Safety Pharmacology Society

The Safety Pharmacology Society Distinguished Service Award (DSA) is an honor given to an individual who has substantially contributed to the field of Safety Pharmacology in one or more of the following areas: specific research achievements, champions of the field, lifelong contribution to the field, substantial specific contribution, visionary direction, regulatory decisions, science of the field, education, collaboration between industry and academia.

2011 Distinguished Service Award Winner

R. Dustan Sarazan, DVM, PhD

R. Dustan Sarazan, DVM, PhD is a leader in safety pharmacology with a lifelong interest in leading-edge approaches to the measurement of cardiovascular function. Dr. Sarazan's scientific career took root in his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Missouri, working with the late Dean Franklin, a pioneer in the thennascent field of remote recording cardiovascular parameters in freely moving animals. Dr. Sarazan is credited with providing the scientific input for the development of the Po-Ne-Mah hemodynamic acquisition and analysis software package that pioneered the real-time analysis of complex physiologic signals. Dr. Sarazan worked at Lilly Research Laboratories for over 15 years where he was responsible for the cardiovascular safety pharmacology laboratory. Working with equipment vendors, he was instrumental in the development of approaches to incorporate measurement of left ventricular pressure to more fully assess drug effects on cardiovascular function. While at Lilly, he was involved in many research programs, contributing to the development efforts for tadalafil, atomoxetine, and duloxetine, among others. His scientific interests found a new application when it was discovered that many non-cardiac drugs can produce rare but fatal ventricular arrhythmias.

Prior to formation of the Safety Pharmacology Society, Dr. Sarazan was active in the General Pharmacology/Safety Pharmacology Discussion Group and served as the last chairman of the steering committee (1999–2000), which was also the founding committee of the Safety Pharmacology Society. He has served on numerous committees, the board of directors, and has held multiple positions of leadership within the society, culminating in his presidency in 2006.

Through committee positions with both ILSI/HESI and PhRMA, he has contributed to the development of the guidelines that regulate safety pharmacology. Dr. Sarazan moved to Covance Laboratories in 2005, establishing the safety pharmacology department at its Madison, Wisconsin facility. Dr. Sarazan recently joined Data Sciences International to help guide the development of next-generation biomedical research instrumentation that will satisfy his life-long pursuit of the application of technology for the facilitation of scientific inquiry.

2011 DSA Call for Nominations

The DSA Nomination Deadline is March 18, 2011. Please submit your nominations now for this coveted award to honor your fellow safety pharmacologist. We have modified the nomination process to simplify the initial application. Please see the amended details below. The DSA Committee is anxiously awaiting the nominations for 2011. Your help and support with this nomination process is greatly appreciated.

Nominations close at 11:59 PM March 18, 2011 EST. Download the DSA Nomination Application.

For a nomination, the following criteria will be considered:

Specific research achievements
Champions of the field
Lifelong contribution to the field
Substantial specific contribution
Visionary direction
Regulatory decisions
Science of the field
Education
Collaboration between industry and academia

Only Members may nominate although the nominee does not have to be a member. A member may not nominate more than one person per year.

Nominations must contain name of nominee, current position and address, and current e-mail address with the completed application (see above). After the nominations are received, the DSA Committee will consider the nominees and generate a short list of nominees. At this time the committee will solicit from the nominators of the individuals from the short list three letters of support, a current Curriculum Vitae, and supporting documentation that indicates the nominee’s achievements in safety pharmacology (critical in the review of each nominee). Electronic (Word or PDF) or Faxed copy of the nomination should be sent to SPS Headquarters.

The Award

Presentation of the Award will be given at the Annual Meeting of the Society. The recipient will be given a plaque, a cash award, and an invitation to deliver a presentation that may be published with the meeting proceedings. Travel expenses for the recipient to attend the meeting will be paid.