Pharmacy’s Dean Rick G. Schnellmann selected as ASPET fellow
Rick G. Schnellmann, PhD, dean of the University of Arizona R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy and the Howard J. Schaeffer Endowed Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences, was named a fellow of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
Rick G. Schnellmann, PhD
Photo by Noelle Rosario-Gomez, U of A Health Sciences Office of Communications
“I am honored and grateful to receive the fellowship award from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics,” said Schnellmann, who is a professor of pharmacology and toxicology. “It is a privilege to be recognized by such a prestigious organization, and I am humbled to be in such distinguished company.”
Schnellmann earned his doctorate in pharmacology and toxicology from University of Arizona Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine in 1984. He was a professor and chair of the Medical University of South Carolina’s Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences from 2001 to 2015 and left to become dean of the U of A College of Pharmacy in 2016. He is also a professor of medicine in the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson and a member of the BIO5 Institute.
“Rick Schnellmann is well deserving of this fellowship,” said Michael D. Dake, MD, senior vice president for the University of Arizona Health Sciences. “His dedication to finding solutions to kidney diseases is evident through his research, but more so, his dedication to training the next generation of pharmacist-scientists is paramount.”
Schnellmann’s research is focused on mitochondrial dysfunction and genesis, as well as identifying and developing drugs to treat acute kidney injury, diabetic kidney disease, stroke, spinal cord injury and Parkinson’s disease. His research has been funded continuously since 1987 and includes National Institutes of Health grant funding totaling more than $30 million.
He has been instrumental in founding three U of A and Medical University of South Carolina spinoff biotechnology companies focused on drug discovery and development, including drugs for acute kidney injury and new chemical entities that could lead to new treatments for kidney failure.
He has taught pharmacology and toxicology to pharmacy, medical and veterinary students and has served on the Society of Toxicology Education Committee and the Subcommittee on Minority Education Initiatives. In 2013, Schnellmann received ASPET’s Education Award for “his distinguished teaching and training of toxicologists and for his significant contributions to education in the broad field of toxicology.”
Schnellmann was the editor of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics from 2004 to 2009. He has also served as associate editor of the American Journal of Physiology as well as Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed papers and authored more than 30 book chapters.
ASPET is a global pharmacology community that advances the science of drugs and therapeutics to accelerate the discovery of cures for disease. It pursues this mission through research, education, innovation and advocacy.