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.[1][2]
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".[3] In 1985, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.[4]