West to Retire From A&M College of Medicine
During his tenure at the college, Dr. West has helped cultivate the Human Anatomy and Medical Neurobiology Department, especially in the area of research. Through his leadership, the department’s federal funding has increased by more than 10 times in the past decade, and many of his faculty are recognized nationally for their research. The department has also put great effort into increasing the quality of teaching for medical and graduate students.
Dr. West’s research focuses on the nature and effects of fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal exposure to other drugs of abuse, including the impact of such substances on brain development and the mechanisms of cell death. Particularly, his lab looks at how the developing brain is damaged by heavy exposure to alcohol, nicotine and cocaine. Dr. West’s research team’s findings led to a better understanding of factors that affect the risk and severity of brain damage. His group was also the first to demonstrate that prenatal exposure to alcohol could cause abnormal brain connections and that nicotine could kill cells in the developing brain.
“Dr. West has made many internationally recognized contributions to the field of developmental neurobiology,” College of Medicine dean, Dr. Christopher C. Colenda said. “His research has transformed our understanding of the impact of the effects of alcohol on the developing fetus and the pathobiology of fetal alcohol syndrome. He has also reinvigorated the educational and research activities of his department and recruited talented junior investigators.”
Since coming to the College of Medicine in 1993, Dr. West has trained two Ph.D. students and six postdoctoral level scientists, as well as many undergraduate, graduate and medical students who have studied in his laboratory. During his 12-year tenure in College Station, he has authored on more than 70 scientific articles and book chapters and close to 150 abstracts. Dr. West has also given 45 seminars and presentations at universities and national and international meetings.
“One of the main reasons I came to the college was to be a department head,” West says. “It had been so rewarding to see students and post-docs succeed, so as a department head, I knew I would also have the opportunity to play a key role in mentoring junior faculty.”
In addition his duties as department head, researcher and educator, Dr. West served as Interim Vice President for Research at the A&M Health Science Center for a year and a half, was a member of the FAS Consortium of the Texas Office for Prevention of Developmental Disabilities and was on the Scientific Advisory Committee on Birth Defects in Texas. He is a highly decorated researcher, and was awarded a prestigious MERIT Award in 1988, which consisted of a ten-year grant from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. He received the Henry Rosett Award in recognition for leadership and research advancing the field of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome research in 1996 and the Distinguished Senior Investigator award from the College of Medicine in 1998. Dr. West was honored in 2001 with the James H. Tharp Award for Outstanding Research in the Field of Alcoholism and was promoted to Distinguished Professor in 2003.
Dr. West received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wichita State University in 1971 and was awarded a predoctoral fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health while he earned his Ph.D. in psychobiology from the University of California at Irvine in 1975. He also received a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Institutes of Health to study developmental neuroanatomy at Colorado State University. Dr. West served on the Department of Anatomy faculty at the University of Iowa College of Medicine from 1977 until accepting the department head role at the A&M College of Medicine.
Dr. West is looking forward to spending more time with his family, and focusing on his hobbies and future goals, including building model ships, writing a historical novel and working on his sports car. He would also like to learn to play the guitar and speak a foreign language, as well as travel with his wife, Judy.
When asked if it will be difficult to leave his work and research behind, Dr. West says no.
“It doesn’t matter to me if people remember me years from now,” Dr. West says. “I am proud of the people I work with and it makes it much easier to retire. My departure won’t leave a gap because I know they will carry on the work we’ve started.”
