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Biography
Daniel Acosta Jr., PhD, is the fourth dean of the University of Cincinnati's James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. He was appointed dean in the fall of 1996.
During his tenure, the college established an entry-level PharmD program, which admitted its first class into the four-year curriculum in the fall of 2000, and annual external grant funding has increased from $350,000 to almost $2 million. Additionally, several new degree programs have been implemented, including one of the first master's programs in drug development.
Acosta is the first and only Hispanic dean at the University of Cincinnati and the only Hispanic dean of pharmacy among the research intensive colleges of pharmacy across the country.
Prior to coming to the University of Cincinnati, he was a member of the University of Texas College of Pharmacy faculty for 22 years.
Acosta's research focused on the development of in vitro cellular models to explore and evaluate the mechanisms by which chemicals and drugs damage or injure specific cell types of various organs and tissues. He has published over 125 original papers, has authored 28 book chapters or reviews, and has edited three books. He is the editor of the third edition of Cardiovascular Toxicology (2001) and the journal Toxicology In Vitro.
Acosta is active in numerous scientific and professional organizations, serves on several editorial boards of toxicology and in vitro journals, and has been appointed to a number of government and private committees.
He was chairman of the FDA Scientific Advisory Board for the National Center for Toxicology Research and recently served on the Committee on Toxicity Testing and Assessment of Environmental Agents for the National Academy of Sciences, which charged the committee to review the role that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plays in public health protection. From 2000-01, Acosta served as the president of the Society of Toxicology, the largest toxicology organization in the word.
Acosta recently received the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation 2006 Foundation Award in Excellence, which honors an individual for a distinguished career of scientific and/or academic achievements. He also received the 2005 Society of Toxicology's Enhancement of Animal Welfare Award.
