Pharmacology In the News 

UW Pharmacology has a new group on Facebook here!
For graduate student alums, past postdoctoral fellows and staff that have been a part of the University of Washington Pharmacology Department, this will be a forum for connection, and also we, in the Department of Pharmacology, would like to know where you are and what you are doing!

Congratulations to Kris Vosk, Manager, Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM), recipient of the Spring 2009 School of Medicine Service Excellence Award. Kris was nominated and praised for her organization of a campus-wide Stem Cell Meeting, attended by over 400 people. She assisted in the development of a graduate level stem cell course, established ISCRM's website at http://depts.washington.edu/iscrm/, oversees ISCRM's budget and planned and organized ISCRM's move to the South Lake Union Campus.

She has become a public face of ISCRM and they feel extremely fortunate to have her.

 

 

Diane Schulstad receives the 2009 Service Excellence Award by the UW School of Medicine.

Fall Quarter 2008, Diane Schulstad was nominated for and received the Service Excellence Award by the UW School of Medicine, which honors her high quality of service to the Pharmacology Department and School of Medicine. Diane exemplifies the spirit of this award and we are very happy that she been acknowledged for her efforts. The Service Excellence Award was launched in 2006 by the School of Medicine to recognize exemplary service of faculty and staff. Nominees are individuals who demonstrate service excellence through commitment, collaboration, and excellence in administration, teaching, research, leadership and service. Each quarter the committee selects two faculty and two staff members for the award.

Here are a few excerpts from Diane's nominations:

"Diane serves as the Administrative Specialist for the Department of Pharmacology. In her position she has the opportunity to interact with students, staff and faculty from many different departments and ethnic backgrounds. Diane unfailingly welcomes new people to our department and the University and gives it a human and warm face, making what can be a difficult transition more manageable. Diane has high standards for her work product and the customer service she offers to all. Diane is an amazing supervisor, working diligently to train, lead and develop staff while at the same time making them feel supported and an important part of the department. The Department of Pharmacology would not be the dynamic, efficient department it is without Diane completing the details, finding the answers and ensuring a positive and productive work environment for all." Nominated by Debra Howell, Administrator

"As a recent recruit to the department, Diane has gone out of her way to make my research group feel welcomed and she has worked tirelessly with all of us to make sure that our appointments are in order and that those with visa issues are cared for. She is an exemplary employee and a pleasure to work with." Nominated by John Scott, PhD, Professor

"Diane is resourceful in finding creative solutions to bureaucratic problems. She deserves this award because of her extraordinary dedication to service. A single example among many is her recent effort to getting our department's 3 training grants renewed. The competing renewal of each of these grants was due on the same deadline (an NIH- created perfect storm). Each required detailed compilations of past trainees' present status, faculty research, training success, minority recruitment efforts, graduate admissions success, etc in a vast array of statistics organized in precise/arcane government-mandated formats. Our graduate programs rely on these sources of support, and we would not have been able to submit these three grants without Diane's effort, and the quality of the grants depended on her dedication." Nominated by Charles Chavkin, PhD, Professor

"I have known and admired Diane for over a decade -- she is quite simply an incredible asset to the department and the university. She handles complex issues regarding visas, immigration, and bringing students and postdocs into the department from around the world, navigating many difficulties, and always with incredible professionalism, courtesy and a smile. These are stressful situations for many of these people and she makes it not only bearable, but a pleasure." Nominated by Randall Moon, PhD, Professor

August 7, 2009
Derek DiRocco, A Role for the Calcium/Calmodulin-Stimulated Adenylyl Cyclases in Cocaine Sensitization

September 25, 2009
Faith Reyes, JWH-451 Activates Two Gi/o Protein-Coupled Receptors Distinct from CB1 and CB2 Receptors