AAPS Names Dr. Steven Schwendeman 2015 Fellow
The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) recently announced its 2015 AAPS Fellows, which included Steven Schwendeman, PhD. AAPS Fellows are granted the honor each year for making sustained remarkable scholarly and research contributions to the pharmaceutical sciences such as original articles, scientific presentations at AAPS Annual Meeting and Expositions, and/or patents.
Dr. Schwendeman is the Ara G. Paul Professor and Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan, as well as the Associate Editor of the Journal of Controlled Release. His primary scientific contribution is related to his work with biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), or PLGA. His work has demonstrated that PLGA, which allows slow release of drugs to the body over a course of weeks to months, can prevent damage of large and sensitive protein drug molecules. His research also describes the complex physical chemistry occurring in PLGA and how to place proteins inside the PLGA without using protein-damaging oil-based solvents. He is the first scientist to show how tiny holes in PLGA spontaneously close and how this healing then affects the release of drugs from the dosage form right after administration to patients.
AAPS is a professional, scientific organization of approximately 10,000 members employed in academia, industry, government, and other research institutes worldwide. Founded in 1986, AAPS advances the capacity of pharmaceutical scientists to develop products and therapies that improve global health.
