Philip Seeman

Philip Seeman, OC, FRSC (born February 8, 1934) is a Canadian schizophrenia researcher and neuropharmacologist, known for his research on dopamine receptors.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Seeman was raised in Montreal. He received a Bachelor of Science degree, honours Physics & Physiology (1955), a Master of Science degree, Physiology of Transport & Secretion (1956), and a Doctor of Medicine (1960) from McGill University. In 1966, he received a Ph.D. in Life Sciences from Rockefeller University.

In 1967, Seeman became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Toronto. In 1970, he was appointed a Professor.

In 1974, having spent years in search for the binding site of antipsychotic medication, he discovered the dopamine D2 receptor, the basis for the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia.

In 2001, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his research on dopamine receptors and their involvement in diseases such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's and Huntington's". In 1985, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.