Palmer W. Taylor is founding dean of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at UCSD. A nationally recognized leader in pharmacology research, Taylor was instrumental in creating the new school -- which opened in 2002 -- and in pointing out to state leaders the nationwide shortage of pharmacists, as well as the need for a pharmacy school that would take a leadership role in the post-genomic era of drug development and patient counseling regarding specialized medications tailored to individual needs. Taylor is a member of the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine and former president of the American Society for Pharmacology & Experimental Therapies. He has been a member of the National Advisory Council of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, of the advisory committee to the director of the National Institutes of Health, and of a Congressional Task Force on Environmental Health Services.