College of Pharmacy Names Associate Dean

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 24, 2010) — Linda Dwoskin, endowed professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, has been appointed the college's associate dean for research.  Dwoskin will fill the position held for the past seven years by Robert Yokel, who will be stepping down from his administrative post effective April 1. Yokel will remain at the college as professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He also will continue in his role as director of graduate studies until the end of the June.

"I look forward to nurturing old and developing new strategic partnerships within and outside our college to increase productivity and advance our research missions with the goal of becoming the premier college of pharmacy in the nation," said Dwoskin. "I am delighted to have the opportunity to play a leadership role in this new chapter in the life of the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy."

Dwoskin has experience and proven leadership in bringing together individuals to build collaborative research teams, said Interim Dean Patrick McNamara

"The principal duty for the this position is to enhance and grow the research enterprise across all units within the college as well as cultivate strategic partnerships that advance our research mission and increase our productivity," McNamara said. "Dr. Dwoskin's visibility not only within the University but across the nation will be a great benefit to us all."

Dwoskin has been a UK faculty member since 1988. Currently her major research focus is drug discovery in neuropharmacology and the development of novel therapeutic candidates for the treatment of psychostimulant abuse, specifically for nicotine and methamphetamine. She received her bachelor's degree in 1974 in psychology from Syracuse University and a Ph.D. in 1983 from the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota. She was a postdoctoral fellow in endocrinology at the Oregon Health Sciences Center and in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. She currently holds several joint academic appointments at UK, including professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences (2003-present); adjunct faculty for the UK Graduate Center of Toxicology (1990-present); director of training for the UK Center for Drug Abuse Research (1990-present); associate of the Multi-disciplinary Research Center on Drug and Alcohol Abuse (1993-present); and associate of the Center of Membrane Sciences (1999-present).

Dwoskin completed the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's Academic Leadership Fellows program in 2009. She has been awarded the UK Wethington Award for Meritorious Performance in Research (2002-2009) and was chosen in 2005-2006 for a University Research Professorship, recognizing her outstanding research and her distinguished record of achievement in her field. Her research has resulted in more than 145 peer-reviewed research articles, 250 abstracts of research presentations and 49 patents and patent applications.