Fond farewell to retiring faculty members

The College will have to bid a fond farewell to two stalwarts of the MUSC pharmacy faculty when this academic year comes to a close this month. Roger White, professor of clinical pharmacy and outcome sciences, and Thomas Dix, associate professor of drug discovery and biomedical sciences, will both retire on June 30.

Thomas Dix

Dr. Thomas Dix is an expert in the development and exploitation of novel strategies of rational drug design, with a focus on peptide-based therapeutics. In January 2012, he co-founded the startup company JT Pharmaceuticals where he is chief scientific officer, a position he also holds at Halimed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He was also founding scientific officer and CSO at Argolyn Bioscience, Inc., a startup based on technology he developed, which received a $15.8 million investment from several industry partners. Prior to joining MUSC in 1996, he was an associate professor of chemistry at the University of California, Irvine and a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow at Pennsylvania State University. He earned a Ph.D. focused on organic chemistry from Wayne State University.

Roger White

Dr. Roger White has been a perennial classroom favorite for his dedication to teaching and students, winning multiple awards and recognitions including most recently both the 2020 P2 Teacher of the Year and the 2020 Mentor of the Year honors. “I haven’t met someone before as committed to the pursuit of excellence in the profession of pharmacy as Dr. White but what really sets him apart is his tremendous dedication to his students,” said Ian Mulrenin ’20. Dr. White has served in numerous capacities for the College, including both academic departments, and chaired the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Self-Study Steering Committee when MUSC College of Pharmacy pursued independent accreditation after co-founding the South Carolina College of Pharmacy. He earned his Pharm.D. from the Medical College of Virginia.