Science & Technology

UGA to hold pharmaceutical development symposium

Athens, Ga. – Nine international leaders in the field of modern drug development will speak at the first Symposium on Pharmaceutical Development sponsored by the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. The daylong event on April 19 at the Classic Center will begin with registration at 8 a.m.

The symposium provides an opportunity for scientists involved in pharmaceutical sciences, life sciences, biotechnology and translational medicine to discuss ever-increasing challenges and opportunities found in the development of modern therapeutic agents. The program is intended for members of industry, government and academia as well as students and post-doctoral researchers.

Key speakers include Jack Henion of Advion BioSciences, Peter Bryan of the Celgene Corporation, Karthick Vishwanathan of AstraZeneca, H. Thomas Karnes of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy, Karthik Srinivasan of Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Charles Craig of Georgia Bio, Christopher McCurdy of University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, Nirdosh Jagota of Genentech Inc. and PingPing Wang of Johnson & Johnson.

The symposium is dedicated to UGA Professor Emeritus James T. Stewart, who joined the faculty of the College of Pharmacy in 1967 as an analytical chemistry expert. Through collaboration with the late Professor Irwin Honigberg and more recently with Professor Michael Bartlett, Stewart led the development of an internationally recognized research program in pharmaceutical and bioanalytical chemistry before his retirement in 2002.

Stewart is known for his pioneering work in the field of high-performance liquid chromatography for pharmaceutical analysis. He was heavily involved in the Crystal City Meetings where leaders from industry, academia and government met to produce the original U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidance for validation of bioanalytical methods. He served for more than 20 years on the U.S. Pharmacopeia Council of Experts and was the science adviser for the District IV Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from 1985-1990.

Stewart was the 1990 recipient of the Research Achievement Award in Analysis and Pharmaceutical Quality from the American Association for Pharmaceutical Scientists where he is also a fellow. He received the 1993 Justin L. Powers Research Achievement Award in Pharmaceutical Analysis from the American Pharmacists Association. Over the course of his career, Stewart advised 39 graduate students, directed 10 post-doctoral research associates and published 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts.

For more information on the symposium, contact Michael Bartlett at bartlett@rx.uga.edu or 706/542-5390.