College of Pharmacy
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- Stephen J. Cutler
Faculty and Staff
Stephen J. Cutler, Ph.D.
| Title: | Dean Professor |
| Department: | Office of the Dean College of Pharmacy |
| Email: | sjcutler@cop.sc.edu |
| Phone: | 803-777-4151 |
| Office: | College of Pharmacy 715 Sumter Street - CLS 109 Columbia, SC 29208 |
Administrative Responsibilities
The dean of the College of Pharmacy reports to the executive vice president for Academic Affairs and provost, providing academic and administrative leadership.
The dean enhances the college's teaching, research, and service excellence while articulating its mission to all stakeholders. Key responsibilities include leading research initiatives through government funding, private partnerships, and industry collaborations; recruiting and retaining faculty while fostering excellence in teaching and research; managing finances, student services, human resources, and facilities; ensuring program quality through curriculum development and accreditation compliance; strategic planning and performance evaluation; fundraising and partnership development with donors and alumni; overseeing student recruitment; and creating an innovative, entrepreneurial environment.
The dean advances the college's vision of transforming health care through education, scholarship, collaboration, and entrepreneurship to benefit local, national, and global communities.
See: Our Administration
Education
Ph.D. Pharmacy, University of Georgia, 1989
B.S. Chemistry, University of Georgia, 1984
Background
Stephen J. Cutler, Ph.D., currently serves the University of South Carolina as the dean of the Carolina College of Pharmacy and vice president for economic development in the Office of Economic Engagement. He previously served as the university’s interim executive vice president for academic affairs and provost and, prior to that, as the dean and professor of the College of Pharmacy for five years.
Dr. Cutler earned his B.S. degree in 1984 and his Ph.D. degree in 1989 from the University of Georgia. He has been a pharmacy educator for more than 30 years having served at the schools of pharmacy for Ohio Northern University, Mercer University, the University of Mississippi and the University of South Carolina. Throughout his career, he has received 10 teaching awards and recognition from various student classes.
A broadly trained natural products medicinal chemist and behavioral pharmacologist, Dr. Cutler’s research focuses on the isolation of natural products, design and synthesis of biological active derivatives, and the discovery and development of therapeutic agents for the treatment of various disorders, including those of the central nervous system (CNS). He is a world expert on plants acting on the CNS including marijuana, kratom, and other psychotropic plants.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Cutler has received more than $40,000,000 in external research funding from various federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense (DoD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). He is the author or co-author of 50 patents (US and international), more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, three books, 21 book chapters, 40 published abstracts, more than 200 scientific presentations.
In 2022, Dr. Cutler received the James E. Wynn Memorial Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s Chemistry Section, recognizing excellence in teaching, mentorship, leadership, and service to academic pharmacy. In 2023, he was honored with the SCBio Pinnacle Award for Individual Contributor of the Year for his impact on South Carolina’s life science industry.
Research Interests
Dr. Cutler is a natural products chemist whose research interests are focused on the isolation, biological evaluation and structural elucidation of bioactive secondary metabolites derived from nature, including fungi and plants with unique pharmacologic properties. His work also involves the design and synthesis of metabolite derivatives as selective ligands and molecular probes for investigating pharmacologic receptor systems.
For 10 years, he served as the principal investigator of a NIH-COBRE center grant, where his research emphasized the development of novel approaches for designing highly selective receptor ligands. Much of his research has centered on the discovery and characterization of natural products for cannabinoid and opioid receptor systems. These studies have utilized both cloned receptors (developed in his laboratory) and animal models to better understand ligand recognition and signaling withing central nervous system and peripheral receptors.
Dr. Cutler’s research program has contributed significantly to the training and development of scientists and researchers. Former members of his laboratory currently hold positions within the pharmaceutical industry, as well as federal agencies including the NIH, CDC, FDA, and the USDA.
Awards & Honors
- Pinnacle Award for Individual Contributor of the Year, SCBio, 2023
- James E. Wynn Memorial Award, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, Chemistry Section, 2022