Pharmacy Professor David Grant Dies

“His passing is an enormous loss for the college and to his field of scientific discovery,” says Marilyn K. Speedie, Ph.D., dean of the College of Pharmacy. “He leaves a legacy of contributions to the science of developing safe and effective medications. He will be missed.”

He held the William and Mildred Peters Endowed Chair in the College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutics.

Grant was an internationally known authority on the solid-state properties of drugs. His research enabled pharmaceutical companies to make safe and effective drug products with reproducible and predictable performance. Numerous doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers in Grant’s laboratory over the past four decades have taken important positions in academia and the pharmaceutical industry.

“David Grant was a superstar: A highly productive, engaging colleague whose research, writing and training of students had worldwide impact,” says Ronald A. Siegel, Sc.D., professor and head of the Department of Pharmaceutics within the College of Pharmacy.

Grant earned his master’s degree, D.Phil., and D.Sc., all at Oxford University. Before joining the University of Minnesota, he taught at the University College of Sierra Leone, the University of Nottingham, and the University of Toronto, where he served as associate dean for graduate studies. He joined the University in 1988 and served as head of the Department of Pharmaceutics until 1991. He was also founder and director of the Drug Delivery Center in the college.

Grant earned the praise of colleagues from around the world.

“It is like the loss of a big brother, and the family of pharmaceutics will be diminished by his passing,” says Peter York, Ph.D., D.Sc., FRSC, CChem, FRSPGB, professor of physical pharmaceutics at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom. York spent three months at the University of Toronto with Grant.  “David was my guide, mentor and close friend. He truly deserves the ultimate compliment in academia: He was a gentleman and a scholar.”

Grant’s research earned him numerous honors. In 1999, he received the Pharmaceutics Award in Excellence from the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers Association Foundation (PhRMA).  He was the recipient of the 2004 Dale E. Wurster Research Award in Pharmaceutics—the highest award in his discipline—from the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS).  That same year, he received an award from the European Society for Applied Physical Chemistry.

In 2005 Grant received the Mettler-Toledo Award from the North American Thermal Analysis Society. At the beginning of his career, he received the 1969 Leverhulme Research Award in England. Grant belonged to numerous scientific societies and was recognized as a fellow of AAPS, PhRMA, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

Grant was the author of nearly 200 research articles and book chapters. During his career, he received almost $3.6 million in research grants. Grant served as associate editor of the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences since 1994 and was a member of the editorial board of several publications, including Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, and AAPS PharmSci.

Grant was described by fellow faculty and staff in the college as a kind, humble and brilliant man. Colleagues from outside the University called him one of the best in the pharmaceutics business.

“David Grant was a giant in his field,” says Stephen R. Byrn, Ph.D., professor of medicinal chemistry and head of the Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy at Purdue University. “His work on the thermodynamics of solids was groundbreaking and truly noteworthy. David was a gentleman and a great guy. He will truly be missed.”

Despite the international accolades, Grant preferred to leave the applause for others. “My graduate students did the work,” he said in an interview in 2004. “They deserve the credit for it. They did all the work over the years. It was team work.”

In addition to his research and teaching, Grant was a licensed amateur radio operator and was fluent in German and said he “could make (himself) understood in French.”

He is survived by his wife Marilyn; sons Robert (Joanne), Listowel, Ontario, Canada and Kevin, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; sister Gillian Grant, Toronto, Ontario,

Canada; stepchildren Virginia Sims and Lori Stanley; and three stepgrandchildren, Dara, Melissa, and Rebecca Mole. Also survived by cousins Beryl Mallinson, Chicago, Illinois, and Peter Stringer, Winkleigh, England.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to the David J.W. Grant Fellowship at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, c/of Bob Busch, Development Director, 5-130 Weaver-Densford Hall, 308 Harvard Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455.       

The College of Pharmacy, the only school of pharmacy in Minnesota, offers its program on the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses. Founded in 1892, the College of Pharmacy educates pharmacists and scientists and engages in research and practice to improve the health of the people of Minnesota and society. The college is part of the Academic Health Center, which is home to the University of Minnesota’s six health professional schools and colleges as well as several health-related centers and institutes.

Contact: Rebecca Lentz, College of Pharmacy, 612.624.7654 or 612.978.2849 (cell) Sara E. Buss, Academic Health Center, 612.624.2449