Dean, School of PharmacyProfessor Audus was born November 11, 1954 in Watertown, South Dakota. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from The University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota, in 1980. In 1984, he took his Ph.D. in Pharmacology with Dissertation Honors from The University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City, Kansas, in the laboratory of Professor Michael Gordon.
In 1984 and 1985, he completed postdoctoral training including an American Heart Association - Kansas Affiliate Postdoctoral Fellowship, in the laboratory of Professor Ronald T. Borchardt in Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. On January 1, 1986, Professor Audus was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Kansas. He has progressed through the academic ranks and is currently a Professor and, since 1998, Chairman of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at The University of Kansas. He also holds a Courtesy Professor appointment in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology at The University of Kansas in Lawrence and is a Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Professor Audus is internationally recognized for his research achievements and interests in the development and application of brain microvessel endothelial cell (i.e., the blood-brain barrier), placental trophoblast (i.e., the placental barrier), and pulmonary epithelial cell culture systems to study fundamental mechanisms of transport and metabolism of pharmaceuticals. In addition, his laboratory has been exploring the utility of these in vitro systems in detailing cellular mechanisms through which endogenous and exogenous factors regulate the permeability properties of endothelial and epithelial barriers. The models Professor Audus has characterized and established are used in industrial settings to assist in new drug design and development efforts.
In his career, Professor Audus’ research has been continuously supported by a combination of funding from the National Institutes of Health, private foundations, and the pharmaceutical industry. He is the author or co-author of more than 135 research publications, 120 abstracts, and is the co-editor of one book. Professor Audus has been recognized with a Life Sciences Contacts Award from Lilly Research Laboratories (1987) and he was elected Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (1996). He is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and a member of the Editorial Boards of the International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin, and the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Professor Audus has served as, Chairman of the Peer Scientific Grant Committee (1994-1996), as a member of the Scientific Research Committee (1994-1998), and President (1997-1998) of the American Heart Association – Kansas Affiliate. He is currently a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Genzyme Pharmaceuticals (2001-present).
Professor Audus currently mentors four graduate students and three postdocs in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. He is also directly responsible for training nine Ph.D. graduates, three Masters graduates, eight visiting Ph.D. students from European Universities, and ten postdocs over the past 16 years in the Departments of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology & Toxicology at The University of Kansas. Professor Audus has also participated in the teaching of professional courses in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Kansas throughout his career. He has been recognized by American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy as a Teacher of the Year (2000) and by the University of Kansas Center for Teaching Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in Pharmaceutical Chemistry (2000).
©
The University of Kansas Medical Center