FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

 

For more information, contact:

Anne Manning

University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Communications and Marketing

(901) 448-4072          

 

CHYKA APPOINTED ASSOCIATE DEAN OF UT COLLEGE OF PHARMACY, KNOXVILLE CAMPUS

 

            Memphis, Tennessee (January 4, 2006) – Effective January 1, Peter A. Chyka, PharmD, was appointed associate dean of the College of Pharmacy’s Knoxville campus. Dick R. Gourley, PharmD, professor and dean of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Pharmacy, announced the appointment today.  Dr. Chyka will direct the college’s expanded Knoxville campus, which will be the education site for 225 UT pharmacy students.

“We had a number of outstanding pharmacy educators interested in the position of associate dean for our newly expanded Knoxville campus, but Dr. Chyka’s administrative experience and knowledge of the UT Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville and our East Tennessee operations made him stand out clearly as the best choice.  He chaired an outstanding expansion team that included curriculum, faculty, and student affairs, so I am convinced he will do an excellent job in heading our Knoxville campus,” commented Dean Gourley.

            Serving as professor since 1994 and vice chair in the Department of Pharmacy since 1997, Dr. Chyka brings a wide range of administrative experience to his new position.  Earlier in his career, he was executive director of the Southern Poison Center in Memphis (1981-2004), director of the UT Drug Information Center (1987-1998), and project director of the Tennessee Drug Utilization Project for Medicaid and TennCare (1992-2001).

            Highly regarded in his field, Dr. Chyka is a Fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology and a Diplomat of the American Board of Applied Toxicology. In 2002 he was elected to a two-year term as president of the American Board of Applied Toxicology.  In 1998 he received the UT National Alumni Association Public Service Award, and in 2001, he received the UTHSC Chancellor’s Distinguished Educator Award.

Holding a dual appointment with the UTHSC College of Graduate Health Sciences, Dr. Chyka’s has focused his research on methods to minimize gastrointestinal drug absorption, adverse reactions from drugs and dietary supplements, and poison prevention strategies. Widely published, he has authored or co-authored approximately 50 articles in biomedical journals or books, and is currently on the editorial boards of Drug Safety, Annals of Pharmacotherapy and the Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics. He is also a regular reviewer for journals such as Annals of Emergency Medicine and Pharmacotherapy.

Prior to joining the UTHSC faculty in 1977, Dr. Chyka received his doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Minnesota.

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