Robert “Joe” Mather joined Pfizer in 2016 as executive director and head of the Neuro Opportunities Group, following his role as a global team leader and project director in the AstraZeneca Neuroscience iMed in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He previously led Pfizer’s research group in the Neuroscience Research Unit.

A major focus of his career has been enabling successful drug discovery programs arising from targeted human biology and fundamental disease mechanisms. Mather is a member of the research teams that discovered and developed Chantix, a novel treatment for smoking cessation. His research has focused on understanding the fundamentals of neuronal excitability in disorders such as Rett Syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders that potentially arise from underlying channelopathies. Recent research efforts have focused on understanding the role of nicotinic system in movement disorders.