Message from the Chair
Krzysztof Palczewski, Ph.D.
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to one of the country's finest research
organizations. Case Western Reserve University is well known for its excellence
in research and teaching in multiple disciplines, including Pharmacology. I am honored
to present to you a department that has a rich and distinguished history, and one
that has incredible potential to advance basic science and contribute to urgently
needed developments in therapeutic medicine in the coming years.
The basic science tradition of the Case Department of Pharmacology is highlighted
by awards of the Nobel Prize recognizing the work of several of its previous members.
Earl W. Sutherland, former professor of pharmacology here, won the Prize in 1971
for his discovery of the second messenger, cyclic AMP. Theodore W. Rall, another
distinguished professor of the department, contributed to the discovery of cyclic
AMP and also discovered the adenosine receptor. His student Alfred G. Gilman, who
completed his Ph.D. and M.D. degrees at Case, was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1994
for his seminal work on the functions of G-Proteins. Ferid Murad, also a Ph.D./M.D.
graduate of the Department of Pharmacology, won the Prize in 1998 for discovery
of nitric oxide signaling.
Modern pharmacology bridges and integrates the once-diverse fields of genomics,
biochemistry, molecular biology, endocrinology, immunology, neuroscience, and structural
biology, bringing together detailed molecular knowledge of drugs and their cellular
receptors to understand the mechanisms by which their interactions produce changes
in the body. To make significant advances in any of these fields from a therapeutic
perspective requires an integrated understanding of them all.
Our success in discovering and communicating this breadth of knowledge depends on
the team efforts of our professors, research assistants, and administrative staff
in conjunction with our post-doctoral, pre-doctoral and pre-baccalaureate students.
Together we form a vibrant scientific learning community. Students at all levels
are important members of these teams. Their energy and enthusiasm, penetrating questions,
and contributions to generating and interpreting new data help to foster a continuous
educational environment that sharpens and expands our knowledge base and piques
our interest in pursuing new areas of investigation in the biological sciences.
This contagious enthusiasm for understanding fundamental biology and translating
it to novel therapeutic approaches remains vital to our mission as a modern Department
of Pharmacology.
Krzysztof Palczewski, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Pharmacology
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Cleveland, Ohio