Histamine in Inflammation

The year 2010 marks the centennial for the identification of histamine and the first glimpse of its many physiological functions. From these initial findings a rich tapestry of research has uncovered roles for histamine in almost every physiological process with new findings emerging every year. These diverse roles of histamine have made for fertile ground for the discovery of novel therapeutics, and these drugs have been so successful that the term “antihistamine” has entered the common lexicon. This book is an attempt to give a snapshot in time as to the current understanding of the role of histamine in just one important therapeutic area—inflammation.

Robin L. Thurmond, PhD is a Compound Development Team Leader with the Clinical Research group at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development in La Jolla, California. Prior to that he was a Research Fellow with the Immunology Drug Discovery group at the same site. He received his BA in Chemistry from the University of Virginia and his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Arizona. Dr. Thurmond studied membrane biophysics at the University of Arizona and worked on the molecular aspects of rhodopsin function during his postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Dr. Gobind Khorana. He began his career with Johnson & Johnson in 1996 at the RW Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute in Raritan, New Jersey, and has been with Johnson & Johnson for over 14 years. Dr. Thurmond currently resides in San Diego, California.