MCW Names Chair of Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Milwaukee, Jan. 28, 2020 – The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) has appointed John R. Mantsch, PhD, as professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, effective Jan. 1, 2021. Dr. Mantsch was also awarded the Florence Williams Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology by MCW’s Board of Trustees.

Dr. Mantsch’s primary research centers on the preclinical study of neuropsychiatric disease with a focus on understand the neurobiological underpinnings of addiction. Currently, he receives funding for his research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and has been a principal investigator on seven National Institute of Health grants totaling more than $10 million. Dr. Mantsch also is involved in central nervous system medication development and is a co-founder of Promentis Pharmaceuticals, a startup pharmaceutical company that originated in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Marquette University in Milwaukee. The company is developing novel compounds for the treatment of nervous system disorders, and its drug development efforts are focused on the neurotransmitter glutamate and its critical role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and other diseases.

“Dr. Mantsch was identified as the top candidate for this important role at MCW after a comprehensive national search,” said Joseph E. Kerschner, MD, dean of the School of Medicine and provost and executive vice president of MCW. “We look forward to his leadership and innovative approach to research and education.”

Dr. Mantsch has served as professor and chair of biomedical sciences at Marquette since 2012. He also is a faculty member in Marquette’s interdisciplinary neuroscience graduate program and as an adjunct faculty member in MCW’s Institute for Health and Equity. Dr. Mantsch graduated from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, in 1993 and received his PhD in pharmacology from Louisiana State University in 1998. From 1998 to 2001, Dr. Mantsch was a postdoctoral research associate in The Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases at The Rockefeller University in New York City.

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About the Medical College of Wisconsin

With a history dating back to 1893, The Medical College of Wisconsin is dedicated to leadership and excellence in education, patient care, research and community engagement. More than 1,400 students are enrolled in MCW’s medical school and graduate school programs in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Central Wisconsin. MCW’s School of Pharmacy opened in 2017. A major national research center, MCW is the largest research institution in the Milwaukee metro area and second largest in Wisconsin. In the last 10 years, faculty received more than $1.5 billion in external support for research, teaching, training and related purposes. This total includes highly competitive research and training awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Annually, MCW faculty direct or collaborate on more than 3,100 research studies, including clinical trials. Additionally, more than 1,600 physicians provide care in virtually every specialty of medicine for more than 2.8 million patients annually.