The Ray Fuller Lecture was established to honor the achievements of Ray W. Fuller, PhD in applying an improved understanding of the central nervous system to discover better treatments for the mentally ill. Dr. Fuller was one of the triad that discovered fluoxetine (Prozac), leading to an entire new approach to the therapy of depression.
Created in 1999 as the ASPET-Ray Fuller Symposium Series, it envisioned bringing together scientists from academia and industry in an environment that would foster the free interchange of information. Each symposium bridged the bench to bedside gap and participation by post-docs and young scientists was encouraged.
The format changed in 2005 to a neuroscience plenary lecture followed by a complementary symposium held during the ASPET Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology. Starting in 2018, the Ray Fuller Lecture and Symposium is sponsored by the ASPET Division for Translational and Clinical Pharmacology who will select its recipient. It is presented every two years.
Past Ray Fuller Lectures
2021
Lecturer: Michael J. Brownstein, Azevan Pharmaceuticals
Lecture: Vasopressin, My Old Friend
2018
Lecturer: George J. Christ, University of Virginia
Lecture: Regenerative Pharmacology for Muscle Repair
Symposium: State-of-the-Art on Regenerative Pharmacology: The Future is Now
2016
Lecturer: Rita J. Valentino, Children’s Hosp. of Philadelphia / Univ. of Pennsylvania
Lecture: Sex Biased Stress Signaling
Symposium: Sex Differences in Biology: Challenges and Opportunities for Drug Development
2014
Lecturer: Jeffrey M. Witkin, Lilly Research Labs
Lecture: AMPA Receptor Potentiation: Implications for the Discovery of Medicines for Treatment-Resistant Depression
Symposium: Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD): Biological Bases and Treatments
2012
Lecturer: Mark Bear, Howard Hughes Med. Inst., The Picower Inst. for Learning and Memory
Lecture: Fulfilling the promise of molecular medicine in autism spectrum disorders
Symposium: Progress toward Autism Drug Discovery
2010
Lecturer: Eric Nestler, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Lecture: Transcriptional and Epigenetic Mechanisms of Drug Addiction
Symposium: Epigenetic Mechanisms of Learning and Memory
2009
Lecturer: Henry Lester, CalTech
Lecture: Changes in the Brain During Chronic Exposure to Nicotine
Symposium: Mechanisms of Nicotine Addiction
2008
Lecturer: Phil Skolnick, Dov Pharmaceuticals
Lecture: Broad Spectrum Antidepressants: Variations on a Monoamine Theme
Symposium: Antidepressants for the New Millennium: Circumventing the Monoamine Synapse
2007
Lecturer: Darryle D. Schoepp, Eli Lilly and Company
Lecture: Case Study from Bench to Bedside: Modulators of mGlu2 and mGlu3 Receptors to Treat Psychiatric Disorders
Symposium: Promises & Pitfalls in the Search for New Drugs Targeted at Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors
2006
Lecturer: Marc G. Caron, Duke University
Lecture: Novel Signaling Paradigm of Monoamine-mediated Behaviors in Animal Models
Symposium: Signal Transduction: Relevance to CNS Disorders & Therapeutic Approaches
2005
Lecturer: Randy Blakely, Vanderbilt University
Lecture: Neurotransmitter Transporters on the Rise: Modulation of Synaptic Uptake Systems
Symposium: Neurotransmitter transporters – Signaling in flux
Past Ray Fuller Symposium Series
Pharmacotherapy of Obesity: Targets and Tools for the 21st Century
April 17, 2004—Washington, DC
Stroke: From Bench to Bedside
April 10–11, 2003—San Diego, CA
Diseases of Aging-1: Lower Urinary Tract Disorders–Physiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutic Approaches
July 6–7, 2002—San Francisco, CA
The Neurobiology and Neuropharmacology of Alzheimer’s Disease: Roads to Treatment Strategies
April 19–20, 2002—New Orleans, LA
The Neuropharmacology of Glutamate
October 14–15, 2000—Baltimore, MD
Insulin Resistance in Diabetes and Hypertension: Syndrome X and Beyond
March 24–26, 2000—London, Ontario, Canada
Cellular Mechanisms and Novel Strategies for Pain Control
September 17–19, 1999—Indianapolis, IN