The American Epilepsy Society (AES) has announced that Rene Levy, professor and chair emeritus of our Department of Pharmaceutics, will receive the William G. Lennox—Cesare T. Lombroso Award during this week’s AES 67th annual meeting and scientific conference in Washington, D.C. Levy is a pharmaceutical chemist and the developer and director of the UW Metabolism and Transport Drug Interaction Database (DIDB). Housed in the Department of Pharmaceutics, the DIDB is a leading drug-drug interactions database used by pharmaceutical companies, regulatory agencies, research organizations and academic institutions worldwide.
Established in 1966, the Lennox-Lombroso Award is conferred by AES and the Lennox and Lombroso Trust for Research and Training in recognition of lifetime accomplishment and contributions related to epilepsy. Levy is receiving this award in his role is a pioneer in understanding of the molecular processes underlying the metabolism of antiepileptic drugs, research leading to a rational approach to predicting drug-drug interactions and mechanisms of drug toxicity.
Levy has published more than 300 articles with special emphasis on the absorption, distribution, elimination, toxicity and interaction potential of anticonvulsants and other medications. He is also co-editor of the classic epilepsy text Antiepileptic Drugs currently in its 5th edition, and several other leading texts in the field. In announcing the award, Stanford University Professor of Neurology John Huguenard, who chairs the AES awards committee, said, “We are privileged to honor Dr. Levy for the extraordinary body of work he has achieved. He has provided seminal insights that have speeded the search for new epilepsy drugs and helped to improve clinical practice in the treatment of patients with epilepsy.”
Levy joined the School of Pharmacy faculty in 1970 to initiate teaching in the areas of pharmacokinetics and biopharmaceutics. He served as chair of pharmaceutics for 26 years. In addition, he held a UW appointment as professor of neurological surgery and co-founded the NW Regional Epilepsy Center with several colleagues. Levy retired from his teaching role at the UW in 2009, and he remains active with the School of Pharmacy in a number of collaborative efforts.
Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder after Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. The American Epilepsy Society, based in West Hartford, Conn., seeks to advance and improve the treatment of epilepsy through the promotion of epilepsy research and education for healthcare professionals.
~December 9, 2013