UK Professor Emeritus Chosen to Lead United States Pharmacopeial Convention

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 14, 2020) — Dr. Dennis E. Doherty, MD, professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, has recently been named president of one of the world’s largest networks of global experts in science and health.

Effective July 1, Dr. Doherty is leading the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), which unites experts across the world to improve public health, protect patient safety, and increase access to quality medicines. The Convention is comprised of nearly 500 Member Organizations from 33 countries, with members involved in health, science, manufacturing, regulation, academia and health care.

Through his new role, Dr. Doherty will serve on the USP Board of Trustees as well as chair the Council of the Convention, helping to guide operations and sustain membership engagement. He also will serve on the Board of Trustees executive committee responsible for evaluating CEO performance and overseeing USP organizational development.

“USP brings together a variety of perspectives to improve health, establish programs, and set standards for the quality and safety of medicines and foods across the globe, and I am excited for the opportunity to lead its efforts,” Doherty said, adding that one of his main goals as president will be to develop programs to keep convention delegates engaged with USP throughout the five-year stretch in between convention meetings.

Dr. Doherty was introduced to USP by the late Tom Foster, professor in the UK College of Pharmacy, when he arrived at UK in 1996. Doherty ’s USP experience includes serving as chair of the Healthcare Quality and Safety (HQS) Expert Committee, and as an expert panel member on several initiatives including the HQS Drug Allergy and Intolerance Classification. He has volunteered for the organization for more than 20 years and served three cycles as the convention delegate for the UK College of Medicine.

In 1996, Doherty joined the UK College of Medicine as chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, served as chief of medicine at the Lexington Veterans Administration Medical Center, and now serves as professor emeritus of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine.

Doherty has been Principal Investigator on over 55 grants from the National Institutes of Health, Veterans Administration, American Lung Association and other granting organizations for basic science and clinical studies, and he has published over 190 articles, abstracts and chapters on the subjects of acute and chronic lung inflammation, obstructive lung disease, and pulmonary fibrosis.

He has also conducted several clinical research studies in the areas of asthma, COPD, and pulmonary fibrosis. He is the immediate-past chairman of the National Lung Health Education Program (NLHEP), a past president of the National Association for the Medical Direction of Respiratory Care, and a member of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) previously serving as a member of the ATS Board of Directors, the program and budget, communications, documents development and implementation, marketing, and clinicians advisory committees, and as a past board member of the ATS Foundation.

Dr. Doherty earned his doctorate in medicine at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and has a bachelor’s degree from The Johns Hopkins University.

This year, USP celebrated its 200th year as an independent, nonprofit, scientific organization. USP sets quality standards for medicines, dietary supplements, and food ingredients worldwide, and its quality standards are enforced in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration and integrated into law in more than 40 countries.