Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Daniel Acosta, Jr.

Daniel Acosta, Jr. is the 4th dean of the University of Cincinnati’s James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. He was a member of The University of Texas College of Pharmacy faculty for 22 years where he helped develop a nationally ranked program in toxicology as the first Director of the Toxicology Training Program. Dr. Acosta was also responsible for encouraging minority students to consider careers in pharmacy and biomedical research through several federal and private grants.

As Dean of the Winkle College of Pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati, he has worked closely with the faculty, staff, and administration to implement a new entry-level Pharm.D. program, which admitted its first class into the four-year curriculum in the Fall of 2000. During his tenure as Dean, he has provided direction and resources to enhance the research and scholarly activities of the faculty, such that annual external grant funding has increased from $350,000 to close to $2,000,000. Through his leadership efforts, several new degree programs have been implemented in the professional and MS/PhD programs of the college, including one of the first national Master programs in drug development. He 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.

He 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. For example, he was the chairman of the FDA Scientific Advisory Board for the National Center for Toxicology Research, Past Chairman and current member of the Texas A&M External Advisory Board of the NIEHS Center for Environmental and Rural Health, a past member of the Board of Scientific Advisors for the Office of Research and Development of the Environmental Protection Agency, a past member of the National Advisory Committee to the Director of the Center for Environmental Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a member of the NIEHS Scientific Advisory Committee on Alternative Toxicological Methods which is advisory to NIEHS and the National Toxicology Program, and a member of the Expert Committee on Toxicology and Biocompatibility of the United States Pharmacopoeia, 2000–2005. He was appointed to the Committee on Toxicity Testing and Assessment of Environmental Agents for the National Academy of Sciences, which resulted in two pioneering reports on Toxicology in the 21st Century, 2007–2008.

He is the recipient of several awards and honors, including the Burroughs Wellcome Toxicology Scholar (1986–1991), Colgate Palmolive Visiting Professor in In Vitro Toxicology (1996–1997), and several endowed professorships at the University of Texas. He was elected President of the Society of Toxicology (2000–2001), which is the largest toxicology organization in the world (notably he was first Hispanic to be elected to this position). Another honor was his selection to receive the 2005 Society of Toxicology’s Enhancement of Animal Welfare Award, which recognizes outstanding career contributions made by SOT members to the scientifically sound and responsible use of animals in research. He was selected by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation to receive the 2006 Foundation Award in Excellence, which honors an individual for a distinguished career of scientific and/or academic achievements in pharmacology/toxicology. His most recent honors were his election as a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences for career contributions to the discipline of toxicology and his selection as the 2008 Outstanding Ex of Austin High School, El Paso, Texas. He continues to be active in scholarly pursuits, serving as the Editor of Toxicology In Vitro, a peer-reviewed journal with a high impact in cellular and in vitro toxicology, and Associate Editor of In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology, a journal specializing in cell culture advances. His editorship of Cardiovascular Toxicology (a highly regarded monograph in target organ toxicology) has resulted in the latest publication of the 4th Edition in 2008.