Cedarville Magazine, Fall 2013

24 | Cedarville Magazine Pharmacy With a Difference by Carol Lee ’96 You may think of pharmaceutical science as a clinical world of lab coats, data, and microscopes. But it’s personal for Dr. Samson Amos, the newest faculty member to join Cedarville’s School of Pharmacy. It’s personal because of the loved ones in his past who implored him to help others, the career he has forged in cancer research, and the people who will one day benefit fromhis findings. Pharmaceutical science is personal to Samson Amos because, as a young man in Nigeria, he had a personal encounter with Christ, and he pledged to give his life completely to God’s service. His path to Cedarville began when he was a young boy, curious about the medicine shop near his village. He would go inside and ask questions: “How can such a small pill alleviate pain? How does medicine work? What area of study is this?” He learned that to become a pharmacist, he would need to concentrate on physics, biology, chemistry, and math — already his academic strengths. He was sold. When Amos was a high school senior, a guest speaker came to his boarding school with a message that would change his life. Although he had been raised in a Christian family, attended church, and had heard the Gospel many times, the message had never broken through the way it did that day. “He spoke about God’s love and His desire to have fellowship with man,” Amos recalled. “After the fall, God sent His son, Jesus, to dwell among us. He paid the supreme sacrifice and restored the broken relationship. I understood that He gave His life for me. At the alter call, I stood and accepted Christ as my Savior.” Although his parents were supportive, they were not able to help him pay for college — he knew it would take diligence, hard work, and God’s grace to earn the opportunity to continue his studies. He worked very hard, and God was very gracious. Amos progressed through bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in pharmacology, with a particular interest in neuroscience and the effects of medicine on brain systems. He soon began teaching and became a Senior Research Fellow at the prestigious National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development in Abuja, Nigeria. In 2003, he was accepted for a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia. Over the next 10 years, his research there focused on cancerous brain tumors, and he received a Farrow Fellowship grant to study how therapeutic drugs could reduce their growth. According to Amos, invasive brain tumors are resistant to chemotherapy and radiation, leaving patients with a life expectancy of 12–13 months. If the size of a tumor can be reduced, surgeons can more effectively remove it, but learning how to do that has not been easy. “There are few medications that can penetrate the brain,” he said. “There is a tight blood-brain barrier that inhibits drugs and other substances from penetrating the brain. This is how God created us; it is for our protection.” Amos published his findings in the Journal of Cancer Research , and the study has expanded to other labs in hopes that the research will lead to an application in humans. Amos’ academic and professional success grew fromhis passion to help people in need, a perspective informed by the realities of life in aThirdWorld country. He watched a close friend struggle with hypertension for years and clearly remembers taking him to the hospital. At the end of the man’s life, he asked Amos to continue helping others. That humble request motivated him to work hard in school and pursue “pharmacy with a difference.” Now in his first year at Cedarville, Amos is continuing his research and teaching students in the Pharm.D. program. His personal mission of “pharmacy with a difference” is what drew him to Cedarville’s School of Pharmacy and what continues to draw him to students, whether in the classroom or over a cup of coffee. “They are hardworking and determined to truly make a difference in their careers,” he said. “I see myself in them.” Samson Amos is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Cedarville’s School of Pharmacy. He received his B.Pharm. from Ahmadu Bello University, his M.S. from the University of Jos, and his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Nigeria. He has served at Cedarville since August 2013. You may contact him at samos@cedarville.edu. Carol Lee ’96 is the Managing Editor of Cedarville Magazine and Senior Communication Specialist in Marketing. You may contact her at carollee@cedarville.edu. If you would like to contribute to Dr. Amos’ research, please contact Cedarville Advancement at 1-800-766-1115 or advancementdiv@ cedarville.edu.