Stuart L. Schreiber, Ph.D.
Career Highlights

Born February 6, 1956, in a military hospital in Long Branch, New Jersey; raised in Fairfax, Virginia

EDUCATION

Undergraduate degree: B.A., Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1977

Graduate degree: Ph.D., Organic Chemistry, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1981

KEY APPOINTMENTS

1981, 1984, 1986: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor with tenure, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

1988: Morris Loeb Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

1994: HHMI investigator, Harvard University

2001: Chair, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University

Young Schreiber gets the nod from Yale: "I was so happy, I was jumping around the hallway, clicking my heels together, yelling, 'Yippee.' Then they told me, 'Regarding the start-up account, it's $35,000.' I was devastated. I said, 'I'm so sorry, but there's no way I can come up with that kind of money.' I thought I had to pay $35,000 to use their labs! I was so incredibly naive."

SELECTED HONORS, AWARDS, AND FELLOWSHIPS

Member, National Academy of Sciences
Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Paul Karrer Gold Medal, University of Zurich
Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry
Tetrahedron Prize for creativity in organic chemistry
Chiron Corporation Biotechnology Research Award

Dubious Honor

Dubious Achievement Award, Esquire magazine: For synthesizing a cockroach pheromone, an accomplishment the editors dubbed "creating a dating service for cockroaches."

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Founder and Director, Harvard Institute of Chemistry and Cell Biology
Scientific Director, Bauer Center for Genomics Research, Harvard University
Director, Molecular Target Laboratory, Harvard University
Founder and Editor, Chemistry and Biology
Founder and Scientific Advisory Board Member, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Founder and Chair, Board of Scientific and Medical Advisors, ARIAD Pharmaceuticals
Founder and Scientific Advisory Board Member, Infinity Pharmaceuticals

In the literature: In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Schreiber served on the Scientific Advisory Board of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a company established to develop new medications through a process of structure-based rational drug design. The genesis and early evolution of Vertex were subsequently featured in two very different books: The Billion Dollar Molecule, by Barry Werth, and Acceptable Risk, a medical thriller by novelist Robin Cook that chronicles the race to patent and market a fictitious blockbuster drug.

PUBLICATIONS

More than 300 original research articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Science, Nature, Cell, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Journal of the American Chemical Society. Review articles in many publications.

OUTSIDE THE LAB

Married to fashion: In 1981 married Mimi Packman, proprietor of the first punk rock clothing store in Harvard Square. "It was awesome," says Schreiber of Mim's adventurous biz.

Schreiber's heroes: Nelson Mandela (for his convictions), Muhammad Ali (for his fortitude), and Jerry Garcia (for his ability to relate to people).

Sports fan: Schreiber is a die-hard Washington Redskins fan who renews his season tickets every year. "It would be unthinkable not to." He commutes from Boston to spend every game weekend with his mom.

© 2009 Howard Hughes Medical Institute. A philanthropy serving society through biomedical research and science education.
4000 Jones Bridge Road Chevy Chase, MD 20815-6789 | (301) 215-8500 | e-mail: webmaster@hhmi.org