Richard B. Silverman

Richard B. Silverman, PhD is the inaugural Patrick G. Ryan/Aon Professor, Northwestern University. In addition, he is Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Molecular Biosciences, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, as well as Professor of Pharmacology, Feinberg School of Medicine. He received his B.S. in Chemistry at Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. at Harvard University in organic chemistry, followed by his postdoctoral training in enzymology at Brandeis University. After his first semester at Harvard he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served for two years before returning to graduate school. He joined Northwestern in 1976. Professor Silverman is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors and was elected to the American Chemical Society Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame. He has received numerous other awards and is the author or co-author of 398 research publications, holds 130 patents (U.S. and foreign) to date, and has written five books, including The Organic Chemistry of Drug Design and Drug Action (currently, 3rd edition). He is the inventor of LyricaTM, a blockbuster drug marketed by Pfizer for fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain, and epilepsy.