Campbell/Spillane Substance Use Research - Interview with Edward (Ed) Domino

Abstract

Edward F. Domino, MD, was a pioneering neuropharmacologist, Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan, where he spent nearly all his career, and was a coiner of the term “dissociative anesthesia”. Ed was born in Chicago in 1924. He served as an electronics technician in the Navy in World War II. Afterward, he graduated from the University of Illinois with bachelor degrees in electrical engineering and “premedicine.” He remained at the University of Illinois for his MD and MS (pharmacology) degrees. Ed and his collaborators pioneered the study of phencyclidine and ketamine. In 1953, Ed obtained a position in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan. His Department Chair, Dr. Maurice Seevers, encouraged him to study in animal models the Parke Davis drug, phencyclidine, promising him a grant that would support the initiation of his research career. That study was the first to describe similarity between phencyclidine effects in healthy individuals and schizophrenia. Ed’s pivotal characterization of the behavioral and neural effects of the phencyclidine derivative, ketamine, stands as the key accomplishment of his career. Ketamine was shorter-acting and less potent than phencyclidine. Ketamine’s ease of use, safety, tolerability, and antinociceptive effects have made it among the most successful human and veterinary anesthetic agents, globally. Ed’s seemingly limitless passion for scientific innovation led him to make contributions to many areas of science throughout his long career. He pursued a deep understanding of the neuropsychopharmacology of ketamine. In the 1960s, he and his collaborators also studied the psychedelics. Later, he explored cannabis and nicotine effects on brain function. His work spanned research conducted in rodents, non-human primates, healthy humans, and patient populations. He collaborated with scientists around the world, who were drawn to his creativity and magnetic enthusiasm; traits that were characteristic of him throughout his career. In collaboration with these scientists, he became engaged in research utilizing approaches and technologies that emerged relatively late in his career including molecular genetics, positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Dr. Domino died November 3, 2021 at the age of 96. Sources: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-022-01280-x Accessed 07 June 2023.