Bill Woodside joined the Pharmacology Department of the School of Medicine in the mid 1970’s, bringing with him superb expertise in rat liver perfusion intermediary metabolism. This was a valuable skill across the country at that time, and Bill collaborated with many faculty who desired in-vitro liver metabolic data for their research. This was state of the art for investigating the mechanism of action of a number of pharmacological agents in current use in treating disease, and it was similarly critical to understanding the hepatic effects of new compounds.

One area that he and I collaborated was in the study of anti-lipid/cholesterol agents, and he was a uniquely suited colleague for these investigations. The availability of many faculty with such specific and necessary laboratory skills was an enormous asset to the research initiatives of many of us in the collegial environment in which we found ourselves. Collaborating was essential to the competitive necessity for competing for research grants, and Bill was a willing and excellent partner in many of these pursuits.

It was a pleasure to both conduct research and pursue teaching in the metabolism-endocrinology blocks with Bill, and I recall those pleasant and productive years with clear pleasure.