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UW School of Pharmacy Mourns the Loss of Dean Emeritus Milo Gibaldi
Dr. Milo Gibaldi, who served as dean of the UW School of Pharmacy
from 1978 to 1995, died Jan. 13 in Chicago at the age of 67. He is
remembered at the UW as a humble, warm, gracious teacher, and a
visionary leader.
"Those of us who were fortunate enough to know Milo, will miss his
friendship, wonderful insights and ability to inspire," noted dean
Sid Nelson.
As dean, Gibaldi played an instrumental role in making the UW School
of Pharmacy a premier school of pharmacy, developing a more
clinically oriented curriculum, integrating the school into the UW
health sciences community, and launching the Doctor of Pharmacy
program. Although internationally honored for his accomplishments in
pharmacy research and education, he once said, "I think of myself as
a teacher, first and foremost. Even when I discover something in my
research, I really get excited about telling my students about it."
Gibaldi was a pioneer in the study of pharmacokinetics,
pharmacodynamics, drug metabolism, bioavailability, bioequivalence,
and transdermal drug delivery systems. He published more than 200
scientific papers and eight books, including the Drug Therapy Topics
Supplement. He served as scientific advisor to the Food and Drug
Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and several
pharmaceutical companies.
Over the course of his career, Gibaldi received many honors for his
work. He was one of just seven U.S. scientists honored at the
Millennial World Congress of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2000. In
1986, he became one of only two pharmacists ever elected to the
prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science.
The International Pharmaceutical Federation bestowed the Erik Host
Madsen Medal to Gibaldi in 1991 for distinction in pharmaceutical
sciences. In 1996, he was elected a fellow of the American
Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) and was a recipient
of the association's Research Achievement Award in Pharmacokinetics,
Pharmacodynamics, and Drug Metabolism.
As dean, he oversaw the planning construction of the School of
Pharmacy's long-sought permanent home in the Health Sciences Center H-
Wing. Previously the School of Pharmacy had been in Bagley Hall and
other locations on the UW campus. In addition, Gibaldi implemented
the two-year, post-baccalaureate Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
program, which had been in the planning stages for some years, and
graduated its first students in 1982. Combined with an American
Society for Hospital Pharmacy accredited residency program, it was
recognized as one of the foremost graduate programs in the nation.
Gibaldi received his undergraduate degree in pharmacy in 1960 and his
doctorate in pharmaceutics in 1963 from Columbia University. He was
an assistant professor at Columbia until 1966 when he moved to the
State University of New York at Buffalo. There he advanced to the
rank of full professor and chair of the Department of Pharmaceutics
and established a national and international reputation for research
in biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics. A strong promoter of
collegiality, Gibaldi's leadership was recognized by UW appointments
as associate vice president for Health Sciences (1982-1992), chair of
the Board of Deans (1987-1995), and chair of the Board of Health
Sciences Deans (1992-1995).
Gibaldi was dean of the School of Pharmacy for 17 years. He stepped
down from the deanship on July 1, 1995 to return to the faculty as
professor of pharmaceutics and dean emeritus. He moved to Chicago in
2003 to be closer to family and teach at Midwestern University and
continue with his research. Throughout his tenure and much of his
life he battled serious health problems, and was admired for his
perseverance and courage that enabled him to still reach great
heights as a scientist, leader and educator.
The Milo Gibaldi Endowed Professorship in Pharmaceutics was created
in his honor in 1993, designed to focus on faculty and student
research and education in advanced drug delivery systems.
Milo Gibaldi is survived by his wife, Florence, and daughter, Ann.
The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, those wishing to make a
condolence and memorial gift please do so with a donation to the Milo
Gibaldi Professorship Endowment. Donations can be made online at
https://secure.gifts.washington.edu/ph_dean/gift.asp?
page=funds&source_typ=3&source=GIBALD or by calling the University of
Washington School of Pharmacy Office of Development directly at
206-616-7613.
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Copyright 1995-2010 David W. A. Bourne (david@boomer.org)