Pfizer Leader Slated for Pharmacy School’s Waller Lecture

Staff Report

University of Mississippi

John D. Ludwig, senior vice president for medicinal sciences at Pfizer Inc., is set to deliver the 2022 Coy W. Waller Distinguished Lecture at the University of Mississippi.

The Sept. 16 lecture, “The COVID-19 Vaccine Development Story,” will detail the work that went into bringing the lifesaving vaccine to the public. 

The School of Pharmacy and its Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery are hosting the free event at noon in the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. This will be the first in the Waller Lecture series since 2019, which was paused due to COVID-19.

“The Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery is honored to host Dr. John Ludwig as this year’s Coy Waller Lecturer,” said Soumyajit Majumdar, associate dean of research and graduate programs and interim chair of the department. “Dr. Ludwig’s work exemplifies an integration of the research that we conduct across the various units at the School of Pharmacy and embodies the vision that Dr. Waller had.”

Ludwig has led the Medicinal Sciences division at Pfizer since 2017. Under his guidance, the division is at the forefront of innovative research that can lead to new therapies and vaccines.

“Dr. Ludwig is an outstanding example for our students of how pharmacists in the pharmaceutical industry directly impact the health of hundreds of millions of patients throughout the world through their dedication, innovation and creativity,” said Walt Chambliss, professor emeritus of pharmaceutics and drug delivery. 

The Coy W. Waller Distinguished Lecture series was established in 2004 to recognize the former director of the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences’ contributions to the field of pharmaceutics and the pharmacy school.

The lecture is open to the public and also will be available to watch via Zoom.