ABC's Mark Blumenthal to Receive Varro E. Tyler Prize from ASP
Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director
of the nonprofit American Botanical Council (ABC), will receive the American
Society of Pharmacognosy’s (ASP) Varro E. Tyler Prize during the 51st
meeting of ASP. This annual event will take place July 10–14, 2010, in
St. Petersburg Beach,
Florida, and will be held in conjunction
with the Phytochemical Society of North America.
Founded
in 1959, ASP branched from the Plant
Science Seminar, which was established in 1923. This international society is
dedicated to the promotion, growth, and development of pharmacognosy and all
aspects of science related to natural products. ASP awards its Tyler Prize
each year to someone who has made a significant contribution to medicinal plant
research, education, and/or advocacy for plant-based medicines.
According
to the Varro E. Tyler Prize Committee, this award was given to Blumenthal
because of his long, dedicated service to the botanical
supplement/phytomedicine community, effective leadership of ABC, and his
commitment to the development and dissemination of accurate information about
the safety and benefits of botanicals. In addition, the selection committee
noted that Blumenthal’s vision for and leadership of ABC is a strong reflection
of the style and approach of Professor Tyler.
The award
is named after the late Varro E.
Tyler, PhD, ScD, former dean of the
College
of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and
vice-president of Academic Affairs at
Purdue University.
Professor Tyler was a leading authority
in science-based botanical remedies, including both plant-derived pharmaceutical drugs and herbal dietary
supplements. He was the senior author of several editions of the leading
textbook on pharmacognosy (the study of drugs of natural origin)
and the author of numerous other professional and popular books
and hundreds of articles. He was also a Trustee of ABC.
Blumenthal
has over 36 years of experience with herbs and medicinal plants, initially as
an entrepreneur in the herbal industry in the 1970s and 1980s. For the past 23
years, he has served as an advocate
for research and science-based education in the area of plant-based medicines
and dietary supplements. Blumenthal has authored hundreds of articles and
reviews and is the editor and publisher of ABC’s quarterly peer-reviewed
journal HerbalGram.
“I am
deeply grateful and humbled to have been chosen by ASP to receive the Tyler
Prize,” said Blumenthal. “Tip—his nickname he allowed his friends and close
colleagues to call him—was a deeply influential mentor in my professional life.
He taught me much about the need to keep seeking for evidence of the safety and
efficacy of herbal medicines.”
“Varro Tyler
and Mark Blumenthal were close
friends and confidants, and Mark considered Tip Tyler to be his mentor,” said Norman
Farnsworth, PhD, distinguished professor
and research professor of Pharmacognosy at the University
of Illinois at Chicago. “Through the
activities of the American Botanical Council, which Mark founded, his
mission and goals were to further educate the public (and hopefully scientists
in the area of natural products) to the benefits of herbal supplements through
extensive writings in this area and also through his hundreds of lectures
throughout the USA and abroad. Tip Tyler
would have been proud that Mark Blumenthal
has been awarded this prestigious award, and I offer my sincere
congratulations.”
“Mark and
Tip were good friends, and I know that Tip would be very pleased that Mark is
receiving the ASP Tyler Award—I am, too,” said Ginny Tyler, Dr. Tyler’s wife. “Mark has done a wonderful job with his HerbalGram magazine, which is full of
information about herbs.”
Blumenthal is a frequent speaker at national and international professional and
industry conferences about herbal medicine. He previously served as an adjunct associate professor of medicinal chemistry at the College of Pharmacy
at the University of Texas at Austin
for 6 years, teaching a course on
herbal products to pharmacy students. Before starting ABC in 1988, he served as co-founder and former
vice-president of the Herb Research Foundation (HRF), president of the Herb
Trade Association, and was a founding board member of the American Herbal
Products Association (AHPA).
Blumenthal
is the senior editor of the English translation of The Complete German Commission E Monographs—Therapeutic
Guide to Herbal Medicines (1998), which was the second-ranked medical book
in 1998, and a follow-up book, Herbal
Medicine: Expanded Commission E Monographs (2000). He is also senior editor of The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs (2003), a
reference book for health professionals. Blumenthal credits Prof. Tyler as the
primary motivator for him to translate, compile, edit, and publish the German
Commission E Monographs, which are considered some of the most reliable information
on herbs in the world.
In 2001, Blumenthal
received the Natural Health Magazine’s Hall of Fame Award for “opening America’s eyes to the healing
powers of herbs.” He has also received
the Council for Responsible
Nutrition’s annual Apple Award for
his accomplishments and commitment in the dietary supplement community and a
LifeTime Achievement Award from Nutrition
Business Journal, on whose editorial board he has been a member since its
founding in 1997. Blumenthal also replaced Dr. Tyler as English editor of Rational Phytotherapy: A Reference Guide for Physicians and
Pharmacists, 5th edition (Springer,
2004), when Dr. Tyler died in 2001.
About the American Botanical
Council
Founded
in 1988, the American Botanical Council is a leading international nonprofit organization addressing research and educational
issues regarding herbs and medicinal plants. ABC’s members include academic
researchers and educators;
libraries; health professionals and medical institutions; government agencies;
members of the herb, dietary supplement, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical
industries; journalists; consumers; and others within over 70 countries. The organization occupies a historic
2.5-acre site in Austin, Texas where it publishes the quarterly
journal HerbalGram, the monthly
e-publication HerbalEGram, HerbClips (summaries of scientific and clinical
publications), reference books, and other educational materials. ABC also hosts
HerbMedPro, a powerful herbal database, covering scientific and clinical publications
on more than 220 herbs. ABC also
co-produces the “Herbal Insights” segment for
Healing Quest, a television series on
PBS.
ABC is
tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code.
Information:
Contact ABC at P.O. Box 144345,
Austin,
TX
78714-4345, Phone: 512-926-4900.
Website: http://www.herbalgram.org/.