UB Names New Head of Pharmacology and Toxicology

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Margarita L. Dubocovich, Ph.D., an internationally recognized expert in molecular pharmacology and drug discovery, has been named chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Dubocovich currently is professor of molecular pharmacology and biological chemistry, and psychiatry and behavioral science at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Ill. She will join UB this fall.

Michael Cain, M.D., dean of the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, in announcing the appointment, said that Dubocovich quickly emerged as the top candidate for the position after a comprehensive national search.

"She possesses all of the administrative, scientific, leadership and visionary skills needed to move the department forward and to align it with UB 2020's strategic goals," Cain said.

The new chair specializes in the neurobiology of the hormone melatonin and its receptors -- she pioneered the discovery of drugs to assess the functional role of MT1 and MT2 melatonin receptors -- and in the identification of ligands with potential for treating depression, seasonal affective disorders, sleep and circadian disorders, and cancer.

She currently is principal investigator on active research grants totaling $2.2 million in direct costs and on institutional educational grants totaling $2.3 million in direct costs.

Dubocovich earned her doctoral degree in pharmacology from the School of Chemistry and Natural Sciences at Buenos Aires University in Argentina. She has published 110 original articles in peer-reviewed journals, authored 16 invited reviews and book chapters, contributed 36 chapters to scientific symposium proceedings and has lectured nationally and internationally.

She directs Northwestern's Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in the Bioscience Program (CLIMB), a program she will replicate in Buffalo. CLIMB aims to increase student diversity in biomedical and behavioral research by broadening opportunities to earn doctoral degrees, and to increase the number of students from diverse backgrounds holding leadership positions in academic, research and administrative areas.

She has participated in or led numerous national and international scientific workshops and congresses, peer-reviewed grant study sections, scientific and professional societies, has been a scientific consultant to the pharmaceutical industry and is a member of the Journal of Pineal Research's editorial board.

Dubocovich currently is secretary-treasurer of the Division of Neuropharmacology of the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). She also chairs the Melatonin Receptor Nomenclature and Classification subcommittee of the International Union of Pharmacology's (IUPHAR) Nomenclature Committee. In addition, she is chair of the first FASEB Summer Research Conference on melatonin receptors, held Aug 10-15 in Snowmass Village, Colo.

She has received many national and international awards, and was recognized recently for her outstanding scientific contributions by the Latino-American Congress of Pharmacology.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. The School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is one of the five schools comprising UB's Academic Health Center. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.