Floyd Bloom

As chairman of the Scripps Research Institute's Department of Neuropharmacology between 1989-2000 and 2002-05, Floyd Bloom was at the forefront of neuroscience research. A professor at Scripps from 1983 until his appointment as chairman, he was among the first to determine the distribution of neuronal circuits in the brain by chemically labeling the transmitter characteristics of neurons in each circuit. Such evidence established the fact that signaling in the brain may be chemical as well as electrical. By applying newly developed methods, Bloom investigated brain-specific proteins and conducted pioneering studies on nervous system disorders of genetic origin. As professor emeritus at Scripps Research Institute, Bloom also devoted substantial effort to the work of Neurome, Inc., the La Jolla-based biotechnology company dedicated to discovery and development of solutions for human neurodegenerative diseases, which he co-founded in 2000. Dr. Bloom served as editor-in-chief of Science (1995-2000) and as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2003). He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a recipient of numerous prizes, including the Janssen Award in the Basic Sciences and the Pasarow Award in Neuropsychiatry. He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and a member of the Institute of Medicine. He has over 600 publications to his credit, including The Biochemical Basis of Neuropharmacology. Floyd E. Bloom passed away on January 8, 2025, at the age of 88.