Stuart L. Schreiber

Stuart L. Schreiber, Ph.D. is a co-Founder of the Broad Institute, the Morris Loeb Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His research has been recognized through numerous awards, most recently being the Wolf Prize in Chemistry.

Dr. Schreiber’s research integrates chemical biology and human biology to advance the discovery of novel therapeutics. He is known for his use of small molecules to explore biology and medicine, and for his role in the development of the field of chemical biology. His lab discovered mTOR and illuminated the nutrient-response signaling network, histone deacetylase (HDAC) and the role of chromatin marks in gene expression, and with Gerry Crabtree he mapped the first membrane to nuclease signaling pathway (calcium–calcineurin–NFAT). His work demonstrated for the first time that drugs can result from: 1) the targeting of protein kinases (sirolimus/mTOR) and protein phosphatases (sandimmune/calcineurin); 2) gene regulation by chromatin-modifying enzymes (vorinostat/HDAC), 3) small-molecule dimerizers that activate cellular processes by enforced proximity (GVH Disease); and 4) targeting of the proteasome (bortezomib/proteasome). These efforts accelerated the development of many additional widely used drugs.

Schreiber’s development of diversity-oriented synthesis has led to the discovery of many promising agents, including a novel mechanism of action anti-malarial agent being developed in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Eisai. His most recent discovery revealed a novel cell state responsible for the ability of cancers to resist a wide range of therapies, and a means to target the cancer therapy-resistant state.

Schreiber extended chemical biology principles to medicine by founding several biotech companies, including Vertex Pharmaceuticals (fosamprenavir/Lexiva; telaprevir/Incivek; ivacaftor/Kalydeco), ARIAD Pharmaceuticals (ponatinib/Iclusig; brigatinib/Alunbrig; ridaforolimus; AP1903), Infinity Pharmaceuticals (reta¬spimycin; duvelisib), Forma Therapeutics, H3 Biomedicine, Jnana Therapeutics, Kojin Therapeutics, oNeir Therapeutics, and Kisbee Therapeutics.