University of Washington (UW) School of Pharmacy Dean, Sid Nelson, has been named APhA Academy of Student Pharmacists Outstanding Dean of the Year for 2007. Dean Nelson was chosen from a pool of nearly 100 pharmacy deans across our nation to receive this honor.
Dean Nelson is well-respected and admired by his students, faculty, and peers. His leadership has not only resulted in the UW’s #1 ranking in NIH funding among pharmacy schools, but has also provided the support for students to serve in numerous regional and national leadership positions. “In order for pharmacy students to flourish as leaders, they must have an environment that inspires them to have confidence in themselves, provides the support they need to be successful, and values student involvement,” explains UW School of Pharmacy Dean, Nanci Murphy. “I believe no one accomplishes this better than Dean Nelson.”
Dr. Nelson is a professor of medicinal chemistry and dean at the UW School of Pharmacy and chair of the Board of Health Sciences Deans at UW. He received his BS in pharmacy from the UW in 1968 and his PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry from UC San Francisco in 1974. After three years at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), he returned to the UW as an assistant professor in 1977 where he was promoted to professor of medicinal chemistry in 1983. He was a visiting professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden from 1985-1986. Dr. Nelson became dean of the School of Pharmacy in 1995 and chair of the Health Science Deans in 2001. He teaches courses in organic medicinal chemistry and clinical chemistry and diagnostics to pharmacy students and lectures to graduate students on drug metabolism. He is funded by NIH for his research on reactive drug metabolites, structure-toxicity relationship and cytochrome P450 structure-function relationship. He received the John J. Abel Award for research from the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics in 1981, and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1986. In 1990, Dr. Nelson received the Alumnus of the Year Award from the UW School of Pharmacy, and in 1992 the Sato Memorial International Award from the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan for excellence in research. In 1995 he received the Gilbaldi Excellence in Teaching Award from the graduating class of pharmacy students. He has over 200 peer-reviewed research publications and over 40 published reviews and book chapters. In 2002 he was listed as an Institute for Scientific Information highly cited research author. The APhA Award is a great honor to add to an already very distinguished career and especially satisfying as it honors a commitment to the growth and mentorship of future pharmacy leaders.
APhA Academy of Student Pharmacists Outstanding Dean Award was established to recognize a School or College Dean who has made significant contributions to the APhA-ASP Chapter and promoted, with distinction, the welfare of student pharmacists through various community service, leadership and professional activities and represents APhA’s appreciation for the recipient’s leadership, inspiration, and outstanding guidance to APhA, the profession and pharmacy students.
“I am extremely honored to have been nominated by our students for this award and for their nomination to be supported by School of Pharmacy faculty, staff, and alumni,” said Dean Nelson. “It is all these people together who make the UW School of Pharmacy one of the top programs in the country and it is their support, and enthusiasm, along with that of my loving wife and family, that energizes me and makes me want to get up and go to work each morning.”
Dean Sid Nelson will be recognized at the upcoming APhA-ASP Awards Ceremony to be held Monday, March 19 at the APhA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
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