The Generations of Science and Innovations – Yount Symposium
About the event
A symposium inspired by Professor Ralph Yount
Please make plans to join the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Molecular Biosciences as we honor the pioneering work of Professor Ralph Yount, professor emeritus of Chemistryand Biochemistry at Washington State University.
Professor Yount passed away in June at the age of 92. He was a member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for 58 years and was among the first three faculty members at Washington State University named to the rank of Regents Professor.
Presenters will include
- Gerry Carlson – Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center
- Ross Dalbey – Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ohio State University
- Keith Dunker – Professor of Biochemistry, Indiana University of Medicine
- Michael Griswold – Regents Professor of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University
- Gerry Hazelbauer – Curators Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Chair Emeritus, University of Missouri
- Bryan Lawlis – President and CEO at Itero Biopharmaceuticals
- Gary Pielak – Kenan Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Lin Randall – Professor Emerita of Biochemistry, University of Missouri
- Michael Smerdon – Regents Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics Washington State University
- Mickey Urdea – Founder and Partner for Halteres Associates
- Jim Wells – Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco
Book your group rate for WSU Yount Symposium: Courtyard by Marriott, Pullman | Book by October 10
Gifts in honor of Professor Yount can be directed to the Ralph Yount Distinguished Professorship in Sciences
More about Dr. Yount
He was a leading figure in the scientific community and a cherished faculty member at WSU and the School of Molecular Biosciences for more than four decades. His research on muscle function transformed our understanding of diseases like muscular dystrophy, ALS, and myasthenia gravis. His work examining the relationship between the muscle protein myosin and ATP — and the development of an ATP analog that has been cited in more than 4,000 scientific papers — helped lay the foundation for discoveries that led to two Nobel Prizes.
His research was continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for 43 years, one of the longest-running NIH grants in WSU history. He retired from WSU in 2004.
Beyond his scientific achievements, he was widely respected as a mentor, colleague, and leader.
When WSU President V. Lane Rawlins started the Eminent Faculty Award in 2001 as the highest award for total faculty excellence over an extended period, Dr. Yount was the first recipient. “Ralph Yount is what a faculty member should be,” Dr. Rawlins said at the time. “He questions every decision, is a tireless and brilliant researcher, loves to teach and is a superb colleague. I do not think anyone was surprised that Ralph was selected to be the first recipient of this award. It is people like Ralph who make me proud to be at WSU.”
Dr. Yount was among the first at WSU to be named a Regents Professor, and in 2010, he was presented with the President’s Distinguished Lifetime Service Award, followed by an honorary doctorate in 2020 in recognition of his lifetime of achievement.