DETROIT - A Wayne State University School of Medicine faculty member has been recognized for his devotion to teaching by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).

Raymond Mattingly, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology, has been inducted into ASPET's Academy of Pharmacology Educators. The academy recognizes instructors who have made exemplary contributions to pharmacology education.

"I have been committed to the field of pharmacology since I was an undergraduate student," said Mattingly, of Grosse Pointe Woods. "As a faculty member I have been particularly concerned to provide the best possible teaching to all of our students, in both the classroom and the laboratory, and so it is a special honor for me to be recognized by our major professional society."

Mattingly, a member of the faculty since 1998, is the course director for Medical Pharmacology and Therapeutics and deputy director of the School of Medicine's Cancer Biology Graduate Program, which is funded by a T32 training grant from the National Cancer Institute. The nomination recognized him for playing an important role in developing and modernizing the basic science curriculum in pharmacology, and said he is "regarded as an excellent scientist-educator" who has directly mentored 30 graduate students and five postdoctoral trainees.

A winner of three WSU College Teaching Awards, he is a longtime member of the Initiative for Minority Student Development, mentoring three students in the program in the last 10 years and serving as a committee member.

"I was the first member of my family to go to a university and so I really wanted to contribute to programs, like the IMSD (Initiative for Maximizing Student Development program), that are successful in expanding access to biomedical education and research careers," Mattingly said. "Many of these students are excellent, and so greatly benefit from the opportunities provided. For example, Ryan Jackson, an IMSD undergraduate student currently working in my lab, won the Outstanding Presentation Award at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in Nashville, Tenn., in November 2013."

In addition, he trains high school students in his lab.

"I think it is important to provide opportunities to people when they are young and have the chance to make decisions," said Mattingly, who on Wednesday was scheduled to meet with another high school student interested in a summer internship experience. "This is particularly important for pharmacology, which often has a low profile for students compared to other biomedical sciences."

Members of ASPET conduct basic and clinical pharmacological research and work for academia, government, large pharmaceutical companies, small biotech companies and non-profit organizations.

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Wayne State University is one of the nation's pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit http://www.research.wayne.edu.