Honoring the Extensive and Impactful Contributions of Prof David J Greenblatt, MD: Founding Editor of Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development

Abstract

Clinical pharmacology is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses laboratory research, drug development, therapeutic optimization, and patient care. Among the giants in the field of clinical pharmacology stands Prof David Greenblatt, a visionary, pioneer, and highly influential scientist and mentor. Fueled by passion, dedication, and a tireless resolve to venture into uncharted territories, Dr Greenblatt's unparalleled contributions have significantly advanced the discipline of clinical pharmacology.

A native of Newton, Massachusetts, Dr Greenblatt is a magna cum laude graduate of Amherst College (1966). He graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1970, then trained in internal medicine at the Montefiore Hospital, New York City (1970-1971), and on the Harvard Medical Service at Boston City Hospital (1971-1972). Following a fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology at Massachusetts General Hospital under the mentorship of Dr Jan Koch-Weser (1972-1974), he stayed on to head their Clinical Pharmacology Unit (1975-1979). Dr Greenblatt has been on the faculty of the Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) and the staff of Tufts Medical Center since 1979. He is a senior faculty member in the Graduate Program in Pharmacology and Drug Development and has previously served as chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at TUSM, program director and associate program director of the institution's Clinical/Translational Research Center, and chair of the Institutional Review Board. He has served as a postdoctoral training supervisor or dissertation supervisor for more than 60 trainees, most of whom have gone on to positions as university-based investigators or scientists in industry.

In his inspiring, tireless, and accomplished career journey spanning more than 5 decades, Dr Greenblatt has significantly contributed essential knowledge to expand our understanding of drug interactions and pharmacokinetic principles, especially in the field of psychopharmacology and psychiatry. Dr Greenblatt has been recognized for his exemplary contributions to clinical pharmacology by major national and international scientific organizations. He received the McKeen Cattell Award from the American College of Clinical Pharmacology (ACCP) in 1985, the Distinguished Service Award in 2001, the Distinguished Investigator Award in 2002, and the Hartmut Derendorf Mentorship in Clinical Pharmacology Award in 2024.

Dr Greenblatt joined ACCP in 1974 and is one of the longest-serving fellows in ACCP history. After joining the Board of Regents in 1981, he was elected as president-elect in 1994-1996 and served as president from 1996 to 1998. Having completed his terms on the Board and Executive Committee, he became an honorary regent and has actively engaged with ACCP in numerous ways. He has served on the Nominations and Publications Committees, on the Working Groups for Online Communities, Pearls for Practice, and Revenue Sources. Having authored approximately 800 manuscripts, over 175 reviews or book chapters, 100 editorials or commentaries, and a dozen books, Dr Greenblatt has contributed significantly to the field of clinical pharmacology. In 2013, when ACCP launched its new journal, Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development (CPDD), Dr Greenblatt served as its founding editor and built the journal into an authoritative voice on high-quality clinical pharmacology studies in drug development. Published monthly and indexed in the PubMed/MEDLINE database, CPDD is a respected resource for critical information sought by the global clinical pharmacology community.

In John C Maxwell's words, “A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see, and who sees before others do.” Long before the founding of the journal CPDD, Dr Greenblatt advocated for the publication of early-phase clinical studies that not only advance our understanding of drug action, pharmacokinetics, safety, and efficacy of new drugs but also contribute to the assessment of generic drugs. Such studies, which often follow well-established and relatively straightforward trial designs, are frequently overlooked even though they form the basis for dose selection for later-phase pivotal studies and ultimately assessing the benefit-to-risk profile of a drug. In the early 2000s, the pharmaceutical industry was suddenly faced with mandates on research transparency, which meant that early Phase 1 studies needed to be published, but the majority of contemporary journals in the field were not inclined to publish the findings of such studies despite their well-recognized importance. Seeing this need for the industry to publish their Phase 1 studies as an opportunity, Dr Greenblatt led the effort at ACCP to invest resources into the founding of CPDD, a peer-reviewed, PubMed-indexed journal that has been published since 2012 and is now in its 14th volume.

John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” Throughout his tenure as editor-in-chief of CPDD, Dr Greenblatt has led, facilitated, and constantly inspired researchers from academia, industry, and regulatory agencies to submit articles of early-stage clinical trials resulting in CPDD becoming a go-to platform for publishing high-quality and well-designed trials that inform the global clinical pharmacology community about developing trends and evolving concepts that can optimize trial design, reduce costs, and advance critical knowledge about a drug candidate to inform later-stage trials. If the science of a manuscript was sound, Dr Greenblatt dedicated a considerable amount of time and effort to guide the authors and reviewers to ensure the results of such manuscripts would be published. With a keen eye, extensive knowledge, and vast experience, he worked diligently to make CPDD a welcoming home for high-quality science.

Dr Greenblatt's tenure as founding editor-in-chief of CPDD resulted in a journal with a solid foundation, and ACCP is extremely thankful for his many decades of dedicated service to the organization, the CPDD journal, and the global clinical pharmacology community.