Dr. Gregory Kearns to Receive Progress in Medicine Award at ASCPT Annual Meeting

Alexandria, Va. (November 27, 2017) — Gregory L. Kearns, Pharm.D., Ph.D., FCP, FAAP will receive the Rawls–Palmer Progress in Medicine Award at the 2018 American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT) Annual Meeting, March 21–24, in Orlando, Florida. 

Dr. Kearns is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine, President of the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute, and Senior Vice President and Chief Research Officer of Arkansas Children’s, Inc. From 2007 to 2015, he held the Marion Merrell Dow/Missouri Chair in Pediatric Medical Research. He currently holds the Ross and Mary Whipple Family Distinguished Research Scientist Chair at Arkansas Children’s.

The Rawls–Palmer Progress in Medicine Award was established in 1978 to support the translation of scientific discoveries into improved patient care.

“I am honored beyond words to receive this prestigious award and to be recognized by the discipline of clinical pharmacology for my research, which has bridged discovery with the development of new drugs and therapeutics for use in children,” said Dr. Kearns.

Over the past 30 years, Dr. Kearns’s research has focused on the impact of human development, disease, and pharmacogenomics on the disposition and action of drugs in children. His work has advanced pediatric clinical pharmacology and improved the health of children worldwide.

In 2008, Dr. Kearns received the Sumner J. Yaffe Lifetime Achievement Award in Pediatric Pharmacology. He received the ASCPT Henry W. Elliott Distinguished Service Award in 2013 and the Society’s Mentor Award in 2014. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and American College of Clinical Pharmacology (ACCP) and was an ACCP Distinguished Investigator Award recipient in 2004. Since 2008, Dr. Kearns has served on the World Health Organization’s Expert Committee for the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines. He was an elected member of the U.S. Pharmacopeia Council of Experts from 2000 to 2005.

For ASCPT, Dr. Kearns completed two terms on the Board of Directors as Secretary–Treasurer and was appointed President in 2003. He is a former member of the Ethics, Government Affairs, Scientific Program, Intersociety Liaison, and Nominating Committees. As an invited speaker at ASCPT’s Annual Meetings, Dr. Kearns has presented workshops and symposia and chaired numerous sessions on drug interactions, pediatric medicine, and education. He delivered the 2010 FDA–ASCPT William B. Abrams Lecture, “Rescuing the Therapeutic Orphan.”

Dr. Kearns has also held leadership roles at ACCP on the Board of Regents and Membership, Program, and Member Retention Committees. He was a Special Government Employee for the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, a special consultant for the U.K. National Health Service, and most recently, a U.S. representative for the European Commission’s Global Research in Pediatrics initiative. He has received continuous support from the National Institutes of Health since 1993 and authored more than 250 published papers on pediatric clinical pharmacology.

About ASCPT
ASCPT is the leading forum for the discussion, development, and integration of clinical pharmacology, translational medicine, and therapeutics. Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., ASCPT was established in 1900. Today, more than 2,300 ASCPT members are committed to advancing the science and practice of translational medicine. 

Contact:
Sharon Swan, FASAE, CAE
CEO, ASCPT
703-836-6981
Sharon@ascpt.org

###