Dear UMB Community:

I write today to let you know that Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FAAPS, FCP, has decided to step down as dean of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) at the end of this academic year. An alumna of the school, she has served as dean since 2007, having previously served as an assistant professor and chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and director of the Pharmacokinetics-Biopharmaceutics Laboratory.

A nationally known expert in drug delivery and pharmacokinetics, Dean Eddington focuses her research on medications used in the treatment of cancer, epilepsy, arthritis, and drugs of abuse, and on understanding the role of biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics in elucidating the underlying mechanisms important in optimizing drug therapy. Her research has served as the basis for numerous regulatory guidances implemented by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Under Dean Eddington’s leadership, UMSOP has established a number of centers and programs including the Center for Innovative Pharmacy Solutions; the Patients, Pharmacists, Partnerships Program; the PATIENTS Program; the Bio- and Nano-Technology Center; the Center for Translational Medicine; the Mass Spectrometry Center; and the Maryland Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation, which is a collaborative agreement with the FDA to promote innovation in support of the development and evaluation of safe and effective products. In addition, Dean Eddington has designed numerous international regulatory courses for clinicians and scientists from South Korea, Argentina, Brazil, the United States, and Japan on the United States’ drug development process and the FDA regulatory infrastructure surrounding medication and device development. Most recently, under her leadership, UMSOP launched a transformational pharmapreneurism initiative.

I am extremely pleased that Dean Eddington will stay at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) as a professor and that she will lead UMB’s EMBRACE initiative. EMBRACE is a multifaceted approach designed to increase the vibrancy of the greater UMB campus, boost UMB’s community impact in West Baltimore, and strengthen UMB’s profile with our internal and external constituencies. Dean Eddington’s long and impactful tenure at UMB has been characterized by building and leading strong teams, strategic and entrepreneurial thinking, competent and results-oriented leadership, and establishing and maintaining strong and meaningful relationships. These attributes will be essential in giving shape to this important UMB initiative. More information about the EMBRACE initiative will be shared in the coming weeks.

Dean Eddington’s leadership has positioned UMSOP for continued success long after her tenure as dean. Please join me in thanking Dean Eddington for her leadership and service to UMB as dean and for serving as the leader of EMBRACE. A national search for a new UMSOP dean will commence, and we will share information about the search at the appropriate time. 

Sincerely,

Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS

President