Michael Owens
OXFORD, Miss. – Michael Owens, director of the Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Studies at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, is set to deliver the annual Ronald F. Borne Distinguished Lecture in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Mississippi.
The lecture, at 11 a.m. April 10 in the Thad Cochran Research Center auditorium, is free and open to the public. Owens plans to discuss “Therapeutic Antibodies for the Treatment of Addiction – At the Interface of Chemistry and Biology.”
“The department is thrilled to have Dr. Owens as our eighth annual Ronald F. Borne Lecturer,” said Stephen J. Cutler, chair of the medicinal chemistry department, which sponsors the lecture. “He is an extraordinarily accomplished scientist who has led very productive research teams involved in the neurological problems associated with drug abuse. He is no stranger to Ole Miss and has supported the NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence program with mentoring our junior investigators with their grant submissions.”
Owens’ research focuses on translational science, antibody-based medications, experimental therapeutics and drug abuse. The National Institute on Drug Abuse has funded his research since 1986, and he is a recipient of a National Institutes of Health Research Career Development Award for 10 years.
He has served as a grant reviewer and chairman of advisory committees for various federal research agencies, and expert panels including the NIH Small Business Innovative Research Grants program, NIDA, the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Technology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Owens also has served on editorial boards, and as a scientific adviser and consultant for industry, government and private agencies, including the National Academy of Science and Institute of Medicine.
He is the founding director of the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, which was established with Arkansas’ funding from the National Tobacco Settlement Act. In recognition of his research and academic accomplishments at UAMS, he was awarded a Wilbur D. Mills Endowed Chair in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention in 2000.
The lecture was established in 2004 as a way of recognizing Ronald F. Borne, a longtime medicinal chemistry professor, and his contributions to the department. Borne was a classroom favorite of students for many years and has been recognized on numerous occasions for his teaching and research excellence. He received the university’s Elsie M. Hood Teacher of the Year Award in 1972, the university’s 1996 Faculty Achievement Award and 1992 Mississippi Professor of the Year Award.
Borne served as department chair from 1979 to 1988, acting associate vice chancellor for research and acting dean of the Graduate School in 1985-86, interim associate vice chancellor for research in 1997-98 and interim vice chancellor for research in 1998-2001. He retired from the university in 2004.
For more information on the lecture or for assistance related to a disability, contact Candace Lowstuter at medchem@olemiss.edu or 662-915-7101.
For more information on education and research programs, visit the UM School of Pharmacy.