Heather Behanna, PhD, JMP Securities LLC 

Dr. Behanna is Biotechnology Research Associate at the JMP Securities LLC.  Prior to that, Dr. Behanna was a Senior Scientist at the Astellas Research Institute of America (ARIA).  She received her PhD in organic chemistry from the Dept of Chemistry at Northwestern University, and did postdoctoral training at the Feinberg School of Medicine in pharmaceutical chemistry. Her past research has included novel compound discovery chemistry as well as developing a synthetic scheme for large scale production of clinical grade material under FDA regulated conditions.

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Lecturer:

Synthetic Chemistry Essentials for Biologists

Kurt R. Brunden, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Kurt R. Brunden received his BS degree from Western Michigan University, with dual majors of Biology and Health Chemistry. He obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from Purdue University, and did a post-doctoral fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr. Brunden subsequently spent 3 years as a faculty member within the Biochemistry department at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, with a research focus on the regulation of myelination. He was then recruited to the biotechnology sector, where he advanced to VP of Research at Gliatech, Inc. and later served as Sr. VP of Drug Discovery at Athersys, Inc. In these positions, he oversaw projects in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), cognition, schizophrenia, inflammation and metabolic disease. The majority of these programs were ultimately partnered with or acquired by major pharmaceutical companies. In addition to his oversight of drug discovery programs, Dr. Brunden was responsible for the preparation and management of patents, as well as the preparation of Phase I clinical trial regulatory documents. In 2007, Dr. Brunden became a faculty member and Director of Drug Discovery in the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research at the University of Pennsylvania, where he oversees drug discovery programs in the areas of AD, frontotemporal lobar degeneration and Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Brunden also serves as the chair of the NSD-C translational research study section for the National Institutes of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, is a reviewer for the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation and an ad hoc reviewer for several scientific journals. He has over 70 publications and a number of issued and pending patents.

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Chair:

Early Phases of Drug Discovery

Lecturer:

Compound Optimization after HTS: Beyond Potency

Laura Chico, MS, PhD, Northwestern University

Dr. Chico is currently a healthcare research analyst at Robert W. Baird & Company and holds an adjunct faculty position at Northwestern University. Previously, Dr. Chico was the founder and president of privately-held LKC Pharma Services, a consulting firm focused on the development of proprietary computational algorithms for pharmacological and chemical sciences to facilitate client “Go/NoGo” decisions or project prioritizations in drug discovery and early-stage product development, rendering significant time and cost savings in the short term and major risk reduction at later stages. She received her PhD in pharmacology and MS in computational biology from Northwestern University. Dr. Chico’s past research contributions facilitated advancement of novel small molecule drugs into late stage drug development for CNS disorders and the discovery of new classes of small molecule drug candidates for cancer therapeutics.

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Lecturer:

Designing Small Molecules with Increased Potential for CNS Penetration

Sohini Chowdhury, MA, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

Sohini Chowdhury joined the Foundation after spending five years at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland. As the Senior Community Manager of the Forum's Technology Pioneers program, she was responsible for annually selecting and integrating innovative biotech, energy and IT technology companies into Forum activities. Ms. Chowdhury also worked directly for the Forum's CEO, acting as his liaison with key Forum stakeholders and overseeing several in-house projects. Ms. Chowdhury graduated with an MA from Georgetown University, and holds a BA in international studies from Vassar College. As Vice President for Research Partnerships at the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Ms. Chowdhury oversees a team that focuses on three areas: 1) increasing engagement and developing partnerships with the for-profit sector, namely pharmaceutical and biotech companies; 2) developing and implementing strategies to improve recruitment for Parkinson’s disease trials; and 3) managing the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), a $40-45 million clinical biomarker study.

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Lecturer:

How Foundations Can Bridge the Gap

Rebecca Farkas, PhD, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Dr. Rebecca Farkas is a program director in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at the NIH. Dr. Farkas oversees the Medicinal Chemistry for Neurotherapeutics Program, which is part of the NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network. The Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network provides researchers with their own “virtual pharma,” offering research funding and access to a full range of industry-style drug development services and expertise. Dr. Farkas also provides leadership on translational research training initiatives and efforts to advance translational projects toward commercialization. Dr. Farkas received her PhD in developmental biology at Stanford University School of Medicine and her BA in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University. She served as a science policy analyst in the NINDS Office of Science Policy and Planning for seven years before joining the NINDS Office of Translational Research.

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Lecturer:

Preclinical Therapeutics Development for Neurological Disorders: Funding & Resources

Howard Fillit, MD, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation

Howard Fillit, MD, a geriatrician, neuroscientist and a leading expert in Alzheimer's disease, is the founding Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Aging (ISOA), an Estee Lauder family foundation founded in 1998, and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), an affiliated public charity founded in 2004. ISOA and ADDF share a common mission of accelerating drug discovery for Alzheimer’s disease through venture philanthropy. Dr. Fillit has had a distinguished academic medical career at The Rockefeller University and The Mount Sinai School of Medicine where he is a clinical professor of geriatrics and medicine and professor of neurobiology. He was previously the Corporate Medical Director for Medicare at New York Life, responsible for over 125,000 Medicare managed care members in five regional markets. He is the author or co-author of more than 250 scientific and clinical publications, and is the senior editor of the leading international Textbook of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology. Dr. Fillit has received several awards and honors including the Rita Hayworth Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Alzheimer’s Association. He also serves as a consultant to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, health care organizations and philanthropies.

