USP quality standards are developed by our Council of Experts – more than 750 independent experts in science, healthcare and academia who have a passion for quality and public health. These dedicated volunteers contribute their expertise as members of USP expert committees and panels to develop and revise quality standards that help billions of people worldwide trust their medicines, dietary supplements and foods.
These experts consistently tell us how meaningful this work is to them, as a way to contribute to strengthening the global public health safety net. This year, we launched the official Call for Candidates for volunteers to serve on these critical committees for the 2020-2025 Convention cycle. It may seem early to start thinking about the experts on our standards-setting committee in 2020, but this serious effort takes time. Learn more about volunteering at callforcandidates.usp.org.
Outstanding scientific and public health volunteer experts
Since its very beginning nearly 200 years ago, USP has benefited from the expertise of the world’s top experts in science, healthcare and academia – who volunteer to serve on our Expert Committees and panels in five-year cycles. We are grateful for their contributions, as well as their passion and dedication, and simply could not do our important work without them.
With more than 750 remarkable scientific experts who volunteer for USP, it is not an easy matter to select those for special recognition. This year was no exception, especially as we introduced a new honor – the Jacob Bigelow Award. Named for one of the visionary physicians who founded USP, this award recognizes the outstanding contribution by an individual volunteer and complements the Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Standards, which acknowledges the exceptional contribution of a team of volunteers. Both awards were presented during the USP Midcycle Meeting for our governing body leadership, held in Phoenix in February 2018.
Chief Science Officer and Chair,Council of Experts.
Jacob Bigelow Award
The inaugural Jacob Bigelow Award was presented to Charles G. Thiel in 2018 in recognition of his dedication and exemplary leadership as a member of the former USP Aerosols Expert Committee and the USP Advisory Panel on Aerosols.
Mr. Thiel, who volunteered as a scientific expert for USP for over 20 years, was responsible for a number of technological advances that drastically improved how inhalers delivered lifesaving medicine to people with asthma. First available to patients in 1957, Mr. Thiel’s inhaler design was easier for patients to use and was the first device able to aerosolize asthma medicine so it was better able to reach deep into the lung. During his time with the advisory panel, Mr. Thiel applied his expertise to developing standards for a number of innovative and widely used devices improving inhalers – helping the more than 200 million people living with asthma today.
Award for outstanding contribution to the standards
The 2017 Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Standards was presented to the expert panel responsible for evaluating portable screening technologies and accepted by its chair, Andy Stergachis, Ph.D. The Expert Panel was honored for its work evaluating screening technologies that assess the quality and authenticity of medicines and the widespread dissemination of those findings.
Members of the Review of Surveillance and Screening Technologies for the Quality Assurance of Medicines Expert Panel include:
- Andy Stergachis, Ph.D., Chair
- JaCinta Batson, M.B.A.
- Stephanie Crawford, Ph.D.
- Facundo Martin Fernandez, Ph.D.
- Eliangiringa Kaale, Ph.D.
- Ravi Kalyanaraman, Ph.D.
- Wilberforce Kwiringira, M.S.
- Paul Newton, Ph.D.
- Bernard Olsen, Ph.D.
- Jason Rodriguez
- Benjamin Wilson, Ph.D.
- Stephen John Young, B.Sc.
- Anthony Zook, Ph.D.