PROFESSOR NATHAN BACK

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Dr. Nathan Back is Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology in the Department of Medicine and Biological Sciences at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. A Fellow of the Royal Academy of Medicine, Professor Back holds a degree in Biochemistry from Penn State University, completed graduate studies in Human Physiology at Thomas Jefferson Medical University and received a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. He was a Research Scientist at Wyeth Pharmaceutical Company Institute of Life Sciences and held a joint appointment as Professor of Pharmacology at SUNY Buffalo and Senior Cancer Research Scientist at New York State’s 500-bed Roswell Park Cancer Institute where, during a 10-year tenure, he pioneered the discovery of new drugs to treat cancer, allergic states and thrombosis (“clot-busters”). One of Roswell Park's major research efforts has been the study and treatment of cancer caused by the use of tobacco products and the development of new anti-smoking programs.

During his nearly 50-year academic career, Professor Back helped establish and was Chairman of the Department of Biochemical Pharmacology at the SUNY Buffalo where he taught and trained three generations of students, including many graduate PhD students and Post-Doctoral Fellows. He directed a broad program of research in toxicology, biologic factors influencing normal and tumor cell growth, chemotherapy, drugs of abuse (as LSD), chemical addictions and enzymatic pathways affecting blood clotting, blood vessel control, inflammatory and immunologic systems. He has published more than 210 manuscripts in peer-reviewed scientific journals and is author of and has edited 10 books. He also is co-editor of the Modern Methods in Pharmacology series and a co-founder and member of the Editorial Board of the highly regarded series Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology (Kluwar Academic/Plenum Press) which has published to date 553 volumes. He is a member of twenty-one national and international scientific societies, including four Honor Societies and enjoys Fellow status in six. Professor Back was awarded the annual German E.K. Prize for Excellence in Basic Research.

Professor Back has been a Visiting Professor at leading Universities and Institutes throughout the world, including Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Dutch West Indies, Japan, China, and Israel. He consulted for ten non-profit medical, scientific and world organizations including the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and the United Nations, serving one year as a UN Scientific Expert in Pharmacology and Toxicology to Israel’s National Council for Research. Professor Back also has been scientific consultant to twenty-five pharmaceutical and bio-medical companies in the United States, Europe, the Far East and the Middle East. He currently is Director of Research and Development for Addict AG. He holds a process patent that greatly improves the sensitivity of products used to diagnose many diseases and addictions.