Steven M. Paul, M.D., is a neuroscientist, psychiatrist and biopharmaceutical executive. He is the Founder and Chair of the Board at Seaport Therapeutics and Rapport Therapeutics and Co-Founder and board member at Syremis Therapeutics as well as a Venture Partner at Third Rock Ventures. He has over 40 years of experience as a physician-scientist specializing in neuroscience and molecular neuropharmacology as well as CNS drug discovery and development. Dr. Paul previously served President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chair of the Board (2018-2022) and Chief Scientific Officer and President of Research and Development (2022-2024) at Karuna Therapeutics, which was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb in March 2024. He is an expert in CNS drug discovery and development. Dr. Paul spent 17 years at Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), during which time he held several key leadership roles, including Executive Vice President for Science and Technology and President of the Lilly Research Laboratories. At Lilly he was responsible for the company’s overall research and development efforts and helped to oversee the development of CNS drugs such as Zyprexa® and Cymbalta® as well as the development of xanomeline where its antipsychotic and procognitive properties were initially demonstrated. Prior to Lilly, Dr. Paul spent 18 years at the National Institute of Health (NIH) and served as the Scientific Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Dr. Paul is a co-founder and former board member of Sage Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SAGE) and a co-founder of Voyager Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VYGR) where he served as President, Chief Executive Officer. He is the former director of the Appel Alzheimer’s Disease Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College and is currently a Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at Washington University of St. Louis School of Medicine. Dr. Paul is the chairman of the board of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and board member at Scripps Research.

Dr. Paul received his bachelor’s degree in Biology and Psychology from Tulane University, and his M.S. and M.D. degrees from the Tulane University School of Medicine.