Solomon H. Snyder, MD – Novel Neural Messengers

Winner of the Salk Institute Medal for Research Excellence

Solomon H. Snyder, a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, is regarded internationally for his research on neuropharmacology, seeking the cellular mechanisms by which neurotransmitters and drugs alter brain function. In the early 1970s, he discovered the brain’s opiate receptors and is credited with launching a generation of research into neuropeptides, receptors and behavior. He is the recipient of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, the Wolf Prize, the Bower Award, the National Medal of Science and the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research.

A graduate of Georgetown University, Snyder is the Distinguished Service Professor of Neuroscience, Pharmacology and Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1980, he founded the Department of Neuroscience, serving as its director until 2006 when the department was renamed in his honor. He helped start the companies Nova Pharmaceuticals and Guilford Pharmaceuticals, and is the Director of Drug Discovery at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development in Baltimore, MD.