‘Unwavering commitment’: Dr. William L. Dewey receives lifetime achievement award
After more than 50 years of research and teaching William L. Dewey, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, was honored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
William Dewey, Ph.D., joined VCU in 1972 and has headed the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology since 2009.
William L. Dewey, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, has received the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) Lifetime Achievement Award for his “unwavering commitment to substance use research” over the past 50-plus years.
“I am really pleased that the team of outstanding scholars at VCU are being recognized, as no one in this business works alone,” Dewey said. “I am pleased to accept it on their behalf.”
Dewey, who joined the School of Medicine in 1972, has served as chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology for over 15 years. He has continuously secured the department’s T32 training grant from NIDA, most recently in 2021. It is both VCU’s and NIDA’s longest consecutive training grant and has provided funding for over 600 recipients.
“Dr. Dewey’s research has not just improved lives; it has saved them,” said Arturo Saavedra, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the VCU School of Medicine. “His recognition by NIDA is a well-deserved capstone to his career, and also brings honor and distinction to the VCU School of Medicine and the university as a whole.”
Dewey also serves as director for the department’s Central Virginia Center on Drug Abuse Research, which received a five-year grant totaling $6.8 million in 2019. In addition to his work at VCU, Dewey led the development of Friends of NIDA, a coalition of professionals and patients that advocates for increased resources for NIDA. He frequently travels to Washington, D.C. to advocate on behalf of NIDA and drug policy reform.