The “Science, Service and Incentive Awards” given annually by the Turkish Pharmacists’ Association Academy of Pharmacy continue to honor leading scientists in the field of pharmacy. Based on the evaluation made by the Central Board of the Turkish Pharmacists’ Association and the Academy of Pharmacy, this year’s “Science Award” was awarded to Near East University Faculty of Pharmacy Dean and Pharmacognosy Department faculty member Prof. Dr. İhsan Çalış.

The “Awards of Science, Service and Incentive of the Year” given to encourage original and qualified studies in the field of pharmacy were presented to their owners at a ceremony held in Ankara with great participation.

The “Science Award” presented to scientists who have made significant contributions to pharmaceutical sciences at a universal level with their scientific research and studies was awarded to Near East University Faculty of Pharmacy Dean and Head of the Pharmacognosy Department Prof. Dr. İhsan Çalış. Leaving behind his 52nd year of professional life, Prof. Dr. İhsan Çalış was also deemed worthy of the TÜBİTAK Science Award in the field of health sciences in 2001 with his works that made a name for himself in the field of pharmacognosy on international platforms.

Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel: “We are proud that one of the esteemed members of our university, Prof. Dr. İhsan Çalış, has been rightfully honored by the Turkish Pharmacists’ Association Pharmacy Academy.”

Emphasizing that Prof. Dr. İhsan Çalış is one of the distinguished members of the scientific world with his scientific studies and the students he has trained, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Near East Enterprises, Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel said, “We are proud that one of the esteemed members of our university, Prof. Dr. İhsan Çalış, has been rightfully honored by the Turkish Pharmacists’ Association Pharmacy Academy.”

Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel, who stated that İhsan Çalış was a part of the founding team of the Near East University Faculty of Pharmacy, which was established in 2006, and that he has been its dean since 2015, said, “I congratulate our esteemed lecturer Prof. Dr. İhsan Çalış, who spent the last 18 years of his professional life at our university. As for his achievements, I believe that he will continue to inspire his young colleagues and students with his important contributions to the world of science.”

Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ: “The award received by our esteemed dean Prof. Dr. İhsan Çalış, with whom I am honored to be his companion, is a result of his contributions to science, education and the pharmacy profession throughout his 52-year professional life.”

Congratulating Prof. Dr. İhsan Çalış, who was deemed worthy of the “Science Award” by the Turkish Pharmacists’ Association Academy of Pharmacy, Near East University Rector Prof. Dr. Tamer Şanlıdağ said, “The award received by our esteemed dean Prof. Dr. İhsan Çalış, with whom I am honored to be his companion, is a result of his contributions to science, education and the pharmacy profession throughout his 52-year professional life.”

Prof. Dr. Şanlıdağ emphasized that Prof. Dr. Çalış is one of the most important role models for young academics with his productivity and commitment to science, and said, “These achievements, which reveal the high quality of our academic staff, direct us to greater goals and reinforce the role of science at the universal level.”

Who is Prof. Dr. İhsan Çalış?

After graduating from Ankara University Faculty of Pharmacy in 1972, Prof. Dr. İhsan Çalış completed his doctorate studies on Pharmacognosy at Hacettepe University. He was respectively promoted to the ranks of associate professor and professor and served as the Head of the Department at Hacettepe University between 1986-2000.

Prof. Dr. Çalış has served as an assistant advisor for eight doctoral theses at ETH Zurich and the University of Regensburg. He was also among the founders of the Turkish Doping Control Foundation and the Hacettepe University Pharmacognosy Research Association. Prof. Dr. Çalış, who has been working at the Near East University since 2006, pioneered the establishment of the Faculty of Pharmacy and the Institute of Health Sciences. Prof. Dr. Çalış, whose main areas of study are the isolation and characterization of glycosides and secondary metabolites of medicinal plants, has introduced more than 250 new compounds to the scientific world with his studies to date. In 2018, he was honored by naming a plant species (Astragalus ihsancalisii Dönmez & Uğurlu) after him.

Prof. Dr. Çalış, who has published more than 230 articles in internationally refereed journals and has been deemed worthy of numerous awards, was also included in the “100 Turks Leading Science” list of Turkishtime Magazine. Prof. İhsan Çalış, who has been serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Near East University since 2015, is the recipient of the 1998-1999 Hacettepe University Science Award, the 2005 Marmara University Academician Award, and the 2001 TÜBİTAK Science Award in the field of health sciences.