-582-7127. Copies of the 2006 AAPS Awards Program are also available for media use.

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