The Oswald Schmiedeberg Medal

 

Oswald Schmiedeberg The founder of experimental pharmacology Oswald Schmiedeberg (full name Johann Ernst Oswald Schmiedeberg) was born in 1838 near Talsi in Latvia as the grandson of a Latvian. Oswald Schmiedeberg studied medicine in Tartu (then called Dorpat) in Estonia, and in 1866 he received a Doctor’s degree in Medicine on the measurement of chloroform in blood. He was appointed as a lecturer in pharmacology in 1868 at the University of Tartu. In 1872, he received an appointment as professor of pharmacology in Strasbourg where he began building a world-famous pharmacological institute. He was particularly interested in the pharmacological action of the alkaloids muscarine, nicotine and digitalis glycosides. O. Schmiedeberg published over 200 articles and books. He stayed at Strasbourg for 46 years and during his administration more than 150 pharmacologists were trained in Strasbourg. Notably, the journal of the German Society of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology is named in honour of Oswald Schmiedeberg: Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology. Furthermore, Oswald Schmiedeberg's school and his pupils were the basis for the development of pharmacology in Latvia.   Oswald Schmiedeberg’s Medal of the Latvian Society of Pharmacology
In honour of Oswald Schmiedeberg, the Latvian Society of Pharmacology has established the Oswald Schmiedeberg's medal (Figure 1) in 1998, which is awarded to Honorary Members of the Society.  Fig. 1. Oswald Schmiedeberg’s medal, averse (A) and reverse (B), author Jānis Strupulis Honorary Members of the Latvian Society of Pharmacology are members of this Society or representing collaborators from other countries. They receive this medal for their important contributions in the field of pharmacology in Latvia or facilitating the development of the education and research in pharmacology in Latvia.   At the 2nd International Conference in Pharmacology: From Cellular Processes to Drug Targets on October 19, 2017, the Oswald Schmiedeberg's medal will be awarded to: Vija Zaiga Kluša Professor, Full Member, Latvian Academy of Sciences; Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Latvia Inga Kadish Associate Professor, Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA Thomas van Groen Associate Professor, Tech. Director Behavioral Assessment Core, Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA   Previous recipients of the Oswald Schmiedeberg's medal:  

1998 Liisa Ahte (University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland) Pēteris Alberts (Pharmacia, Stockholm, Sweden) Lembit Allikmets (University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia) Shyam S. Chatterjee (Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co, Karslruhe, Germany) Guna Jākobsone (JSC Grindeks, Riga, Latvia) Valdis Jākobsons (JSC Grindeks, Riga, Latvia) Edmunds Lukevics (Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Riga, Latvia) Aļgis Mickis (University of Kaunas, Kaunas, Lithuania) Michael Noeldner (Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co, Karslruhe, Germany) Sven Ove Ögren (Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden) Rita Petričeka (Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA) Jurgis Ramanauskas (Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania) Aivars Uldis Ramāns (Syntex Research, Palo Alto, CA, USA) Jens S. Schou (University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark) Niels A. Thorn (University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark) Jarl Wikberg (Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden) 1999 Skaidrīte Ģērmane (Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Riga, Latvia) Modris Melzobs (Rīga Medical Institute, Riga, Latvia) 2001 Alexander Zharkovsky (University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia) Gunārs Duburs (Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Riga, Latvia) Ivars Kalviņš (Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Riga, Latvia) 2005 Heinz Lüllmann (University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany) Gunārs Čipēns (Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Riga, Latvia) Jānis Stradiņš (Latvian Academy of Sciences, Riga, Latvia) Povilas Gaidelis (Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania) 2007 Anti Kalda (University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia) Helgi Schiöth (Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden) 2012 Vilmante Borutaite (Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania) Boris Simkhovich (Heart Institute, Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles, USA) Edwin Zvartau (St. Petersburg State Pavlov Medical University, St. Petersburg, Russia) Sergei B. Seredenin (Zakusov Institute of Pharmacology, Moscow, Russia) Laura della Corte (University of Florence, Florence, Italy) Raimo Tuominen (University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland) Stephan Chłopicki (Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland)