Dr. Schmaier earned his undergraduate degree the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1970 and his M.D. from the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, in 1974. He then served an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1974-77, followed by a Fellowship in Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during 1977-1979. He took one more year, 1979-1980, as a Research Fellow at the Specialized Center for Thrombosis Research at the Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

From 1980-1986, Dr. Schmaier was on the faculty of the Department of Medicine of Temple University School of Medicine, joining as an Assistant Professor. He also served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology during 1982. In 1986 he was promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, then to Professor of Medicine at the Temple University School of Medicine in 1991.

In 1991 he joined the Faculty of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan, as a Full Professor. In 1997, Dr. Schmaier joined the Department of Pathology at the University of Michigan, also as a Full Professor, where he is currently the Director of the Coagulation Laboratory in the Department of Pathology. Dr. Schmaier is also an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians.

Dr. Schmaier is currently the Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on numerous NIH research awards. His basic research efforts examine the influence of the kallikrein/kinin system on vascular biology and the influence of the amyloid beta protein precursor on hemostasis. His clinical research interests are in anticoagulant development of selective thrombin and factor Xa inhibitors.