David A. Baker, Ph.D.
Dr. Baker cofounded Promentis Pharmaceuticals in 2007 and currently serves as a Director and chairs the Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Baker is also Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Marquette University. He previously served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Medical University of South Carolina in the laboratory of Peter Kalivas. He obtained his Ph.D. at Arizona State University in 1999 and his B.S. at Montana State University in 1992 working in the laboratories of Dr. Janet Neisewander and Dr. Michael Babcock, respectively. Dr. Baker has had an active research career examining the neurobiological basis of diseases of the brain, as evidenced by his 30 publications in the past 18 years and 10 grants or awards over the past six years totaling $2.8M. Dr. Baker was featured in the Marquette Magazine cover story (Winter 2009 issue) “Searching for a Cure for the Brain’s Darkest Diseases” and was a recent recipient of The Business Journal’s Forty under 40 Award, honoring Milwaukee’s up-and-coming leaders. Dr. Baker is the recipient of the 2010 Daniel X. Freedman Award from NARSAD for outstanding basic research achievement.
Peter W. Kalivas, Ph.D.
Dr. Kalivas is Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston (1998-present). He is best known for his work to elucidate the brain molecules and neurocircuitry that underlie addiction, with a focus on characterizing the neuroplasticity produced by chronic use of addictive drugs in the prefrontal cortex and its glutamatergic projections to the basal ganglia. Dr. Kalivas’ work is highlighted in over 400 publications and Dr. Kalivas has served as editor of six books that focus on the cellular mechanisms and brain circuitry mediating psychiatric disorders. He has received a great number of national and international awards and is a Distinguished University Professor at both the Medical University of South Carolina and Washington State University. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression, and chairs the Scientific Advisory Board for the Medications Development Program in the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He also serves as editor or is on the editorial board of six major journals in the field of neuroscience. He received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1980.
Daniel C. Javitt, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Javitt is a Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at New York University School of Medicine and Director of the NYU Conte Center for Schizophrenia Research. He was an early proponent of the NMDA model of schizophrenia and is a leader in NMDA-based treatment development. He has published over 200 original research articles on topics related to schizophrenia, with over 4400 cumulative citations. He has received numerous honors for his work, including research awards from the American Psychiatric Association, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the Society for Biological Psychiatry, and the Child Welfare League of America. His work has been supported by the National Institute of Health, NARSAD and the Stanley Foundation.
Herbert Y. Meltzer, M.D.
Dr. Meltzer is Bixler/May/Johnson Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology and Director of the Psychobiology Program for Translational Research at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, in Nashville, Tennessee. He is also Director of the Schizophrenia Program of Centerstone Mental Health System in Nashville, and chair of the Young Investigator Grant Review Committee for NARSAD. He is chairman of the International Psychopharmacology Algorithm Project (www.IPAP.org). Dr. Meltzer received his BA from Cornell University, an MA in Chemistry from Harvard, and his MD from Yale University. Dr. Meltzer has been President of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) and the Collegium International Neuro-psychopharmacologicum (CINP). He served as editor of Psychopharmacology: The Third Generation of Progress and co-editor of the ACNP journal, Neuropsychopharmacology, and is a member of the editorial board of numerous scientific journals. Dr. Meltzer is the recipient of a great number of awards and prizes. His research interests include: clinical and basic psychopharmacology, with an emphasis on antipsychotic drug efficacy, safety and tolerability, the mechanism of action of antipsychotic drugs, genetic factors in schizophrenia and pharmacogenomics, prevention of suicide in schizophrenia, and cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.
