People of ASP

Egil Ramstad graduated with a degree in Pharmacy from the University of Oslo in 1935. He then obtained his Ph.D. from Liege University in Belgium. He then joined the staff of Oslo University, taking a post as acting head of pharmacognosy. While there, he was co-author of one book and author of another, both on the subject of medicinal natural products. In 1949, he moved to Purdue University to take a position as Professor of Pharmacognosy in the College of Pharmacy. While at Purdue, he wrote Modern Pharmacognosy, which marked a departure from previous textbooks of pharmacognosy that were organized on botanical principles, rather than the chemical approach that he took. In 1971, he accepted an appointment at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, and quickly became Dean of Pharmacy. In 1974, he took a post at Rhodes University in South Africa, soon becoming Head of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. As Head, he spearheaded many major changes that are credited with establishing the School as one of the leading schools of pharmacy in Africa. Dr. Ramstad was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Research Achievement Award from the American Pharmaceutical Association (1969), and he was active in the scientific community, serving as chairman of committees of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy and the American Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and on the editorial board of Lloydia. (Based on the obituary by Isadore Kanfer in the Summer 2007 ASP Newsletter.)