Terrance P. Snutch

Affiliation

Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Michael Smith Laboratories, Departments of Psychiatry and Zoology, and the Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia

Committee membership

Governing Council: September 29, 2011 to September 28, 2014

Biography

Terrance P. Snutch obtained a PhD in molecular genetics in 1984 from Simon Fraser University and between 1984 through 1989 conducted postdoctoral studies in the emerging field of molecular neurobiology at the California Institute of Technology. For six summers Dr. Snutch also organized and instructed the prestigious Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory course on Ion Channel Structure and Function, introducing a new generation of scientists to the study of molecular neurobiology.

Dr. Snutch is acknowledged as a pioneer and world leader in the study of a family of signaling proteins called calcium channels. Calcium channels are responsible for numerous physiological functions in the nervous, muscle and endocrine systems and their dysfunction is implicated in a wide variety of human diseases, including chronic and neuropathic pain, migraine, stroke, cardiovascular disease, epilepsy and psychotic disorders.

Recognizing the importance of targeting his biomedical research towards unmet human diseases and in translating this work towards public health and job creation, Dr. Snutch founded NeuroMed Pharmaceuticals. One of Canada's most successful biotechnology companies, NeuroMed (now Zalicus Pharmaceuticals) successfully advanced the analgesic Exalgo^TM through later stage clinical trials, approval by the FDA and onto the market for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe chronic pain. Dr. Snutch has designed and developed other novel drugs that selectively target calcium channels and that are in clinical trials aimed at the treatment of neuropathic pain and epilepsy.

Dr. Snutch is author on over 140 research publications and inventor on over 110 issued patents concerning the design and development of novel treatments for chronic pain, epilepsy and heart disease. One of Canada's preeminent neuroscientists, he has served on numerous grant agency panels, advisory and scientific journal editorial boards, and is a highly sought speaker at national and international meetings.

Dr. Snutch's seminal contributions to molecular neurobiology and translational research have been widely recognized. These include Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Research Scholar, Medical Research Council of Canada Scientist, Canadian Institutes for Health Research Senior Scientist and currently the Canada Research Chair in Neurobiology and Genomics-Biotechnology. Some of his other accolades include the Alfred P. Sloan Research Foundation fellowship, the Killam Research Prize, the Simon Fraser University Outstanding Academic Alumni Award and the International Albrecht Fleckenstein Award for his groundbreaking research in calcium channel biology. Dr. Snutch has also received the Steacie Prize, awarded to Canada's top young scientist or engineer, an honorary doctorate from Simon Fraser University and the BC Biotech Life Sciences Company of the Year award. Dr. Snutch is inducted as a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.