Professor Robert "Bob" Vince, PhD, has been selected as the 2022 Lawrence C. and Delores M. Weaver Medal recipient. The award recognizes sustained and distinguished support of the College of Pharmacy and its students, and/or acknowledges outstanding contribution to pharmacy education, practice, research or community outreach.
Throughout his tenure, Dr. Vince has, as one of his nominators writes, "distinguished himself as an internationally renowned inventor of new drug molecules and technologies." His legacy of innovation and excellence continue to leave a lasting impact on the College of Pharmacy. Here are a few additional highlights from his nominators:
“Perhaps his most notable contribution to the College stems from his work on the design and development of the carbovirs which were ultimately marketed as Ziagen™...When launched, the drug revolutionized the treatment of patients suffering from HIV and set a new standard of care that saved millions of lives world-wide.”
"Among other things, his efforts have had a beneficial impact on the treatment of Herpes infections, cyanide poisoning, other areas, and more recently the diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease. Besides this, the University's [Center for Drug Design], which is entirely self-funded through University endowments established by Bob Vince, promise to bring new medical agents to the market in the future."
"In addition to his long career of teaching to pharmacy students, he also trained over 40 PhD students and postdoctoral students and is still active in research in the Center for Drug Design as the director of this institute, which has developed a drug for treatment of cyanide poisoning and a novel diagnostic tool by retinal scanning for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease."
“Bob is a wonderful mentor and greatly facilitated my early development as a collaborative scientist...His amazing generosity will be a lasting legacy of his generosity and desire to further research efforts within the College of Pharmacy."