Deans of The College

Steve Myszak, M.A., M.Ed. serves as the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the Purdue University College of Pharmacy. Steve earned his B.S. in Biology from Saint Joseph’s College, his Master of Arts in Student Personnel Administration from Ball State University, and his Master of Education from North Carolina State University. He possesses over 25 years of college administration experience at liberal arts institutions, regional R2 institutions, and national R1 institutions. His background includes undergraduate and professional student academic advising and student services, professional program admissions, scholarship administration, housing and residence life administration, orientation development and implementation, and career services experiences. Steve advocates for student learning and development while maintaining academic program integrity.

Kimberly S. Illingworth, PhD, FAPhA is the Purdue University College of Pharmacy’s Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Instruction, and a professor of pharmacy practice. Dr. Illingworth obtained her B.S. in pharmacy from Butler University and her Ph.D. in pharmacy administration from Purdue University. Her teaching and research interests predominantly focus on patient care, including patient behavior change, motivational interviewing, and health literacy, as well as the evaluation of the instructional methods to teach these topics to students. She established and directs the Purdue University Academic and Ambulatory Care Fellowship program. She served as Chair of the Economic, Social, and Administrative Sciences section of the American Pharmacists Association and the American Association Colleges of Pharmacy Social and Administrative Sciences section. She currently serves as Chair of the Teaching Academy Executive Council at Purdue. Her honors include being named in the Purdue University Book of Great Teachers and as a Purdue University Teaching Academy Fellow. In addition, she received an honorable mention for two Innovations in Teaching portfolios from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the Dr. Aziz Award for Outstanding Teaching at the Purdue University College of Pharmacy, and the Purdue University Charles B. Murphy Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching.

Brian Shepler, PharmD is the Associate Dean for Engagement and Partnerships, and a clinical professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice. In these roles, he oversees the Experiential Learning Program and teaches chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, and renal replacement therapies to second year PharmD students. Dr. Shepler earned his B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences and PharmD from Purdue University. He worked as a hospital pharmacist after graduation before returning to Purdue in 2000. Dr. Shepler is the faculty advisor for the Purdue chapter of the Industry Pharmacists Organization (IPhO). He has developed several Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) track programs that allow students to specialize their rotation schedules into hospital, ambulatory, community, and industrial pharmacy practice.

Val J. Watts is Associate Dean for Research in the College of Pharmacy and Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Purdue University. Prior to his reappointment as associate dean for research, he held the appointment of associate and interim head of the Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology department. Dr. Watts joined the Purdue faculty in 1998. He received his BS in pharmacy at Ohio Northern University College of Pharmacy, a PhD in pharmacology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and completed postdoctoral research at Oregon Health and Sciences University. Dr. Watts is a recognized molecular neuropharmacologist with research interests in the discipline of drug discovery in areas such as chronic pain, drug abuse, and other psychiatric and neurological disorders.

Danzhou Yang is a Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and the Martha and Fred Borch Endowed Chair in Cancer Therapeutics at Purdue University. She is the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs for the Purdue University College of Pharmacy. She received her Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Science and Technology of China. Prior to joining the Purdue faculty, Dr. Yang was a professor at the University of Arizona until 2016. Her research focuses on the structures and functions of biologically relevant DNA G-quadruplexes formed in the human oncogene promoters and human telomeres and their interactions with small molecules and proteins, as well as structure-based rational design of anti-cancer drugs.