- Lian Li, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, has been elected to American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).
- Congratulations to Dr. Stephen F. Traynelis for his election as a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Traynelis is a professor and dean’s eminent scholar in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at Emory University School of Medicine, and director of the Center for Functional Evaluation of Rare Variants. He is recognized for his leadership in glutamate receptor biology, the study of receptors forexcitatory neurotransmission. Their proper function is vital for brain processes likedevelopment, learning and memory. He developed first-in-class allosteric modulators ofglutamate receptors, an approach for treating various central nervous system disorders, aswell as advanced mechanistic understanding of synaptic transmission, epilepsy, neuroinflammation and ion channel-related genetic disorders.
- Two faculty in Pharmacology and Chemical Biology were inducted into The Emory MilliPub Club for 2025: Dr. Thomas Kukar, Associate Professor, and Wenming Li, PhD, Instructor.
- Lian Li, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, received 2 awards during Emory School of Medicine Faculty Recognitions Week:
- The 2025 Emory School of Medicine 1% Award for her grant, "Novel biomarkers and mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease". The Emory 1% Awards honors and recognizes faculty who have received study section scores in the top 1 percentile on a grant proposal.
- The 2025 Emory School of Medicine Mentoring Award. This honor is bestowed upon School of Medicine faculty members who have demonstrated outstanding mentoring and leadership to trainees or early-career faculty. Dr. Li was honored during the Celebration of Faculty Eminence Ceremony in October 2025.
- Dr. Lih-Shen Chin Received 2025 SOM Hidden Gem Award.
- Yuhong Du, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, was named a fellow in the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS).
- Two Pharmacology and Chemical Biology were recognized during the 2025 Emory School of Medicine Researcher Appreciation Day: Yuhong Du, PhD, Associate Professor, and Jae Won Chang, PhD, Assistant Professor.
- Congratulations to Pharmacology and Chemical Biology awardees of the Center for New Medicines (CNM) Therapeutic Advancement Awards. Emory’s CNM announced the first cohort of therapeutic projects. The Pharmacology and Chemical Biology recipients are:
- Andrey Ivanov, PhD, Assistant Professor
- Xiulei Mo, PhD, Assistant Professor
- Stephen Traynelis, PhD, Professor
- Yong Wan, PhD, Professor
- PhCB faculty Innovators, George Painter, PhD, Dennis Liotta, PhD, and Christina Gavegnano, PhD (Adjunct faculty), are featured in Emory Magazine - Summer 2025 issue. Congratulations toGeorge, Dennis, and Christina!
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Haian Fu, PhD, Professor and Chair of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, has been selected by his peers as the new President-elect of the Association of Medical School Pharmacology Chairs (AMSPC). This is a great honor that is well deserved. Dr. Fu will begin his service as AMSPC President next summer, June 2026.
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Randy Hall began his term as President of ASPET on July 1, 2025. Randy is the 6th member of our department to serve as ASPET President, more than any other university!
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Congratulations to Dr. Tom Kukar, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, for receiving a new grant co-sponsored by the Alzheimer's Disease Drug Discovery foundation (ADDF) and the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD).
- Congratulations Dr. Mohamed Ishan, Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Renee Read’s Lab, for his recent accolades:
- American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Dana Foundation Professional Development Award
- "Best Oral Presentation by a Postdoctoral Fellow" award at the 2025 Southeastern Brain Tumor Research Meeting, May 2025
- The Varvel-Dingledine Labs published a paper, "Brain-invading monocytes promote seizure-associated cognitive deficits and neurodegeneration," in Neuropharmacology. First author is postdoc Soheila Pourkhodadad, PhD.
- Drs. Todd Golde and Yong Ran were honored with Emory OTT “Innovation of the Year” Award.
- Emory Pharmacology and Chemical Biology ranked number 9 for NIH Funding by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research (BRIMR) 2024. Each year, the BRIMR publishes a ranking of U.S. academic institutions and health care systems based on the research funding they received from NIH the prior year. Congratulations to our faculty, staff, and trainees!
- The labs of Drs. Ray Dingledine and Nick Varvel published an article in Science Translational Medicine titled, "Disease modification upon 2 weeks of tofacitinib treatment in a mouse model of chronic epilepsy". This work investigates genetic pathways to address the stubbornly difficult challenge of alleviating epileptic seizures. Using this pathway, they achieved promising reductions through utilizing an existing FDA-approved drug.
- Congratulations to Dionna Williams, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, for being featured on the cover of The Pharmacologist, in honor of Black History Month. Dr. Williams was one of two professors at Emory to recently receive the Presidential Early Career Award, the U.S. government’s highest honor for early-career scientists. She joined ASPET in 2022 and is a member of the Division for Drug Metabolism and Disposition.
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Haian Fu, PhD, Professor and Chair of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, received the Association of Medical School Pharmacology Chairs (AMSPC) President's Award for Leadership in the field of Pharmacology. He was presented the award by the AMSPC President at the 2025 AMSPC annual meeting in January 2025.
- Congratulations to Dionna Williams, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, for receiving the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which recognizes scientists and engineers who show exceptional potential for leadership early in their research careers.
- ASPET is pleased to award Haian Fu, PhD, the 2025 Susan Band Horwitz Award Lecture in Cancer Pharmacology. The ASPET Division for Cancer Pharmacology established this award lecture to recognize excellent original research by established investigators in the area of cancer pharmacology. The award is named in honor of Dr. Susan Band Horwitz who is a pioneer in understanding the mechanism of action of cancer chemotherapy drugs many of which have been and remain mainstays of cancer therapy and whose work has changed the nature of cancer treatment.
- Congratulations to Stephen Traynelis, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Emory University, for his 2025 Pharmacia-ASPET Award for Experimental Therapeutics by ASPET. Another well-deserved national recognition for Steve’s remarkable scientific accomplishments!