Barry D. Dickinson, PhD, received his doctorate in pharmacology from the University of Illinois at the Medical Center in Chicago in 1980. He first joined the Illinois College of Podiatric Medicine as a faculty member teaching pharmacology in 1979, eventually serving as Associate Professor and Chairman of the Department of Physiological Sciences, which included didactic courses in Physiology, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology.

In 1989, Dr. Dickinson joined the American Medical Association (AMA) serving as staff author and eventually Scientific Editor of the AMA Drug Evaluations Compendium until 1994, when he joined the United Health System (UHC) Consortium, where he was Editor of UHC’s Drug Monograph portfolio in the Technology Assessment Program. This program developed drug monographs for the Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committees at 70+ hospitals associated with medical schools in the United States.

He returned to the AMA in 1997 eventually serving as Director of Science, Medicine and Public Health in Chicago, providing leadership on the AMA’s core activities in drug policy, genetics/precision medicine, and many relevant public health topics such as immunizations, antimicrobial stewardship, injury prevention, and responses to the emerging opioid epidemic, including serving as Principal Investigator for the AMA’s granted-related activities under the SAMHSA-funded Provider’s Clinical Support System for Opioid Therapies. The United Stated Adopted Names Council, which provides the official nonproprietary (generic) names for FDA-approved medications, also was headquartered within this Division.

During this time period, Dr. Dickinson also served as staff author and Secretary for the AMA’s Council on Science and Public Health. Additionally, for many years he served as the AMA’s board representative to the National Council on Patient Information and Education and the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention, as delegate to the United States Pharmacopeia, as a member of USP’s Council of the Convention, and on numerous other nationally recognized panels related to contemporary drug policy topics. After leaving the College in 1989, Dr. Dickinson has remained engaged as an adjunct lecturer in pharmacology, also serving as course coordinator from 2000-2004. Recently, he was rehired by the College to serve as a faculty member in Basic Biomedical Sciences, including as a primary lecturer and course coordinator for Pharmacology.