Floyd E. Bloom, MD, distinguished scientist and chairman emeritus of neuropharmacology at Scripps Research, passed away on January 8, 2025, at the age of 88. Considered a titan of neuroscience and pharmacology, the impact of his research, leadership and friendship extended throughout the biomedical research community.
Born in Minneapolis, Minn., in 1936, Bloom was exposed to the medical world early in life by his father, who ran a pharmacy. He received his AB degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and his MD degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
Bloom started his career in research during medical school and continued afterward at Yale University (Fellow, Department of Anatomy (1964-1968)), the National Institute of Mental Health (Chief, Laboratory of Neuropharmacology at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital (1968-1975)), and at the Salk Institute (Director, Arthur V. Davis Center for Behavioral Neurobiology (1975-1983)).
Former institute president Richard Lerner hired Bloom to join Scripps Research in 1983, where he would become chair of the Department of Neuropharmacology (1989-2005), investigating how chemicals in the brain, neurotransmitters or drugs, signal between neurons and control behaviors, addictions and disease. Bloom’s inventive accomplishments in the new field of neuropharmacology expanded our understanding of how specific neurotransmitters impacted particular neurological processes.
While chair of the department, Bloom launched a major effort in the use of animal models to investigate addiction, alcoholism and viral pathogenesis, expanding the department’s breadth and depth in brain research and establishing a lasting impact on the field by investigating the causal link between brain chemistry, brain circuits and behavior. He was an innovative leader in applying molecular biology techniques in neuroscience and in developing quantitative computer-assisted methods to collect, organize and analyze multidimensional imaging data sets, methods that are widely used in neuroscience research today.
“Floyd was always a scholar and gentleman as well as role model. He had a predilection for dapperly wearing bow ties. My first faculty job offer in San Diego was from him,” says Jerold Chun, MD, PhD, a colleague of Bloom while he was a professor of molecular biology and neuroscience at Scripps Research.
At Scripps Research, Bloom was instrumental in establishing the Alcohol Research Center in 1984, which still conducts vital research into how alcohol impacts the brain’s neurocircuits. Some of these findings have led to clinical trials to treat alcohol use disorder, including his early research on the importance of the brain signaling molecule hypocretin, or orexin. After leaving Scripps Research, he focused full time on the company he co-founded, Neurome, Inc., a La Jolla biotechnology company that specialized in research on therapeutic opportunities for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.
Bloom’s contributions in research and education were recognized by many honors including election to the National Academy of Science (1977), the Institute of Medicine (1982), The American Philosophical Society (1989), and the Royal Swedish Academy of Science (1989). He also served as president of the newly formed Society for Neuroscience. His wisdom and expertise also influenced policy on the national stage when he served on The President’s Council on Bioethics under President George W. Bush, which was created to advise the president on ethical issues surrounding advances in biomedical science and technology.
Scientific publishing was also a skill for which Bloom was widely revered. He served five years as editor-in-chief of Science magazine (1995-2000), before assuming the role of President and Chairman of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). At Science, he shepherded the publication into the digital age, advancing incorporation of the internet into dissemination of scientific content. During his time at the journal, his team created four spin-off online publications, navigating this new landscape of digital publishing with purpose, prioritizing quality and the journals’ connection with readers. He was known for his thoughtful and thought-provoking editorials concerning the roles and responsibilities of scientists and discovery.
Bloom was a prodigious communicator, publishing numerous books and monographs targeted to both biomedical research community and the general public. He authored or co-authored seminal textbooks in Neuroscience including The Biochemical Basis of Neuropharmacology, first published in 1970 and still in print today. He was also a co-editor of the journal Regulatory Peptides and editor-in-chief of the journal Brain Research. He served on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed scientific journals, including Neuropharmacology, the British Journal of Pharmacology, Alcohol and Alcoholism, and the Journal of Neuroscience.
“Floyd Bloom influenced generations of neuroscientists. I read The Biochemical Basis of Neuropharmacology when I was in college. It transformed me into a neuroscientist,” Hollis Cline, PhD, chair of Neuroscience and Hahn Professor of Neuroscience at Scripps Research.
While his professional career saw a multitude of successes, many fondly remember Bloom’s mentorship, generosity and friendship as well. He trained hundreds of students and postdoctoral researchers throughout his career, including at Scripps Research, and his intellectual progeny have become widely recognized mentors, promulgating his lasting legacy in science and education. While his former students and postdocs went on to various roles in research, education, biotech and government, Bloom continued to build lasting relationships throughout the scientific community. His colleagues remember him as a remarkable role model, an advocate for science outreach and an incredible steward of neuroscience and discovery.
“I benefitted personally from his extraordinary efficiency to create strong positive relationships between scientists throughout the world,” says Jean-Pierre Changeux, PhD, professor emeritus at the Collège de France and the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France. Changeux worked with Bloom while serving on the Scripps Research Board of Scientific Governors and recalled the get-togethers they shared in the U.S. and France. “Floyd was a formidable scientist but clearly was more than that: he was a humanist in the spirit of the age of enlightenment.”
In every sense, Bloom was an advocate for the power of scientific discovery to benefit human health, once telling Scripps Research’s News & Views: “The idea is to make a discovery that is useful and turn it into a diagnostic or an application or a way of life that will keep you healthy.”
Share
