David T. Wong (born circa 1936 in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

) is a Hong Kong-born American neuroscientist. He is a former researcher with

Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 countries. The company was founded in 1876 by, and named after, Colonel ...

and an adjunct professor at the

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

School of Medicine. Wong is known for the discovery of the

antidepressant Antidepressants are a class of medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain conditions, and to help manage addictions. Common side-effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, hea ...

drug

fluoxetine Fluoxetine, sold under the brand names Prozac and Sarafem, among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used for the treatment of major depressive disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorde ...

, more commonly known by its trade name Prozac.David T. Wong
''Nature Reviews Drug Discovery'', retrieved 2012-10-05... Wong was born in Hong Kong, and began his undergraduate studies in chemistry at

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as the seventh of the Imperial Universities. It was named Taihoku Imperial University and served d ...

. He came to Seattle Pacific College in 1957, and graduated in 1961. He then went on to graduate studies at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

, where he earned a master's degree in 1964 and later at

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

to receive his doctorate in 1966. After doing his postdoctoral research at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, he joined Eli Lilly in 1968.

Compounds

While at Lilly, Wong became most interested in agents that bind to Biogenic Amine Transporters (''BAT''). These compounds primarily affect functioning of the CNS and have known uses in the treatment of depression, ADHD, libido, obesity and addiction. Although such agents can be made to increase

serotonin Serotonin () or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a monoamine neurotransmitter. Its biological function is complex and multifaceted, modulating mood, cognition, reward, learning, memory, and numerous physiological processes such as vomiting and vas ...

and

norepinephrine Norepinephrine (NE), also called noradrenaline (NA) or noradrenalin, is an organic chemical in the catecholamine family that functions in the brain and body as both a hormone and neurotransmitter. The name "noradrenaline" (from Latin '' ad'', ...

, an example of a compound with a demonstrated affinity for the DAT is called ''N''-methylatmoxetine 3015-25-2 He helped to study: LY 125180

Fluoxetine Fluoxetine, sold under the brand names Prozac and Sarafem, among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used for the treatment of major depressive disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorde ...

Atomoxetine Atomoxetine, sold under the brand name Strattera, among others, is a medication used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It may be used alone or along with psychostimulants. It is also used as a cognitive enhancer to impro ...

Duloxetine Duloxetine, sold under the brand name Cymbalta among others, is a medication used to treat major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain and central sensitization. It is taken by mouth. It is a serotoni ...

Dapoxetine Dapoxetine, marketed as Priligy, among others, is a medication used for the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE) in men 18–64 years old. Dapoxetine works by inhibiting the serotonin transporter, increasing serotonin's action at the postsyna ...

, #

Nisoxetine Nisoxetine, originally synthesized in the Lilly research laboratories during the early 1970s, is a potent and selective inhibitor for the reuptake of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) into synapses. It currently has no clinical applications in hum ...

# LY 125180 4515-39-2 #

6-CAT 6-Chloro-2-aminotetralin (6-CAT) is a drug which acts as a selective serotonin releasing agent (SSRA) and is a putative entactogen in humans. It is a rigid analogue of ''para''-chloroamphetamine (PCA). According to Nichols ''et al.'', 6-CAT i ...

. # LY255582 19193-09-8# LY278584 (tropane analog of

Granisetron Granisetron is a serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonist used as an antiemetic to treat nausea and vomiting following chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Its main effect is to reduce the activity of the vagus nerve, which is a nerve that activates the v ...

)

Awards

#Wong won the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Discoverer's Award in 1993. #Wong was named Alumnus of the Year by Seattle Pacific University in 1998. #He was given the

Prince Mahidol Award The Prince Mahidol Award ( th, รางวัลสมเด็จเจ้าฟ้ามหิดล) is an annual award for outstanding achievements in medicine and public health worldwide. The award is given by the Prince Mahidol Award Found ...

in Medicine in 2011.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, David T. Living people American academics of Chinese descent American neuroscientists Eli Lilly and Company people Hong Kong emigrants to the United States Indiana University School of Medicine faculty Seattle Pacific University alumni University of Oregon alumni Year of birth uncertain Year of birth missing (living people)