Dr. Strada will present two lectures during the forum. He will speak on “The Direction of Medical Education: A Fork in the Road,” Feb. 24 at 4 p.m and on “The Importance of Mentors and Mentoring in Career,” Feb. 25 at 10:30 a.m. Both lectures will take place in the Shelby Hall rotunda on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Recognized for his research on cellular signaling mechanisms, Dr. Strada has published more than 200 articles and abstracts. He has been active in the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and the Council of Academic Societies of the American Association of Medical Colleges. He has served as president of the Association for Medical School Pharmacology Chairs and the Southeastern Pharmacology Society.
Dr. Strada joined USA in 1983 as professor and chair of pharmacology, and he has served as senior associate medical dean, acting director of the graduate program in basic medical sciences, assistant dean for admissions and acting chair of psychiatry at USA. He is president of the South Alabama Medical Science Foundation and was faculty athletics representative from 1990-97.
Dr. Strada received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and master’s in pharmacology from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and his doctorate in pharmacology from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He did post-doctoral training in neuropharmacology at the National Institutes of Mental Health in Washington, D.C. Before coming to USA, he spent 11 years on the faculty as the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
The forum, sponsored by UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, was established by UA alumnus Dr. Gaylon McCollough and his wife, Susan. Its purpose is to give students an understanding of the importance of the scientific and humanistic aspects of health care.
