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Alexandros Makriyannis (born ___) is a distinguished medicinal chemist recognized both nationally and internationally for his work in endocannabinoid research. He is the George Behrakis Chair of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and Founder and Director of the Center for Drug Discovery at Northeastern University in Boston, MA.

Degrees/Education
Makriyannis graduated from the University of Cairo in 1960 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences. He went on to earn a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Kansas, graduating in 1967. He later completed a Postdoctoral fellowship in Organic Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley from 1967 to 1969.

Research
Inventor of over 50 issued U.S. patents, Makriyannis played an important role in the discovery of this relatively newly characterized biochemical system that regulates many physiological functions including pain, neuroprotection, addiction, immunomodulation and cognition. Over the past four decades, his laboratory has designed and synthesized some of the key pharmacological endocannabinoid probes that are widely used and serve as leads for the development of new medications. He has also made important contributions aimed at understanding the molecular basis of cannabinoid activity. He has been a creative pioneer in the field of chemical biology where he combined the use of medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics. His work is recognized for its high level of originality. Some of his compounds are in advanced preclinical trials for the treatment of metabolic disorders and liver function, neuropathic pain, addiction and neurodegenerative diseases.

Honors

 * McNeil Endowment Fellowship (1964 - 1967)
 * Research Scientist Award, NIDA (1990 - 1995; 1995 - 2000)
 * Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (1993)
 * President, International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) (1993)
 * Distinguished Scientist Award, University of Connecticut Alumni (1996)
 * Fellow, American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences (1997)
 * National Institute of Health MERIT Awards (1997 - 2007, 2007 - 2017)
 * Senior Scientist NIDA Award (2000 - 2011)
 * Distinguished Professor, University of Connecticut, Board of Trustees (2002)
 * Research Achievement Award in Drug Design and Discovery, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientist (AAPS)(2002)
 * Behrakis Trustee Chair in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Northeastern University (2004)
 * Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy, University of Athens, Greece (2005)
 * Recognition of Scholarly or Creative Work by Northeastern Faculty and Staff, Northeastern University (2005)
 * Mechoulam Life Achievement Award in Cannabinoid Research (ICRS) (2006)
 * Distinguished Patent Award, University of Connecticut (2007)
 * Kenneth E. Avis Award in Medicinal Chemistry (2007)
 * Marquis Who’s Who in Science and Engineering (2007)
 * ACS Research Lifetime Achievement Award in Medicinal Chemistry (2012)
 * Annual NU Award for Excellence in Research and Creativity (2012)
 * ACS Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame (2013)
 * Highly Cited Researcher, Thomson Reuters (2014)
 * Distinguished Professor, Northeastern University (2015)
 * AAPS Distinguished Pharmaceutical Scientist Award (2015)

Professional Memberships

 * American Chemical Society (ACS)
 * American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) Emeritus Membership Status
 * The Protein Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS; Science)
 * American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP)
 * The Society of Neuroscience (SfN)
 * American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET)
 * College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD)
 * The New York Academy of Science
 * Molecular Neuropharmacology and Signaling Study Section (MNPS)

Publications

 * J. Guo, S. Pavlopoulos, X. Tian, D. Lu, S. Nikas, S. Nikas, D. Yang and A. Makriyannis, “Conformational Study of Lipophilic Ligands in Phospholipid Model Membrane Systems By Solution NMR.” J. Med. Chem., 46, 4838-4846 (2003)
 * M. M. Ibrahim, H. Deng, A. Zvonok, D. Cockayne, J.Kwan, H. P. Mata, T. W. Vanderah, J. Lai, F. Porreca, A. Makriyannis and T. P. Malan, “Activation of CB2 Cannabinoid Receptors By AM1241 Inhibits Experimental Neuropathic Pain: Pain Inhibition By Receptors Not Present In CNS.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 100, 10529-10533 (2003)
 * Makriyannis, A. and A. Goutopoulos, “Cannabinergics: Old and New Therapeutic Possibilities.” Makriyannis, A. and D. Biegel (Eds.), Drug Discovery Strategies and Methods. 1. 89-128, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, NY (2003)