Jusko recognized for lifetime achievement by AAPS

William J. Jusko, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, has received the 2020 Distinguished Pharmaceutical Scientist Award from the American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences (AAPS).

The Distinguished Pharmaceutical Scientist Award is the AAPS’ most esteemed honor and is a lifetime achievement that recognizes an individual who has made substantial contributions to the research and advancement of pharmaceutical science.

Jusko was honored at the AAPS Virtual Award Reception on Nov. 2.

A UB faculty member since 1972, Jusko studies the disposition and pharmacological effects of drugs and the optimization of dosing for immunosuppressive, anti-diabetic and cancer treatments. His work has led to significant advances in mathematical and computer modeling of the time-course of events following a drug’s delivery.

He has received numerous honors, among them the 2019 Lewis B. Sheiner Lecturer Award from the International Society of Pharmacometrics (ISoP); the 2018 Oscar B. Hunter Career Award in Therapeutics from the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics; a coveted MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); the Russell R. Miller Award and the Distinguished Service Award, both from the American College of Clinical Pharmacology (ACCP); and the Research Achievement Award in Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and Drug Metabolism from the AAPS.

He also is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, and honorary doctorates from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, and Paris Descartes University.

A renowned expert in the fields of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, Jusko has worked as a consultant for the Food and Drug Administration Clinical Pharmacology Advisory Committee, the NIH Pharmacology Study Section, the Council for International Exchange of Scholars and several pharmaceutical companies.

From 2001-16, he served as chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. More than 100 students and fellows have completed research training under his guidance.

He has published more than 600 research articles and serves on the editorial boards of numerous academic journals, including as editor-in-chief for the Journal of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics.

Jusko’s research has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1975, and his Google Scholar citation h-index — a metric that measures the visibility and influence of a researcher’s publications — is 71. An h-index of 60 or greater is considered outstanding.

Jusko is a fellow of the ISoP, ACCP, AAPS, American Chemical Society and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

He received a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences and a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from UB.