Ralph Snyderman
Ralph Snyderman, M.D., is Chancellor Emeritus at Duke University and James B. Duke Professor of Medicine. He served as Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine from 1989 to July 2004. During this period, he oversaw the development of the Duke University Health System, one of the most successful integrated academic health systems in the country and served as its first President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Snyderman has been widely recognized for his contributions to the development of more rational, effective and compassionate models of health care. He led the development of Prospective Health Care, a model of personalized care based on personalized health planning. Dr. Snyderman was the recipient of the 2012 David E. Rogers Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges who recognized him as "The Father of Personalized Medicine." He was also a prominent researcher in the field of inflammation and has won many awards for his seminal work on leukocyte chemotaxis.
Dr. Snyderman played a leadership role in the Association of American Physicians, and the Association of American Medical Colleges. He served as chair of the AAMC in 2001-2002 and president of the Association of American Physicians in 2003-2004. In February 2009, he chaired the Institute of Medicine’s Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public, which focused on strategies for effective health care reform that puts the patient at the center of care.
In 1987, Dr. Snyderman joined Genentech, Inc., a biomedical technology firm in San Francisco, CA, as vice president for medical research and development. A year later he was promoted to senior vice president. While at Genentech, he led the development and licensing of important therapeutics and supervised 300 staff members working in pharmacology, clinical research and regulatory affairs.
Snyderman has been the recipient of many honors and awards. In 2003, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor presented to outstanding Americans who have distinguished themselves among their specific ethnic groups and have made significant contributions to our country. He was awarded the first Bravewell Leadership Award for outstanding achievements in the field of integrative medicine in 2003. Dr. Snyderman received the 2007 Leadership in Personalized Medicine Award from the Personalized Medicine Coalition for his efforts in advancing predictive and targeted therapies on a national scale. In May 2008, he received the prestigious Industrial Research Institute (IRI) Medal for his outstanding accomplishments in technological innovations that contribute to the development of industry and to the benefit of society. In November 2008, Dr. Snyderman was awarded Frost & Sullivan’s 2008 North American HealthCare Lifetime Achievement Award for his pioneering spirit and contributions to medicine. And, in March 2009, he received the Triangle Business Journal’s Healthcare Lifetime Achievement Award. In February 2010, Procter & Gamble named Dr. Snyderman an honorary member of the Victor Mills Society for his leadership and impact on innovation. He was awarded the Clinical Research Forum’s 2010 Leadership in Academic Health Centers award. Dr. Snyderman was recognized as a Bioscience Leader Emeriti by the North Carolina Association for Biomedical Research in 2010 honoring North Carolina research leaders for their outstanding leadership in research and development and in the transformation of the state through scientific discovery and innovation. In October 2011, Snyderman received the William B. Anlyan, MD, Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing his contributions to Duke University Medical Center. In 2012, he received the David E. Rogers Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges for his contributions to improving the nation's health.
A graduate of Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, Dr. Snyderman received his MD, magna cum laude, in 1965 from SUNY Downstate Medical Center. He served his internship and residency in medicine at Duke and later worked as a Public Health Officer doing research in immunology at the NIH. Dr. Snyderman has contributed to almost 400 scientific manuscripts.
Board Memberships
Crescendo Bioscience
Liquidia Technologies
Targacept, Inc.
Trevena, Inc.
Washington College Board of Visitors and Governors
XDx, Inc.
Scientific Societies
American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences
Association of American Physicians
American Society for Clinical Investigation
American Association of Medical Colleges
References (Selected)
1. Snyderman, R. Gewurz, H. and Mergenhagen, S.E. Interactions of the complement system
witendotoxic lipopolysaccharide. Generation of a factor chemotactic for olymorphonuclear
leukocytes. J. Exp. Med. 128:259, 1968.
2. Shin, H.S. Snyderman, R., Friedman, E., Mellors, A. and Mayer, M.M. Chemotactic and anaphyl atoxic fragment cleaved from the fifth component of guinea pig complement. Science 162:361, 1968.
3. Snyderman, R., Shin, H.S., Phillips, J.K. Gewurz, H. and Mergenhagen, S.E. A neutrophil chemotactic factor derived from C'5 upon interaction of guinea pig serum with endotoxin. J. Immunol. 103:413, 1969.
4. Snyderman R., Phillips, J., and Mergenhagen, S.E. Polymorphonuclear leukocyte chemotactic activity in rabbit serum and guinea pig serum treated with immune complexes: Evidence for C5a as the major chemotactic factor. Infec. Immun. 1:521, 1970.
5. Rogers, E., Rogers, M., Snyderman, R. Cultural and Organizational Implications of Academic Managed-Care Networks. N. Engl. J. Med. 331:1374-1377, 1994.
6. Snyderman, R., Academic Medicine Can Transform Health Care through Clinical Research, Academic Medicine, 74:11, 1999.
7. Barr, A. J., Ali, H., Haribabu, B., Snyderman, R., Smrcka, A.V. , Identification of a Region at the N-Terminus of Phospholipase C-β3 That Interacts with G Protein βγ Subunits. J. Bio. Chem. 39:1800-1806, January 2000.
8. Snyderman, R., Holmes, E.W., Oversight Mechanisms for Clinical Research, Science. 287:595-596, Science, January 28, 2000.
9. Snyderman, R., Weil, Andrew, Integrative Medicine: Bringing Medicine Back to Its Roots, Arch Intern Med, 106:395-397, February 2002.
10. Williams, R.S., Willard, H.F., Snyderman, S. Personalized Health Planning. Science, 300:549,2003.
11. Snyderman, R., Williams, R.S. Prospective Medicine: The Next Health Care Transformation. Academic Medicine, 78:11, 1079-1084, November 2003.
12. Langheier, J.M., Snyderman, R. Prospective Medicine: The Role for Genomics in Personalized Health Planning. Pharmacogenomics 5(1), 1-8, 2004.
13. Snyderman, R. The Clinical Researcher – An “Emerging” Species. JAMA 291:7, February 18, 2004.
14. Snyderman, R., Langheier, J., Prospective Health Care: The Second Transformation of Medicine. Genome Biology 2006, 7:104. 27 March 2006
15. Yoediono, Z., Snyderman, R., Proposal for a New Health Record to Support Personalized, Predictive, Preventative, and Participatory Medicine. Future Medicine, Ltd. 5(1), 47-54, January, 2008.
16. Snyderman, R., Dinan, M. “Improving Health by Taking it Personally”. JAMA. 2010 Jan 27; 30(4): 363-364.
17. Snyderman, R. (2011), Personalized Health Care: From theory to practice. Biotechnology Journal. doi: 10.1002/biot.201100297
18. Burnette, R.; Simmons, L.A.; Snyderman, R. Personalized Health Care as a Pathway for the Adoption of Genomic Medicine. J. Pers. Med. 2012, 2, 232-240.