Appointment of Vassilios Papadopoulos as Dean of the USC School of Pharmacy

A Message to USC School Of Pharmacy Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni, and Friends

On behalf of President Nikias, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Vassilios Papadopoulos as dean of the USC School of Pharmacy, effective October 1, 2016.  Dr. Papadopoulos will also hold the John Stauffer Dean’s Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences.

After an extensive national search, we found Dr. Papadopoulos to be highly qualified to lead the School of Pharmacy as it continues to advance its already-outstanding legacy of scholarship and influence.  He comes to USC from one of Canada’s largest hospital-based research centers, the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) in Montreal, where he serves as the executive director and chief scientific officer.

A graduate of the School of Pharmacy of the University of Athens, Greece, Dr. Papadopoulos completed his Ph.D. in Health and Life Science at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris and continued as a post-doctoral researcher in France and Australia. In 1988, he joined the faculty of Georgetown University School of Medicine, where he rose through the ranks to become Professor and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Associate Vice President for research and then Director of the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization. In 2004, Dr. Papadopoulos was appointed associate vice president for research and then director of the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization at Georgetown University Medical Centre. In 2007, he moved to Montreal to take on his current role at RI-MUHC where he oversees its management, development and research activities. He is Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University and holds a Canada Research Chair in Biochemical Pharmacology and the Phil Gold Chair in Medicine. Dr. Papadopoulos has published over 300 papers, holds numerous patents and serves on national and international advisory committees. He is an elected foreign member of the National Academies of Medicine and Pharmacy in France, fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

I want to recognize and thank Glen Stimmel for his commitment and steadfast leadership as interim dean of School of Pharmacy since July 1, 2015.  Professor Stimmel is a national leader in clinical pharmacy and has been a USC faculty member since 1974. Throughout this year, Professor Stimmel showcased his exceptional knowledge of the academic mission and priorities of USC Pharmacy.  I am deeply grateful to have had someone of his caliber lead USC Pharmacy. Please join me in thanking Professor Stimmel and the entire leadership team of the School of Pharmacy.

I would also like to thank the dean search committee for their outstanding work. Due to the School of Pharmacy’s importance to the university, I was grateful to have assisting me co-chairs Pinchas Cohen, dean of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and Randolph Hall, vice president of research. They were joined by Professors Roberta Diaz Brinton, Dana Goldman, Nicos Petasis, Frances Richmond, Kathy Rodgers, Bradley Williams, and Annie Wong-Beringer.

Please join President Nikias and me in warmly congratulating Dr. Papadopoulos on his appointment and in welcoming his wife, Martine Culty, and their three children to the Trojan Family.  We look forward to their arrival this fall.