About

     Dr. Speth's career as a biomedical researcher has taken him many places. After his academic career, Speth moved to Cleveland, Ohio to join the Research Division of the Cleveland Clinic as an Associate Staff. It was during this time that Dr. Speth began to work on the regulation of the cardiovascular system by the renin-angiotensin system with a focus on the brain. In 1984, he took a faculty position in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University (WSU). Here, he taught Pharmacology and Responsible Conduct of Research, while continuing his research on angiotensins and the brain.

     While at Washington State University, Dr. Speth established in 1991 "The Peptide Radioiodination Service Center" to provide large amounts of compounds tagged with iodine-125 to researchers at affordable costs. This service center shipped 1000+ batches of radioligand to researchers worldwide during the time it was in operation. Also while at WSU, he became an advocate for biomedical research using ethical animal models. Dr. Speth has appeared on television, radio and written numerous op-ed pieces in support of ethical animal research. He was a founding officer of the Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics, the founding editor of the Newsletter of the Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics, and is a Past-President of the latter organization.

     In 1995, Dr. Speth was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2003, he moved to Mississippi to become Chair of the Department of Pharmacology in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Mississippi. While at “Ole Miss” he increased the department’s extramural funding from ~$200,000 per year to nearly $4 million per year. Following his retirement from the University of Mississippi, he came to Nova Southeastern University (NSU) to continue his research and teaching. To honor his commitment to provide affordable radioligands to researchers as well as to prepare radioligands for his own NIH-supported research, Dr. Speth also serves as a consultant to American Radiolabeled Chemicals in St. Louis, MO. He travels there monthly to prepare radioiodinated drugs and analogs. He also does the same bimonthly at Georgetown University. 

     In the course of his career, Dr. Speth has generated more than two million dollars of funding for his research. While his research focus is primarily on how angiotensin acts in the brain to regulate the cardiovascular system, his 200+ peer-reviewed manuscripts and 500+ publications include a wide range of other topics.

     Highlights in Dr. Speth's career include the first report of the benzodiazepine binding site in the human brain, the first report of the distribution of angiotensin receptor subtypes in the rodent brain, the discovery of receptors for angiotensins in the ovary and epididymis, the identification of the mas oncogene protein as a receptor for a truncated angiotensin analog (angiotensin 1-7), and the discovery of a novel angiotensin binding protein. In addition to his research activities, Dr. Speth presently teaches in the Ph.D. program in the Barry and Judy Silverman College of Pharmacy as well as mentoring graduate and undergraduate students.

     Furthermore, Dr. Speth has a special interest in the pharmacological and toxicological properties of “natural products”, especially marijuana. In particular, their use and abuse as drugs, dietary supplements, and medical adjuvants. The philosophy of Neuroscience as evidenced by his 2014 TEDxNSU talk “So There’s No Free Will: Now What?” and “The Nietzschean Philosophy of Toxicology”; combine Art and Science as evidenced by his other talk, “Which Drug Did Roger Chillingworth Use on the Reverend Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter?” and his use of poetry to teach Pharmacology and Bioethics, which he has been teaching for 28 years.

     Most recently Dr. Speth has become involved in efforts to combat systemic racism and the mounting anti-science movements in our society. He also found time to be the General Manager and CFO of the Kosciusko and Southwestern Railway when he resided in Mississippi. His greatest aspiration is to mentor students in the manner that he was mentored by his postdoctoral mentor Henry (Hank) Yamamura, to whom Dr. Speth credits much of his success in academia.