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Med Chem professor elected to AAPS’s executive council

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Christopher R. McCurdy

T

he American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, comprising more than 12,000 members, has elected a University of Mississippi pharmacy professor to serve on its executive council.

Christopher R. McCurdy, professor of medicinal chemistry, will begin his term of office at AAPS’s Nov. 10-14 annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

“In this role, I will be able to provide an advisory viewpoint to some of the association’s scientific sections and committees that result in keeping members abreast of developments in the field,” he said. “I am honored to be elected by my peers to this responsibility.”

Council members (the professional group’s corporate board of directors) are responsible for AAPS’s financial health and for ensuring that its programs and activities align with its vision, mission and values. They also serve as liaisons among the association’s various scientific sections, task forces and committees.

Through his board involvement, McCurdy hopes to increase the collaborative nature of the organization across all areas of the pharmaceutical sciences.

“AAPS is the organization most involved in advancing the educational and research missions of the pharmaceutical sciences, and it provides grants, awards and tremendous networking opportunities to its members,” he said. “The opportunity to meet with leaders in industry, government and academia makes this a unique organization that truly benefits its members.”

For those reasons, McCurdy encourages pharmacy, chemistry, biology, engineering and other faculty members engaged in professional and graduate education to become involved in the association.

“Fostering the development of graduate students is another major emphasis of AAPS, so we can prepare these students for careers in the pharmaceutical sciences,” he said. “AAPS offers some eLearning courses that are unavailable in existing graduate curricula to enhance the knowledge base of many important disciplines, including biotechnology, regulatory sciences and translational sciences.”

McCurdy has served in other AAPS leadership roles. As co-chair of the association’s program committee last year, he spent months planning the group’s 2012 annual meeting, including securing its keynote speaker and speakers for its plenary sessions. As chair of that committee this year, he oversaw all of the logistics for AAPS’s 2013 meeting in San Antonio and helped section chairs plan their various sessions.

“I worked with all the organization’s sections and focus groups to develop a dynamic and stimulating program for this fall,” he said. “This has been a major undertaking.”

McCurdy has chaired AAPS’s publications committee, which meant managing three peer-reviewed journals, a news magazine, website and blog. He also chaired the Drug Design and Discovery section (now Drug Discovery and Delivery Interface).

Several of McCurdy’s Ole Miss School of Pharmacy colleagues also hold leadership positions in AAPS. Michael A. Repka, professor and chair of pharmaceutics, is chair-elect of the Formulation Design and Development section; Bonnie A. Avery, associate professor of pharmaceutics, is chair-elect of the Student Postdoctoral Outreach and Development committee; and S. Narasimha Murthy, associate professor of pharmaceutics, is chair of the dermatopharmaceutics focus group.

“I will be working with these colleagues at an advisory level and am truly excited to have such a presence from Ole Miss in AAPS,” McCurdy said. “I believe this shows how dedicated our faculty is to advancing the pharmaceutical sciences and how well respected our school has become on a global level.

“We have a tremendous faculty here, and I encourage more to become involved. Service to one’s profession is a key way to give back and pay it forward.”

“Having four of our professors serving in leadership positions within AAPS is fantastic for our School of Pharmacy,” said David D. Allen, the school’s dean. “This association’s members are at the forefront of pharmaceutical sciences around the world, and it speaks volumes about the confidence and trust these members have for our faculty and our school.”

AAPS, a professional association whose members are employed in industry, academia, government and research institutes worldwide, provides an international forum for the exchange of knowledge among its members and other scientists to enhance their contributions to public health.

 



 

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