David T. Wong
Quick Facts
Biography
David T. Wong (born circa 1936 in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong-born American neuroscientist. He is a former researcher with Eli Lilly and Company and an adjunct professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Wong is known for the discovery of the antidepressant drug fluoxetine, more commonly known by its trade name Prozac.
Wong was born in Hong Kong, and began his undergraduate studies in chemistry at National Taiwan University. He came to Seattle Pacific College in 1957, and graduated in 1961. He then went on to graduate studies at Oregon State University, where he earned a master's degree in 1964 and later at University of Oregon to receive his doctorate in 1966. After postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania, he joined Eli Lilly in 1968. There, as well as his work with fluoxetine, Wong also helped discover atomoxetine, duloxetine and dapoxetine.
Wong won the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Discoverer's Award in 1993. Wong was named Alumnus of the Year by Seattle Pacific University in 1998. He was given the Prince Mahidol Award in Medicine in 2011.