The American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP) has selected Phil Crews, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, to receive the 2008 ASP Research Achievement Award. The award recognizes Crews for "outstanding contributions to research on natural products."
Crews and his research team have spent decades exploring the pharmacological potential of compounds derived from marine sponges. The award includes an honorarium of $5,000, and Crews will present an award lecture at the annual meeting of the ASP next year in Greece.
Founded in 1959, the ASP is an international scientific organization dedicated to the promotion and development of all aspects of those sciences related to and dealing in natural products. Pharmacognosy includes the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological properties of drugs or drug substances of natural origin, as well as the search for new drugs from natural sources. The ASP and the American Chemical Society copublish the Journal of Natural Products.
