IA honors the life and work of J. Rick Turner, expert consultant at DRT Strategies Inc. and editor emeritus of Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science (TIRS), who died in October 2021. He was a leader, friend, and mentor whose energy, enthusiasm, and inspirational nature will be missed by many.

In his editorial DIA Then and Now: A Half-Century Odyssey, published in December 2017 while he was serving as TIRS editor-in-chief, Rick wrote:

“What have we (and others before us) at DIA learned in the last half-century? We have learned that there is a great appetite worldwide for our educational offerings and scientific endeavors, both of which influence the next generation of individuals who will work for better health worldwide.”

“Rick was blessed with a great appreciation for science, and he provided thoughtful leadership to our research journal Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science,” says DIA Chief Global Executive Barbara Lopez Kunz. “But he also had great appreciation for the people in his life and work, and you could see and feel Rick’s enthusiasm for people through the positive energy he shared with everyone whose life he touched.”

“Rick was a modest man with immodest talents. In a world of sharp elbows, he was unfailingly courteous and supportive. He was a regulatory scientist of the highest order. I will miss his advice, guidance, and friendship. Godspeed, Rick Turner.”

– Peter J. Pitts, President and Co-Founder, Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI)

“Apart from my interactions with Rick when he was editor-in-chief of what is now TIRS, I had the pleasure of working with him on two books. Working on those projects over the course of many years, I got to know Rick, his wife Karen, and their beloved cats quite well. Rick’s curiosity, passion for writing, work ethic, and positive outlook inspired me and, I am confident, many others who knew him.”

– Todd Durham, Vice President, Clinical and Outcomes Research at Foundation Fighting Blindness

“I am grateful for Rick’s enthusiasm for accumulating and sharing knowledge, and for his insistence in including statistical and quantitative perspectives in this process. On a more personal note, I am grateful for the opportunities he afforded me to teach students and participate in TIRS – I am a much better scientist for it.”

– Richard C. Zink, Vice President, Data Management, Biostatistics, and Statistical Programming, Lexitas Pharma Services