The College of Pharmacy’s excellence in education continues to shine bright with yet another mark of recognition. College of Pharmacy alumnus Kenneth S. Ramos, M.D., Ph.D., Pharm.B. earned this year’s Graduate School Outstanding Alumni Award.
The Graduate School’s professional and student awards, generously underwritten by the University Co-op, recognize excellence in graduate academics, teaching, and professional services. The awards highlight emerging and continued distinction incubated at the university and demonstrated by its current student body and staff, as well as accomplished alumni who go on to change the world.
Dr. Ramos earned his Ph.D. in Toxicology from the College of Pharmacy in 1983 under the guidance of Dr. Daniel Acosta. Dr. Ramos is one of the college’s most prominent Ph.D. graduates, based on his scientific, administrative, patient care, public health, advocacy, and public communications accomplishments. He has vast depth of experience across the tripartite mission areas of education, research and clinical service, and is recognized throughout the world for his scientific contributions in the areas of genomics, precision medicine, environmental health sciences, and toxicology.
In his nomination letter, Dean M. Lynn Crismon wrote that Dr. Ramos “provides leadership in navigating the changing landscape of medicine and health care,” adding that he leads “several translational, clinical research, and educational programs that integrate diverse approaches to elucidate genomic mechanisms of disease and novel therapies for several oncologic, pulmonary, and vascular diseases.”
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Dr. Ramos never hesitates to give back to his alma mater. He has worked with Dr. John Richburg, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies and Professor of Pharmacology, to establish an endowment named for his graduate mentor, Dr. Acosta. The endowment seeks to support graduate students in the pharmaceutical sciences and demonstrates Dr. Ramos’s continued support for the college and university.
Dr. Ramos currently serves at the Director of the Institute of Biosciences and Technology and Assistant Vice Chancellor at the Texas A&M University System. He recently served as Associate Vice President for Precision Health Sciences at the University of Arizona Health Sciences. He also serviced as Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Director of the Center for Applied Genetics and Genomic Medicine, and Director of the M.D. and Ph.D. program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson.
In 2008, Dr. Ramos become an associate of the National Academy of Sciences, and elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2015. He has received numerous awards in recognition of his scientific excellence, including the Chester J. Reed Endowed Chair in Molecular Toxicology, Distinguished Scholar in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Achievement Award for Scientific Excellence in Toxicological Sciences, and Leading Physician of the World in Molecular Medicine and Distinguished Scientist.
The Graduate School honored Dr. Ramos and the other award winners during a banquet on April 30, 2019, and will recognize his accolade during the Doctoral Students Convocation on May 25, 2019. The school will also administer a $5,000 graduate fellowship to an outstanding student in the college’s Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology. The fellowship will go to Ph.D. candidate Fernando Eguiarte-Solomon, mentored by Pharmacology and Toxicology Division Head and Professor John DiGiovanni, Ph.D.
Download the news release about Dr. Ramos’s award.