Bruce Maryanoff was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He earned a B.S. in chemistry (1969) and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry (1972) from Drexel University, then conducted postdoctoral studies at Princeton University with Prof. Kurt M. Mislow. Bruce joined Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in 1974 in drug discovery research, where he advanced to the company’s highest scientific position of Distinguished Research Fellow. In 2010, he retired from J&J after 36 years, and joined Scripps Research in La Jolla, CA, as a Visiting Investigator, collaborating with Prof. M. Reza Ghadiri. That year, he was appointed Distinguished Professor at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute in Doylestown, PA. For more than 10 years, he and his wife, Cynthia, have been supporters of the Hepatitis B Foundation, the Blumberg Institute (formerly Institute for Hepatitis and Virus Research), and the Biotechnology Center of Bucks County.

Dr. Maryanoff has made myriad contributions in medicinal and organic chemistry, and is highly regarded internationally as an expert in drug design and discovery. He conducted seminal studies
on the stereochemistry and mechanism of the iconic Wittig olefination reaction, and was the first to adapt the cobalt-mediated [2+2+2] alkyne cyclotrimerization to the synthesis of macrocycles. Most significantly, he invented TOPAMAX® topiramate, which was marketed to treat epilepsy and migraine headache, and achieved peak annual sales (2008/2009) of nearly 3 billion US dollars. The efforts of his drug discovery teams resulted in the advancement of 13 compounds into human clinical trials. Bruce published 284 scientific papers, is inventor on 102 U.S. Patents, and presented 190 invited lectures.

Dr. Maryanoff received three American Chemical Society (ACS) national awards and a Smissman Award from the ACS Medicinal Chemistry Division. He worked as an Associate Editor of ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters for 10 years, and has served on numerous Editorial Advisory Boards. Bruce was Editor of Advances in Medicinal Chemistry and oversaw two special issues of J. Med. Chem, as Principal Editor. Bruce was inducted into the prestigious Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame. He was elected Fellow of the ACS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

In 2015, he and his wife founded a company in Hawaii involved in growing, processing, roasting,
and selling single-estate 100% Kona coffee from two coffee farms. He is now a resident of Hawaii.