University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: January 25, 2007

By CYNTHIA MACHAMER
Reporter Contributor

Schering-Plough has provided $125,000 to the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences to fund the training of a graduate fellow in the school's pharmaceutics program. The gift, which will come in $25,000 increments over five years, will support a stipend, tuition and research funding for the student over a five-year period.

The first student selected for the fellowship is Eliza Tsou, a graduate of the National Taiwan University. Tsou, whose thesis is "Biochemical Mechanisms of Nitroglycerin Tolerance and Metabolism," is collaborating on the research with Ho-Leung Fung, professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

"The Schering-Plough Research Institute, the research and development arm of Schering-Plough Corporation, anticipates increased demand for qualified pharmaceutical scientists in order to bring new medical entities through the research-and-development pipeline to patients with unmet medical needs," said Richard A. Morrison, executive director of drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics at Schering-Plough, who received his doctorate in pharmaceutics from UB in 1983.

"In addition to providing monetary support for a prospective doctoral candidate, this funding will encourage increased intellectual collaboration with UB professors and provide a recruiting conduit for identifying highly trained scientists."

Morrison, who was instrumental in securing the gift for the school, added: "The pharmaceutics department at the University at Buffalo is recognized for advancing the pharmaceutical sciences and providing highly trained and motivated students for the pharmaceutical industry and academia. As an alumnus of the department, I am personally grateful for the excellent training that I received, and I am happy that Schering-Plough has provided student funding."

Wayne K. Anderson, dean of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, said: "Schering-Plough recognizes the need to increase the number of graduates to meet the demands of industry and academia for Ph.D.-trained individuals in pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenetics. We can expand our leading-edge research programs, the outcome of which will benefit the drug-development-and-discovery activities of Schering-Plough and others."

According to William J. Jusko, professor and chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the program's graduates are in great demand by the pharmaceutical industry, the Food and Drug Administration and other universities. "Our program attracts a large number of applicants from all over the world, but we can only afford to accept six to eight people each year," Jusko said. "This gift will allow us to train one additional doctoral student over the typical study period of five years."

Ranked among the top pharmacy schools in the United States and considered one of the most prestigious, the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences was founded in 1886, and is the second-oldest component of UB and the only pharmacy school in the SUNY system.