The UMKC School of Pharmacy has announced that Gerald Wyckoff, Ph.D., will serve as the inaugural chair of the Division of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He will also serve in a new role of director of research and graduate studies.
Both appointments will take effect July 1.
Wyckoff has served as interim chair of the division responsible for graduate education in the areas of drug delivery, physical pharmacy, biopharmaceutics, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, synthetic medicinal chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry.
“Dr. Wyckoff’s teaching and research interests have consistently demonstrated leadership that brings people together to work collaboratively toward solving real world significant problems in health and disease,” said Russell Melchert, Pharm.D., dean of the School of Pharmacy. “In his two years as interim chair, he has brought together our two basic science divisions to create direction for unity and collaboration.”
Melchert said Wyckoff’s extensive experience in graduate education had already been tremendously helpful for graduate students in the school’s two interdisciplinary-Ph.D. disciplines. As director of research and graduate studies, Wyckoff will represent the school-wide research interests and promote internal and external research collaborations.
Wyckoff earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in genetics from the University of Chicago. Following a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago in the Department of Human Genetics, he joined the UMKC School of Biological Sciences, now the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, in the Division of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.
His teaching interests and experience have included areas highly relevant to pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences education. He has coordinated courses in evolution, human genomic epidemiology, bioinformatics and bench-to-bedside translational research.
Wyckoff was recognized in 2018 with the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the highest honor for teaching higher education in Missouri. He has also received the UMKC Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.