UWSOP Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacy H. Steve White has been honored with the Extraordinary Contributions to the Field of Epilepsy Award by the American Epilepsy Society (AES). The award was announced this week at the 2020 AES Annual Event.
The Extraordinary Contributions to the Field of Epilepsy Award is designated for those who have made exemplary contributions across multiple fronts, including science, education, leadership and advocacy. The award is only presented when the AES Board of Directors determines there is a candidate whose accomplishments embody the spirit of the recognition.
“I am truly honored and humbled by this award,” said White. “To echo the 17th-century poet John Donne, ‘No man (or person) is an island’. With this in mind, I largely owe any success that I have achieved over my career to the partnerships I have enjoyed since my early days as a graduate student.”
Over the past four decades, White has devoted his career to epilepsy research, with a focus on understanding what causes seizures and ways to mitigate them. He has been the recipient of significant research funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). White and his collaborators have published more than 170 original papers pertaining to the mechanism of action and the pharmacology of antiepileptic drugs. In addition to his academic service, he served as Research Director of CURE (Citizen’s United for Research in Epilepsy), the largest non-governmental provider of epilepsy research funding, from November 2011 until October of 2015, where he assisted in the development of strategic programs that advance transformative epilepsy research that may someday lead to a cure, or disease modifying therapy, for the patient at risk for developing epilepsy.
In addition to his extraordinary work as an educator and researcher, Steve and his wife Kathryn created an endowed scholarship fund to provide financial support to students at the UW School of Pharmacy with an interest in epilepsy research. Learn more about the Epilepsy Education and Research Endowed Pharmacy Scholarship Fund.