Memorial service set for pharmacy professor

Friends will pay tribute Jan. 24 to the life and work of the late Ralph Dawson Jr., Ph.D., a former University of Florida associate professor in the College of Pharmacy.

Dawson, 48, died Dec. 24 from injuries received in an automobile accident on Interstate 10 near Tallahassee. He planned to spend the holidays with his parents in Alabama, colleagues said.

The memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24 in the new Health Professions, Nursing and Pharmacy auditorium on the north side of the UF Health Science Center complex.

Dawson generated more than $4.1 million in research grants, was an outstanding academician and had an abiding love for nature, colleagues said. His scientific expertise draped the heart of an outdoorsman who loved to fish, hunt and kayak.

Dawson arrived at UF after his post-doctoral work at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1985, roughly at the same time as his close colleagues, Michael J. Meldrum, Ph.D., and William J. Millard, Ph.D.

“He was a phenomenal teacher, researcher, mentor and scholar,” said Millard, executive associate dean in the College of Pharmacy. “He was my resource for many administrative decisions. Now, instead of being able to ask Ralph for his advice, I’ll think of how Ralph would have advised me.”

Dawson, a member of the pharmacodynamics department, made a lasting impact on students, whether they were undergraduate, professional, graduate or postdoctoral.

“He had to work for his education, so he placed a high value on it,” Meldrum said. “He wanted his students to get the most out of the opportunity, to go beyond what they needed to learn simply to pass and get a job. For him, there was a wonderment in learning, and he tried to instill that feeling of wonder in his students.”

Dawson earned his Ph.D. in toxicology at Johns Hopkins University in 1983, after receiving his bachelor’s degree in psychology and graduating magna cum laude from the University of South Alabama in 1976. He received his master’s degree in experimental psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

While with the College of Pharmacy, he served terms as the associate dean for research and graduate studies and as graduate coordinator for the pharmacodynamics department.

In 1993, Dawson met with members of the Ministry of University Affairs of Thailand to finalize an agreement to help upgrade pharmacy education and practice in Thailand. Under the pact, Thailand pledged to provide scholarships for more than 100 students and faculty to earn advanced degrees at nine U.S. pharmacy schools.

At UF, Dawson received a grant for $3.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to discover novel drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, according to his curriculum vitae.

He devoted much of his recent research to understanding memory loss and brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, He had recently received a $64,000 grant from the McKnight Brain Research Foundation to study whether daily intake of taurine — a dietary supplement widely used in energy drinks — can preserve learning and memory, said Joanna Peris, Ph.D., the graduate coordinator of pharmocodynamics.

His research was infused with appreciation for people’s needs, colleagues said.

“Dr. Dawson had a special talent as a basic-science researcher and kept sight of how his work would impact the patient. However, Dr. Dawson’s most important legacy is that he was a kind and loving human being,” said Janet Karlix, Pharm.D., an associate professor of pharmacy practice. “He had a great sense of humor and was truly interested in people’s well being. He was dedicated to translating his research to optimize patients’ health.”

William Riffee, Ph.D., dean of the College of Pharmacy, said Dawson’s passing is a great loss.

“He was a valued teacher and researcher for many years,” Riffee said. “He was well-regarded by students and fellow faculty. It’s difficult to replace any faculty member who has reached such high levels of achievement. But it’s impossible to replace him as a human being.”

Members of the pharmacodynamics department were extremely close, said department Chairwoman Maureen Keller-Wood, Ph.D.

“We are a small department with practically no turnover. There are only seven of us left now, so I think the loss is felt more profoundly than it would be in a department of 50,” she said. “We’re like a family.”

Dawson is survived by his parents, Ralph Dawson Sr. and Christine Dawson of Frisco City, Ala.; a son, Ralph Dawson III of Newberry; a daughter, Alecia Dawson Perkins of Gainesville; and one grandchild.

Funeral services were held Dec. 29 in Monroeville, Ala. Donations in his memory may be made to the American Heart Association, Florida/Puerto Rico Affiliate, P.O. Box 21475, St. Petersburg, FL 33742.