The International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine (ISOM) announced the newest inductees into the Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame: Richard Albert Passwater, Ph.D., Derrick Lonsdale, M.D., and Neil Riordan, Ph.D. They join the elite ranks of over 75 pioneers and leaders in Orthomolecular Medicine to be named to the Hall of Fame since it was established in 2004.

Every year, members of the Hall of Fame nominate other physicians, researchers, professors, and advocates that they consider worthy of inclusion. Submissions are reviewed and voted on by Hall of Fame members, and those with the most votes are inducted during a ceremony at the Annual Orthomolecular Medicine Today Conference.



Dr. Richard Passwater

Dr. Passwater, who served as WholeFoods Magazine's science editor for 36 years and continues to write WholeFoods' popular Vitamin Connection column, which he created, was recognized by ISOM for his decades of work as a pioneer in the field of Orthomolecular Medicine. As ISOM shared, Dr. Passwater began researching selenium and other antioxidants in 1959, discovered antioxidant synergism (US patent 6,090,414) in 1962, and mainstream media reports of his research in 1970-71 in introduced the public to the words “free radical,” “antioxidant," and “selenium."



Related:Vitamin Connection: Dr. Richard Passwater’s Most Popular Columns
Dr. Passwater's list of contributions to the field is long, anddetailed by ISOM. Among the highlights:
  • In the early 1970s, he was the first nutrition advisor to a National Football League team, and was also a nutrition advisor to the professional boxer and humanitarian, Muhammad Ali.
  • In 1975, his book Super-Nutrition: Megavitamin Revolution was a #4 national best seller, and has been credited with legitimizing megavitamin therapy. Dr. Passwater went on to author more than 45 books and more than 600 articles, as well as more than 7,000 radio shows on nutrition.
  • Dr. Passwater served on the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Nutrition, and has been cited 39 times in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.
  • Additional awards that Dr. Passwater has received over the years include the nutrition industry’s Achievement Award (1989); National Nutrition Foods Association’s President's Award (1999); James Lind Scientific Achievement Award (2004); and the John Peter Zenger Free Press Award for writing (2004).


Read more about ISOM, the Hall of Fame awards, and Dr. Passwater's fellow inductees, Derrick Lonsdale, M.D., and Neil Riordan, Ph.D., here.