Stephan Schmidt, Ph.D., F.C.P., an associate professor in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, has been selected to participate in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, or AACP, Catalyst: Accelerating Research Leadership. Schmidt joins a cohort of 12 individuals who represent rising leaders in research and beyond. Participants began the year-long program Sept. 25 at AACP’s headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.
Schmidt, an associate chair of the department of pharmaceutics at the Lake Nona campus and the associate director of the Center for Pharmacometrics and Systems Pharmacology, is the college’s inaugural recipient of the Certara Endowed Professorship. He says his appointment to the program is a great honor. “I am hoping that AACP’s leadership program will prepare me for the next steps in my career and widen my horizon on opportunities in the pharmacy profession,” he said.
A 2008 Ph.D. graduate of the UF College of Pharmacy, Schmidt completed a postdoctoral fellowship in The Netherlands before returning to Florida and joining the faculty in the college as an assistant professor in 2012. Schmidt’s research focuses on the application of pharmacometrics and systems pharmacology tools to address clinically relevant research questions in the area of antimicrobial chemotherapy, pediatrics, diabetes, cardiovascular safety and post-menopausal osteoporosis. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles in highly respected journals in the clinical pharmacology arenas, as well as four book chapters on the application of quantitative analysis techniques in various therapeutic areas.
AACP Catalyst aims to cultivate individuals as agents of change to amplify the research impact of individuals and institutions. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the research environment at their home institutions and across the research enterprise.
“It is exciting to reintroduce an important faculty development program targeting our research community,” said Lucinda L. Maine, Ph.D., R.Ph., AACP’s executive vice president and CEO. “Catalyst offers participants a unique blend of general leadership development and mentoring activities with broad and deep exposure to public and private sector research funding and policy executives. Equipping the next generation of research leaders is essential for academic pharmacy and the profession.”