New Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies Named

Peter Swaan, PhD, will lead growth of the School’s research enterprise and graduate education

By Becky Ceraul
October 14, 2011

Peter Swaan, PhD, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences and director of the Center for Nanomedicine and Cellular Delivery, has been named the School of Pharmacy’s associate dean for research and graduate studies.

Swaan has a distinguished record of research, service, and teaching. He received his PhD in biopharmaceutical sciences from Utrecht University in The Netherlands, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco. He began his academic career with a faculty position at The Ohio State University.

His research interests are focused on drug transport systems in health and disease. He applies a multi-pronged technique to study the structure and function of transport proteins that includes molecular biology, biophysics, bioconjugate chemistry, and computational modeling.

In 2000, Swaan received the American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences’ (AAPS) New Investigator Award in Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology. He is a member of the editorial board for AAPS’ Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, serves as associate editor for the journal Drug Metabolism and Disposition, and as editor-in-chief for Pharmaceutical Research.

Swaan is as a permanent member of the National Institutes of Health’s Xenobiotics and Nutrient Disposition and Action Study Section. He has published over 100 original research articles focusing on all aspects of transport proteins in drug targeting and delivery, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics.

“As associate dean for research and graduate studies, Dr. Swaan will work to enhance the impact of our current research enterprise by increasing our number of funded investigators and by building interdisciplinary collaborations,” says Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FAAPS, professor and dean of the School of Pharmacy. “As a distinguished researcher himself, he brings unique capabilities and fresh ideas to his new role that will help to further propel the School of Pharmacy into the top-tier of academic research institutions.”

“My goals as associate dean are to promote research activities within the School, across campus, and with other institutions,” Swaan says. “I plan to focus on alternative methods to expand our research enterprise by promoting entrepreneurship, forming consortiums with academia, industry, and government agencies, and by establishing global educational cooperative centers. I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, and students to help promote and enrich the School’s research programs.”