Paul L. Schiff

Biography

Paul L. Schiff, Jr. is professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. Dr. Schiff received his BS degree in pharmacy from The Ohio State University in 1962, and his MS and Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy/Natural Products Chemistry from the same institution in 1964 and 1967, respectively. After holding positions at Butler University and The University of Misissippi, Dr. Schiff joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 1970, where he chaired the Department of Pharmacognosy until 1985, and the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences from 1985 until July, 1996. Dr. Schiff is the principal instructor in two team-taught courses in Pharmacotherapy of Infectious Disease, as well as being the sole instructor in a course in Medical Parasitology, and is a contributing teacher in courses in Drug Development, Pharmacotherapy of Cardiovascular Disease, Pulmonology/Rheumatology, Oncology/Hematology and Neurology/Psychiatry. He was twice elected as the Hygeia Teacher of the Year (1987,1993) and three times as the Cohen Teacher of the Year (2001, 2005, 2011). Dr. Schiff has been active in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) where he has served as Chairman of both the Section of Teachers of Biological Sciences (1990-91) and of the Section of Teachers of Chemistry (1998-99). Dr. Schiff’s research interests have focused upon the isolation and identification of potentially bioactive metabolites from medicinal plants, and he is the author or co-author of over 150 scientific publications, 5 review articles, and 5 book chapters. He is a Fellow of both the American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA)-Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences and of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS). He was President of the American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP)(1983-84), and was Chairman of the Medicinal and Natural Products Section of AAPS (1986-87). He received the Jack L. Beal Postbaccalaureate Award in 1990 from his alma mater in recognition of outstanding contributions made to the pharmaceutical sciences and professional practice of pharmacy. Dr. Schiff was an elected member of the Subcommittee on Natural Products to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP)(1995-2000) and of the Dietary Supplements-Botanicals Expert Committee (Chair: 2000-2005; Member: 2005-2010). He was a member of the USP Complex Actives Division Executive Committee and the USP Council of Experts Executive Committee (2000-2005). He was elected to membership (2010-2015) on the Dietary Supplements-Expert Committee in 2010 and serves on the Botanicals Subcommittee (chair), Admissions/Safety Subcommittee (member) and Nomenclature Subcommittee (member) of the Expert Committee.

Research Interest

The collaborative formulation of botanical dietary supplement monographs for publication within the United States Pharmacopeia