Farnsworth Lectureship at UIC
The Farnsworth Lectureship at the UIC College of Pharmacy
The UIC College of Pharmacy is proud to host the collegiate Norman R. Farnsworth Lectureship in Pharmacognosy in memory of one of its most dedicated pharmacy educators and internationally renowned, transformational pharmacognosy researchers on the chemistry, biology, and therapeutic properties of medicinal plants and natural products. The lecture is hosted every year, typically in late March during Spring Break, by the the UIC Pharmacognosy Institute in the College of Pharmacy.
Farnsworth Lecture Events Heading link
2024 Norman R. Farnsworth Lecture | Dr. Elaine Elisabetsky
2023 Norman R. Farnsworth Lecture | Dr. Geoffrey Cordell
2022 Norman R. Farnsworth Lecture | Dr. David Newman
Norman Farnsworth - A Pharmacognosist at the UIC College of Pharmacy Heading link
Norman R. Farnsworth, Distinguished University Professor, served on the UIC College of Pharmacy faculty for more than 41 years (1970-2011). During his tenure, he served as head of the department of pharmacognosy and pharmacology for 12 years, followed by 30 years as director of the Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences. This multi-disciplinary research unit is dedicated to all aspects of collaborative studies on medicinal plants, including chemistry, biology, clinical effects, biodiversity inventory and conservation, informatics and intellectual property rights.
Farnsworth also served as director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Traditional Medicine at UIC, and he was the inventor and editor-in-chief of the NAPRALERT database, a relational database on medicinal plants and natural products.
“Farnsworth brought to UIC a culture of sophisticated research that has persisted. It is a legacy that we cherish. We are consistently rated one of the top five research colleges of pharmacy in the United States, and that can be traced back to Norm,” said Dean Jerry Bauman at the first Farnsworth Lecture in 2013, “[His arrival] transformed us from being predominantly a teaching-oriented institution to one making major scientific contributions that complement our educational programs. Norm had the ability to recruit extremely talented colleagues and get them to work collaboratively toward common research and scientific goals.”
Born in Lynn, Mass., Farnsworth received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, where he also served as a faculty member for 15 years.
Under Farnsworth’s direction, the UIC Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research was established in 1999 as one of six such research centers funded by the National Institutes of Health to study botanical dietary supplements. UIC’s Center, the only continuously funded unit, focuses on studying botanicals that may improve women’s health and quality of life, specifically in the areas of menopause, premenstrual syndrome and persistent urinary tract infections.
Throughout his distinguished career, Farnsworth was the recipient of numerous national and international awards, too numerous to cite. A sampling includes three honorary doctorates and three honorary professorships; appointments as special delegate and commission member by former Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, respectively. A reflection of the esteem held by his peers is exemplified by the American Society of Pharmacognosy’s designating its Research Achievement Award as the “Norman R. Farnsworth Research Achievement Award”. In recognition of his contribution to pharmacognostical education and research, special symposium programs honoring Farnsworth were held by the 12th Annual Oxford International Conference on the Science of Botanicals and by the American Society of Pharmacognosy at the International Congress of Natural Products Research in 2012.
Consider supporting the Farnsworth Lectureship at UIC Heading link
To ensure the preservation of his enduring academic legacy as an educator, innovator and pioneering researcher whose contributions have impacted not only UIC, but have also changed the face of pharmacognosy and medicinal plant research, the UIC College of Pharmacy welcomes your assistance in supporting the Norman R. Farnsworth Lectureship in Pharmacognosy. By making a donation at pharmgiving.uic.edu will be much appreciated and will support annual public lecture on topics encompassing all aspects of pharmacognosy research and education by internationally recognized researchers/educators.
