IPPH Hires Nationally Known Chair Elizabeth Murphy Topp
BChE, 1979, The University of Delaware
ME, 1984, The University of Pennsylvania
PhD, 1986, The University of Michigan
"I am pleased to announce that Dr. Elizabeth Topp has accepted our offer to become the first Dane O. Kildsig Chair in Industrial and Physical Pharmacy. She is widely recognized for her work on protein stability and formulation. In addition to currently serving as a member of the Advisory Committee on the Pharmaceutical Sciences for the Food and Drug Administration, she has experience as a member of NIH Study Sections and has served on the editorial advisory board of several scientific journals. Please help me welcome Dr. Topp to the Purdue community."
- Dean Craig Svensson
 Dr. Elizabeth M. Topp comes to Purdue having most recently served as Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Kansas. She began her career there in 1986 as Assistant Professor and in 2003 served as interim Department Chair. While at the University of Kansas, she also served as Director of Graduate Studies for the School of Pharmacy (2002-2004) and held a courtesy appointment in the Bioengineering Research Center (2008-2009).
Her research focuses on the chemical and physical stability of protein drugs, with particular emphasis on chemical degradation reactions in the amorphous solid state. Currently active research projects address: 1) the effects of secondary structure in deamidation in the Fc portion of an IgG; 2) the development of hydrogen/deuterium exchange methods for examining protein structure and excipient interactions in amorphous solids; and 3) the controlled release of immunomodulating peptides from PLGA matrices in type-1 diabetes.
Dr. Topp is a member of the American Chemical Society, and she currently serves on the editorial advisory board for Drugs and the Pharmaceutical Sciences. She is the recipient of several national awards, as well as some offered by the University of Kansas recognizing her outstanding teaching and mentoring efforts. Furthermore, Dr. Topp has published over eighty research and review papers and has a patent on novel monomer for dentin adhesive.
About the Dane O. Kildsig Chair
Dr. Kildsig was Professor of Pharmaceutics in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences from 1966 to 2006 and served as Head of the Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy from 1985 until 1994. The Dane O. Kildsig Endowment was established in December 2005 with gifts from former students and colleagues in his honor. Dr. Kildsig died in 2006, and the endowment was amended in January 2007 to establish a chair in his memory. The income from the endowment will be used to benefit research, infrastructure, and related needs. As holder of the endowed chair, Dr. Topp will oversee the use of these funds.
What first drew you to your research field, and what is it that interests you most now?
I moved into pharmaceutics from chemical engineering because I wanted to apply chemical engineering principles to biomedical problems. My current research addresses the stability of protein drugs in amorphous solids, a fascinating and poorly understood state of matter that's of tremendous practical importance for protein drug products.
What do you enjoy most about working with students and faculty?
In the classroom, I enjoy making complex concepts clear, especially the moment when something that was obscure becomes clear to the student. With graduate students, I particularly enjoy seeing a student "own" a research project, moving it far beyond what I initially imagined. With faculty, I enjoy facilitating their successes, especially for younger faculty.
What are you most looking forward to during your tenure at Purdue?
I consider it an honor and privilege to serve as Head of the premier department of Industrial Pharmacy in the world. I'm looking forward to helping set a course for the Department that will carry it into the future.
She and her husband, Dave, along with their youngest son Joe and dog Trixie, relocated to West Lafayette in June. She loves to travel and enjoys exercise, although she comments she is no athlete. As a family, she says "we're into music and the arts, particularly vocal music," and they are active in their church. The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences welcomes Dr. Topp and her family to Purdue University.
Stephen Byrn Steps Down as Head of IPPH
Dr. Stephen R. Byrn has served as Head of the Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy (IPPH) since 1994. In 2008, he decided to direct his attention towards research and other activities.
Dr. Byrn will remain the Charles B. Jordan Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy. He plans to focus on the following areas: 1) solid state chemistry; 2) the graduate program in regulatory and quality compliance; 3) the Tanzania program; 4) an NIH supported pediatric formulation program; and 5) the solid state chemistry of peptides and proteins. He will also continue to advise graduate students.
"I have enjoyed working with faculty to help them achieve their dreams. I have also enjoyed hiring many of the new faculty in our department (seven to be exact)," says Dr. Byrn.
The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences extends its most gracious appreciation to Dr. Byrn for his many years of dedicated service as Head of IPPH, and we look forward to witnessing his continued research developments within the Department.
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