William Douglas Figg is an American scientist (

pharmacologist Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

). He is a senior investigator (tenured) at the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

(NCI),

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

(NIH),

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

. He holds multiple titles within the NCI: Associate Director of the Center for Cancer Research, Co-Director of the Office of Translational Resources, Acting Branch Chief for the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, Chief of the Clinical Pharmacology Program, and head of the Molecular Pharmacology Section. Figg is also the Co-chief of Basic Research at the Center for Prostate Disease Research within the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center – Murtha Cancer Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Figg has more than 850 peer-reviewed articles, and his work has been mentioned over 60,000 times in the scholarly literature. He has an H-index of 130 and an i10-index of 658, both indicators of scientific influence. He has published/edited six books.

Education

Figg grew up in Beaver Dam, Kentucky, and graduated from Ohio County High School, in Hartford, Kentucky (1981). He earned a BS in pharmacy from

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

, and a doctoral degree in pharmacy from

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

. He completed an internship at the

UAB Hospital UAB Hospital (also known as University Hospital) is a 1,207 bed tertiary hospital and academic health science center located in Birmingham, Alabama. It serves as the only ACS verified Level I Trauma Center in Alabama, and is the flagship proper ...

(1990) and a fellowship in drug development at the

UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy is the pharmacy school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a public university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The school of pharmacy also maintains a satellite campus at UNC Asheville. Histo ...

(1992). He is a recipient of honorary degrees from

Georgetown College Georgetown College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. The college offers over 40 undergraduate degrees and a Mas ...

and the

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) is a Private university, private medical school with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and additional locations in Suwanee, Georgia (PCOM Georgia) and Moultrie, Georgia (PCOM Sout ...

Research and career

Figg is an expert in molecular pharmacology and

clinical pharmacology Clinical pharmacology is "that discipline that teaches, does research, frames policy, gives information and advice about the actions and proper uses of medicines in humans and implements that knowledge in clinical practice". Clinical pharmacology ...

, as well as the application of pharmacological concepts to the creation of anticancer drugs and

biomarker In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, ...

s. Figg is presently an adjunct professor of medicine at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (officially known as Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons) is the medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irvin ...

, Department of Medicine, Division of Oncology, New York, NY, a clinical professor of pharmacy at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

, School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science, Richmond, VA, and adjunct professor of surgery at

Uniformed Services University Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is a health science university and professional school of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroa ...

, School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Bethesda, MD. Additionally, Figg is a retired captain from the Commissioned Corps of the

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The assistant s ...

Awards and honors

Figg has received awards including the Leon Goldberg Award from the American Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, the Allen J. Brands Award from

, the Russell R. Miller Award and the Therapeutics Frontier Award from

American College of Clinical Pharmacy The American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) is a pharmacy professional association representing the interests of clinical pharmacists A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth Englis ...

, the Andrew Craigie Award from

Association of Military Surgeons of the United States AMSUS, The Society of Federal Health Professionals, is a non-profit (501c3) professional association for all U.S. federal health professionals serving in the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Health and Human Se ...

, the Philip C. and Ethel F. Ashby Lecture from the University of Oklahoma, the Sustained Contribution to the Scientific Literature Award from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Foundation, the Tyler Prize for Stimulation of Research from the

American Pharmacists Association The American Pharmacists Association (APhA, previously known as the American Pharmaceutical Association), founded in 1852, is the first-established professional society of pharmacists in the United States. The association consists of more tha ...

, the Charles Hatfield Lecture at Georgetown College, and the Albert Ebert Memorial Lecture University of Illinois. He has received the NIH's Clinical Center Director Award (2007, 2012, 2015), NCI's Outstanding Mentor Award (2008), and NIH's Director Merit Award (2011). Figg is a fellow of the American Colleges of Clinical Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacology.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Figg, William Douglas American pharmacologists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)