College of Pharmacy: Ray Symposium
About the Ray Symposium
The Ray Symposium, an annual speaker series, honors Max D. Ray, MS, PharmD, Dean Emeritus of the WesternU College of Pharmacy. As Professor and Dean from 1996-2006, he created a stimulating educational environment that fostered excellence and professionalism.
His professional career was divided almost equally into pharmacy practice, association management, and education. A major focus of his work throughout his career was seeking ways in which to improve the value of pharmacy to society.
Today, the Ray Symposium celebrates the multifaceted role that pharmacists play in improving the lives of patients and the health of their communities.
2026 Ray Symposium Science You Can Trust: Leading with Evidence in a Distrustful Time
Science hasn’t changed. But the way people hear it has. Across every health profession, we are facing the same challenge: how to lead with evidence when trust is fraying, misinformation spreads quickly, and nuance gets flattened.
This talk argues that the answer is not just more research or louder messaging. It is better research, grounded in solving real-world problems. It is clearer communication that respects uncertainty and tradeoffs. Through examples from pharmacy, nursing, medicine, and public health, we will explore how health professionals can lead by doing three things: generating solution-focused evidence, embracing innovation with care, and restoring trust through honest and effective conversations.
Dr. Aaron E. Carroll is President & CEO of AcademyHealth. A nationally recognized thought leader, science communicator, pediatrician, and health services researcher, he is a passionate advocate for the creation and use of evidence to improve health and health care for all.
Before joining AcademyHealth, Dr. Carroll was a Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics and Chief Health Officer at Indiana University, where he also served as Associate Dean for Research Mentoring and the director of the Center for Pediatric and Adolescent Comparative Effectiveness Research at Indiana University School of Medicine. He earned a B.A. in chemistry from Amherst College, an MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and an M.S. in health services from the University of Washington School of Public Health, where he was also a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar.
Olivia Campbell
New York Times bestselling author
“Women In White Coats”
March 20, 2025 2025 Ray Symposium Presentation
Rear Admiral (retired) Scott Giberson
CEO of AMI Expeditionary Healthcare (USA)
“Be Infectious. Navigating through an Era of Plagues, Politics, and Public Health”
April 25, 2024 2024 Ray Symposium Presentation
Daniel Kraft, MD
Physician-Scientist and Innovator
“Catalyzing the Future of Health and Medicine: What’s Next?”
April 27, 2023 2023 Ray Symposium Presentation
Asaf Bitton, MD, MPH
Executive Director of Ariadne Labs
“Health Systems Improvement – Scaling for the Globe”
April 28, 2022 2022 Ray Symposium Presentation
Aaron Kesselheim, MD, JD, MPH
Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School
“Drug Regulations in the 21st Century- The FDA, Policy, and Politics?”
April 22, 2021 2021 Ray Symposium Presentation
Katherine Eban
Investigative Journalist
“The Hidden World Behind America’s Low-Cost Drugs”
April 30, 2020 2020 Ray Symposium Presentation
Cato T. Laurencin, MD, PhD
University Professor, The University of Connecticut
“Addressing the Future of Health in America: Diversity, Racism and Health Disparities”
April 18, 2019
Alan I. Leshner, PhD
CEO-Emeritus, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Former Executive Publisher, Science
“Communicating Science Effectively”
April 19, 2018 2018 Ray Symposium Presentation
Dana Goldman, PhD
Professor, Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair and Director for the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics
“Re-Thinking Value in an Era of Health Reform”
April 20, 2017 2017 Ray Symposium Presentation
Michael W. Kalichman, PhD
Professor, Director of the UCSD Research Ethics Program
“Science, Truth and the Public Trust”
April 21, 2016 2016 Ray Symposium Presentation
Ellen Peters, PhD
Professor of Psychology, Director of the Behavioral Decision Making Initiative, The Ohio State University
“Numeracy and Health: A Tyranny of Numbers”
April 30, 2015 2015 Ray Symposium Presentation
Eileen Crimmins, PhD
AARP Chair in Gerontology, USC Davis School of Gerontology
“Shorter Lives, Poorer Health”
April 17, 2014
Patricia B. Crawford, Dr. PH, RD
Director, Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health Cooperative Extension Nutrition Specialist
“Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention”
April 18, 2013
Joshua S. Benner, PharmD, ScD
President and CEO, RxAnte, Inc. and Visiting Scholar, The Brookings Institution
“Reforming Health Care: Policy, Politics, and Patient Care”
April 12, 2012
William E. Evans, PharmD
Director and CEO, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
“The Promise of Genomics – What Lies Ahead?”
April 21, 2011
Michael Cohen, RPh, MS, ScD
President of The Institute for Safe Medication Practices
“Safe Medication Practices – Preventing Errors”
April 15, 2010
David B. Reuben, MD
Director, Multicampus Program in Geriatrics Medicine and Gerontology (MPGMG) and Chief, Division of Geriatrics at UCLA Center for Health Sciences“Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce”
April 9, 2009
Brian Smedley, PhD
Research Director and Co-founder of the Opportunity Agenda
“Eliminating Disparities”
April 17, 2008
Lyle Bootman
Co-editor, 2006 National Institutes of Medicine Report
“Preventing Medication Errors”
April 19, 2007
Thank you to our sponsors for their generous support.
Individual Sponsors:
Dr. Max R. Johnson
Dr. Jonathan Chan
Rebecca Cupp, RPh
Dr. Lilia Xu