Michael Wyatt’s passion for research began as an undergraduate at Furman University,
where he also earned a master’s degree in chemistry. He then earned his Ph.D. in Molecular
Pharmacology at University College London and completed his postdoctoral
fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health. He joined the USC College of Pharmacy
in 1999.
Wyatt, who serves as chair for the Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences department, has become a favorite professor among first-year students. Named Teacher of the Year three times, he was awarded the Extra Mile Award from the College of Pharmacy and the Distinguished Research Service Award from the university.
“I love watching people learn,” Wyatt says with a smile.
Now, Wyatt is the recipient of two top teaching awards. He was named as the inaugural recipient of the College of Pharmacy’s Professor of the Year award, an honor that recognizes a professor who has demonstrated excellence in teaching pharmacy and graduate students. He also was named Best Professor for the College of Pharmacy by Best of Carolina, an award selected by voting members of the university community.
One of the reasons that I have become a better teacher is because I have learned from students’ questions.
Wyatt, who teaches biochemistry and biotechnology, relishes the opportunity to share his knowledge with both undergraduate students and doctoral candidates.
It’s not a fun lecture for me if I am the one doing all the talking, and it is much better when it is interactive,” he says.
“One of the reasons that I have become a better teacher is because I have learned from students’ questions.”
As the field has advanced, so has Wyatt’s love of teaching.
“When I started teaching about biotechnology and biotherapeutics, you could literally count on one had the number of FDA-approved drugs that were protein-based,” he recalls. “For so many years we talked about gene therapy as experimental. Now the field has exploded, and it is fun to teach the cutting-edge stuff.”
Wyatt gives his fellow teachers in the College of Pharmacy much of the credit for his teaching abilities.
“We do a lot of team teaching here, and we are extremely collaborative,” Wyatt says. “I advise students all the time to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. And I feel successful in having done that with my colleagues here.”
Topics: Faculty and Staff, Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences