School of PharmacyAllan Weber Named UW School of Pharmacy 2014 Outstanding Alumnus

College of Health Sciences

Allan E. Weber, Ph.D.September 22, 2014 — Allan E. Weber, Ph.D., (B.S.P. ’63) was recently named the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy 2014 Outstanding Alumnus. He will be honored during the College of Health Sciences award ceremony Oct. 17.

Weber’s highly successful pharmaceutical development career commenced with the successful product development of the second protein drug to be approved in the U.S. His career includes numerous accomplishments, including participating in over 12 new domestic and international drug approvals and receiving three Presidential Awards at Abbott Laboratories for project leadership and technical advances leading to new product approvals.

“I gained management experience during the early stages of my career by serving as the interdisciplinary project manager for development on many successful pharmaceutical products,” says Weber. “The project management experience led to many senior management positions in both large and small companies during the middle of my career. The experience from those positions allowed me to launch a successful consulting firm that served both the domestic and international pharmaceutical community.”

Weber’s interest in the pharmaceutical sciences and the pharmaceutical industry started from opportunities to work with various chemistry and pharmacology faculty when he was in pharmacy school. He found he was more interested in the chemistry side of pharmacy rather than the retail side.

After graduating from UW in 1963 with a bachelor’s in pharmacy, Weber entered the Navy and served on a Navy destroyer near Vietnam. Following his military service, he did biomedical research in Denver, Colorado, and later went on to receive his Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Washington.

Weber graduated from high school in Hanna, Wyoming, in 1959. His father worked for the Union Pacific Railroad for many years before taking a medical retirement. His mother was a homemaker and he has a younger brother who became a computer expert. Weber’s late wife, Sharon, worked in the pharmaceutical industry for many years as well. She started as an executive assistant at Abbott Laboratories, and worked in many areas of industry including research and development, regulatory operations, quality assurance, and lastly clinical research. Sharon passed away in February of this year after a nearly two-year battle with cancer.

The pharmaceutical industry gave so much to Weber and to Sharon, it was only natural of them to want to give something back. Using their estate, the Webers created the Allan E. and Sharon J. Weber Family Memorial Scholarship at the UW School of Pharmacy to help foster excellence and to provide financial support to students entering the program. More information.

“I felt there just really wasn’t a lot of financial incentives for people who wanted to do something other than practice pharmacy at the end of their undergraduate year,” explains Weber. “So we constructed the scholarship in a way that provides support for people who are at least considering graduate careers either in research or teaching.”

Career Insights and Advice

Dr. Weber shares insights about his career and offers advice for prospective and current students:

Evolution from rural Wyoming to a pharmaceutical development career

It was only by having the faculty at the School of Pharmacy advise us of the many diverse opportunities available with a pharmaceutical education that I developed an interest in the pharmaceutical sciences and the pharmaceutical industry. When I began my studies at UW I expected to become a retail pharmacist. However, opportunities to work with various faculty members after normal classes and during the summers gave me insight into the more applied sciences of chemistry and pharmacology. I spent many hours in Dr. Kahl’s pharmaceutical chemistry lab doing synthetic chemistry under his guidance. In addition, I worked at the Bureau of Mines laboratories for several years during my undergraduate days which led me to an interest in applied chemistry. All those experiences helped me decide that I wanted to pursue the scientific side of pharmacy as opposed to the retail side.

Challenges to my career

I became aware early on in my career that my education only served as a base for my career and that I would need to continue to learn new technology and new regulations as they evolved. It was always a struggle to find the time to continue the learning process.

It was also often difficult to see paths open to my career development. It was difficult to see diverse opportunities as a positive move during my career. But I soon realized that diversity of experience was the key to advancement. More than once my career seemed to take a backward step but those steps usually offered experiences I would not have had by taking the easier path.

Awards

In addition to receiving the three Presidential Awards at Abbott Laboratories, I was inducted into the Rho Chi and the Gamma Sigma Epsilon societies during my undergraduate studies.

Professional and civic organizations

I was a member of Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the American Pharmaceutical Association, the American Chemical Society and the Chicagoland Pharmaceutical Discussion Group. I was a member of the Program Committee for the Chicagoland Pharmaceutical Discussion group for several years.

Comments about UW and the School of Pharmacy

I always found the University of Wyoming to be a pleasant environment in which to study and learn. I believe the small size of the university and the College of Pharmacy during my tenure allowed for more freedoms of learning. In particular, the Dean and faculty of the College of Pharmacy were always available for consultation and advice. They permitted us to learn and provided guidance and advice about opportunities available to the students. [Editor’s note: the current UW School of Pharmacy was the UW College of Pharmacy from 1949-1968]

Guidance on career

Dr. Ray Kahl was the major person in advising me of opportunities available to me but Dr. Anderson who taught pharmacology and Dr. Julian were also instrumental in providing opinions of our capabilities as well as guidance about graduate studies. They also provided us with a lot of hands on experience that we never would have had otherwise. Dr. Kahl let us work in his laboratories assisting in his research activities and we made a lot of mistakes but learned from them.

My best memories of my undergraduate education at the university relate to the friendly and encouraging assistance from the professors but also from fellow students both in pharmacy but studying in other fields as well.

Advice for prospective and current students

It is important to recognize that an education in the pharmaceutical sciences provides a very broad base of experience in the medical fields of today. Whether this is in pursuit of effective treatment and education of patients in retail or hospital settings, in sales or retailing for a manufacturer, in some aspect of clinical research or specialized pharmacy practices such as hospital pharmacy drug preparation and dispensing is academic. One can start in one area and move to another without too much difficulty. Opportunities in industry include pharmaceutical product development, clinical research, quality control, or regulatory operations. Of course, a career in education is always an option as well. It is important to keep an open mind about your career. Don’t be afraid to take new opportunities that will arise. A good part of my diverse career evolved by taking part in activities unrelated to a primary job function.

One of the most important things you will need to do is to continue your education throughout your career. If you stop learning the day you graduate, it is easy to become stagnant in your career growth. I think this is one of the most difficult things to do because it requires self-discipline to continue to maintain your knowledge base.

Advice for those interested in industrial or educational careers

If you are interested in industrial or educational careers, I recommend you search for internship programs that many of the pharmaceutical manufacturers offer during summer breaks. Usually these are in some pharmaceutical development group but typically interns rotate through other disciplines as well. For those with an educational intent, I recommend undergraduate research studies even if they are in another discipline. Often these will reveal interests and contacts for future investigation.

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