Zbigniew J. Witczak, Ph.D., professor in the pharmaceutical sciences department in Wilkes University’s Nesbitt School of Pharmacy, has been selected to join the editorial board of the international journal Antibiotics. The open-access, peer-reviewed journal examins aspects of antibiotics and is published monthly by MDPI. Based in Basel, Switzerland, MDPI’s mission is to foster open scientific exchange in all forms, across all disciplines.
In his role on the editorial board, Witczak currently is working on a mini review paper with the working title “The functional modification of streptamine unit to combat amino glycoside antibiotics resistance,” which will be submitted to a special issue of Antibiotics. Witczak also will be serving as guest editor for the special issue, where he will be responsible for soliciting other prominent scientists to contribute articles.
Witczak serves on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals, including Current Organic Synthesis, Mini Reviews in Organic Synthesis, Current Medicinal Chemistry and the Journal of Carbohydrate Chemistry. He has authored nearly 100 articles which have appeared in international scientific journals and has published six books.
Witczak’s distinguished professional career has included serving as U.S. representative and president of the International Carbohydrate Organization from 2016 to 2018. In 2019, he served as chair of the selection committee for the National American Chemical Society’s Ernest Guenther Award in Chemistry Of Natural Products. The Kosciuszko Foundation recognized him in 2015 as a distinguished fellow of its Collegium of Eminent Scientists. He served on the National Science Foundation’s Chemistry Panel Review from 2005 to 2018.
In fall 2018, Witczak was recognized with Wilkes University President’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship. In May 2018, he was elected Teacher of the Year in the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy. He also received the 2018 University Teacher Recognition and Effectiveness Committee (TREC) Award for Scholarship.
Witczak received a doctorate in organic chemistry of natural products from the Medical University of Lodz in Lodz, Poland. After completing his post-doctoral training at Purdue University with Roy L. Whistler, International Carbohydrate Organization founder, Witczak worked at A. E. Staley. He later joined the pharmacy faculty at the University of Connecticut in 1990. He joined the Wilkes faculty in 2000, and was appointed chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy at Wilkes University in 2013 until 2019.
