Herbert Harris

Dr. Harris earned his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Harris’ Ph.D. work in immunology involved the regulation of cell surface expression and turnover of Class I MHC antigens, which are the targets of CD8 T cells. Class, I MHC proteins play a crucial role in directing T cell-mediated immune responses in transplantation and antiviral immunity. The regulation of these proteins by cytokines was a central focus of this work. Dr. Harris completed residency training in psychiatry at Yale University. He performed postdoctoral research on the neurobiology of addiction in the laboratory of Dr. Eric Nestler, M.D., Ph.D. After the completion of clinical training, Dr. Harris served as Senior Staff Fellow at the National Institute on Aging, a division of the NIH, where his research focused on the mechanisms of programmed cell death in neurons. He subsequently served as Chief of the Geriatric Psychopharmacology Program and Chief of the Adult Psychopathology Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health. He also served as scientific liaison to the Neuropharmacology Division of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Harris subsequently joined the industry and has devoted more than two decades to drug discovery and development at companies that include Merck, Cephalon, GlaxoSmithKline, and Jazz Pharmaceuticals. In addition, he has served as Tonix’s Chief Medical Officer from 2009 to 2011 and for other early-stage companies that include Vela Pharmaceuticals, Validus Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Harris served on the Scientific Advisory Board of Tonix for approximately 10 years until his appointment as Tonix’s Executive Vice President, Translational Medicine.