Raphael Mechoulam

Mechoulam was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1930, to a Sephardic Jewish family. His father was a physician and head of a local hospital, while his mother "who had studied in Berlin, enjoyed the life of a well-to-do Jewish family". He attended an "American grade school" until his parents were forced to leave their hometown because of antisemitic laws and his father was subsequently sent to a concentration camp, which he survived. After the communist takeover of hitherto pro-German Bulgaria in 1944 he studied chemical engineering, which he "disliked." In 1949 his family immigrated to Israel where he later studied chemistry. He gained his first research experience in the Israeli Army working on insecticides.[3]

Mechoulam received his M.Sc. in biochemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1952), and his Ph.D. at the Weizmann Institute, Reḥovot (1958), with a thesis on the chemistry of steroids. After postdoctoral studies at the Rockefeller Institute, New York (1959–60), he was on the scientific staff of the Weizmann Institute (1960–65), before moving to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he became professor (1972) and Lionel Jacobson Professor of Medicinal Chemistry from 1975. He was rector (1979–82) and pro-rector (1983–85). In 1994 he was elected a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences. Mechoulam was one of the founding members of the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines and the International Cannabinoid Research Society.

Mechoulam died on 9 March 2023, at the age of 92.[4]

• 1994: Member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
• 1999–2000: President, International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS)
• 2000: Israel Prize in Exact Sciences - Chemistry
• 2001: Honorary doctorate from Ohio State University
• 2002: Honorary Member of the Israeli Society of Physiology and Pharmacology
• 2003–2005: Chairman of the Board, International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM)
• 2006: Honorary doctorate from Complutense University
• 2011: NIDA Discovery Award
• 2012: EMET Prize in Exact Sciences—Chemistry[5][6]
• 2012: Recipient of the Rothschild Prize in Chemical Sciences and Physical Sciences
• 2014: IACM Award
• 2016: Genius 100 Visionary[7]
• 2018: Honoris causa from the University of Guelph
• 2019: Honoris causa from the Weizmann Institute of Science
• 2019–2020: Harvey Prize of the Technion[8]

Raphael Mechoulam's major scientific interest was the chemistry and pharmacology of cannabinoids. He and his research group succeeded in the total synthesis of the major plant cannabinoids Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabigerol and various others. Another research project initiated by him led to the isolation of the first described endocannabinoid anandamide which was isolated and characterized by two of his postdoctoral researchers, Lumír Ondřej Hanuš and William Devane. Another endogenous cannabinoid, 2-AG, was soon discovered by Shimon Ben-Shabat, one of his PhD students. He published more than 450 scientific articles.

• Mechoulam, Raphael (2023-01-20). "A Delightful Trip Along the Pathway of Cannabinoid and Endocannabinoid Chemistry and Pharmacology". Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology. 63 (1): 1–13. doi:10.1146/annurev-pharmtox-051921-083709. ISSN 0362-1642.

• The Scientist—A documentary about the life and work of Raphael Mechoulam
• Silow-Carroll, Andrew (11 March 2023). "Raphael Mechoulam, Israel's 'father of cannabis research,' dies at 92: Esteemed scientist led pioneering research into psychoactive substance, with findings that helped ease its shift out of counterculture and into the mainstream". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
• Cermak, Timmen L. (13 March 2023). "Raphael Mechoulam, Father of Cannabis Research, Dead at 92: Gratitude for the man and the researcher". Psychology Today. Retrieved 14 March 2023.