February 23, 2021
OXFORD, Miss. – University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy Dean David D. Allen has been named the next President of the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, effective July 1. Additional information is forthcoming as transition plans are determined.
“My time at the University of Mississippi has been nothing short of amazing,” Allen said. “The stellar students, faculty, staff, scientists, alumni and school stakeholders make up a truly remarkable community. With their support, along with both campuses’ leadership, I’m proud of all that we accomplished in advancing pharmacy education and research, as well as the profession.”
Since his arrival in January 2012, under Allen’s extraordinary leadership a new curriculum was implemented, full accreditation was received from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education and additional admission pathways were integrated for aspiring pharmacists. The school underwent multiple renovations, including a state-of-the-art Skills Lab for student pharmacists and opening of the Medical Center Campus School of Pharmacy building.
A new administrative structure was established that brought the creation of the Department of BioMolecular Sciences, while a new Master’s of Industrial Pharmacy strengthened the growth of the school’s graduate programs.
The school’s research enterprise flourished. External funding consistently ranked in the top 20 nationally, reaching as high as sixth among schools of pharmacy in 2018. Allen oversaw the opening of the 96,000 square foot research facility in the Thad Cochran Research Center West Wing that hosts a clinical studies suite, expanded NMR facility and the Natural Products Training Laboratory.
The school’s research centers also expanded with the addition of the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences and Pii Center for Pharmaceutical Technology.
Prior to joining UM, Allen was founding Dean of Pharmacy and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Pharmacy and Associate Dean of Curricular Affairs at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy.
He has served as principal investigator or collaborator on more than 30 research projects, authored 74 peer-reviewed articles and 44 professional publications and contributed to seven books. He is also on the editorial boards of Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy. He previously served on the editorial boards of Pharmacology Weekly, Life Sciences and the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.
The recipient of dozens of leadership, teaching, research and practice awards. Allen served as the 2018-19 President of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. He was designated a Fellow of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists in 2004, the National Academies of Practice in 2009 and the American Pharmacists Association in 2011.
He is a member of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the Society for Neuroscience and the AACP’s Council of Deans. He also chaired AACP’s Biological Sciences Section and the Student Services Special Interest Group.
Allen received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy at the University of Kentucky, then practiced community pharmacy for several years before returning to UK to earn his Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences.
He has been licensed to practice pharmacy in five states and has been a visiting scientist in Chile, France and Switzerland, as well as the Laboratory of Neurosciences’ Neurochemistry and Brain Transport Section of the National Institute of Health’s National Institute on Aging, where he also was an Intramural Research Training Award Fellow.