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Course Director

Welcome and Opening Remarks: Challenges and Opportunities in Academic Drug Discovery

Chair:

Commercialization Strategies: Developing Science into Products

Mark Frasier, PhD, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

Mark Frasier, PhD, joined the Michael J. Fox Foundation in March 2006. Dr. Frasier received his BS in biochemistry from the University of Dayton and his PhD in pharmacology from Loyola University Chicago. His dissertation was completed in the laboratory of Benjamin Wolozin and focused on understanding the biological function of proteins implicated in neurodegeneration such as alpha-synuclein and tau. Dr. Frasier completed his postdoctoral work in the Neuroscience Discovery Research Group at Eli Lilly, Inc., in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he worked on drug-discovery research in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. At MJFF, Dr. Frasier co-leads a team of scientists responsible for allocating MJFF resources across Parkinson’s disease research. He also leads the MJFF biomarker strategy and portfolio of projects.

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Chair:

What’s Druggable: Designing Drugs for CNS Target Classes

Marcie Glicksman, PhD, Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center

Marcie Glicksman is Senior Director, Leads Discovery Group at LDDN. Dr. Glicksman has extensive experience in assay development, high throughput screening, chemical databases, animal pharmacology and preclinical development. Her bachelor’s degree is from Brown University and PhD from Washington University. Before joining LDDN in 2004, she had been in industry for thirteen years. Previously, she was at the start-up company, Descartes Therapeutics focused on imaging techniques. Before this, she was Director of Leads Discovery at Cubist. Before this, she was at DuPont-Merck and at Cephalon, Inc. She led the assay development and screening program for a cell-based protease project, and numerous G-protein coupled receptors, many of which were continued when Bristol Myers Squibb bought DuPont Pharmaceuticals. At Cephalon, she was co-inventor of CEP1347, a neuroprotective agent directed at a novel kinase, currently in Phase III clinical trials. She also consults for industry. She is a board member of the non-profit drug discovery organization Society for Biomolecular Screening and currently serves as the Chairman.

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Lecturer:

An Academic Perspective on Drug Discovery Services: Centers & CROs

Abram Goldfinger, MBA, New York University

Mr. Goldfinger is the Executive Director of the Office of Industrial Liaison at New York University, which is responsible for the commercialization of university technologies. He has been involved in academic technology transfer for over 20 years, and has negotiated over 500 license agreements with industry and helped to form 75 university spin-off companies. Prior to joining NYU, he was the Director of Technology Transfer at Thomas Jefferson University, an academic medical center in Philadelphia. He has been involved in research and development in both industry and academia, including work at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Raytheon Company’s Advanced Systems Laboratory, and several start-up companies. He has also provided consulting to large and small companies and venture capital firms, regarding market analysis, technology assessment, and business plan development. Mr. Goldfinger received a BS in electrical engineering from MIT and an MBA from the Wharton School. He has also passed the Patent Bar Exam and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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Lecturer:

Tech Transfer and Intellectual Property Management

Barry Greenberg, PhD, Toronto Dementia Research Alliance

Barry Greenberg has been involved in Alzheimer’s disease research and drug discovery since 1985. He has held a series of positions internationally in the US, Sweden and Canada within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Dr. Greenberg was the leader of a drug discovery project at AstraZeneca through lead optimization, involving up to 50 individuals from eight departments. Before joining UHN he was Senior Director of Pharmacology at Neurochem, responsible for the preclinical biology research program and a contributor to the analyses of the phase III Alzhemed trial. At UHN, he is currently co-directing the Toronto Dementia Research Alliance as Director of Strategy, a consortium involving academic research and the five memory clinics at hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto to create a citywide dementia research center. He possesses a significant background in most aspects of the drug discovery process in neurological disease, with externally recognized expertise ranging from target identification and validation through preclinical and clinical development including issues of biomarker-based diagnosis and proof of concept. He has a strong international network in the Alzheimer field including industry, academia, government and the voluntary sector, plus previous involvement in multi-sector consortia. He has authored or co-authored 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 19 book chapters and reviews.

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Lecturer:

Value of Biomarkers in Preclinical Development: Translatable Endpoints

James Inglese, PhD, National Institute of Health Chemical Genomics Center

Dr. Inglese is currently establishing the Laboratory of Assay Development and Screening Technology focused on rare and neglected diseases in the newly formed NIH Center for Translational Therapeutics (NCTT). He is also co-founder of the NIH Chemical Genomics Center (NCGC) and Associate Investigator of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). Dr. Inglese received his PhD in organic chemistry from the Pennsylvania State University and completed post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Prof. Robert J. Lefkowitz at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Inglese has led research teams at the Princeton-based biotech Pharmacopeia and Merck Research Laboratories before coming to the NIH. Over the past two decades Dr. Inglese has contributed to over 150 publications and patents and has made major contributions to the early drug discovery process through the development of novel assay formats and high throughput screening paradigms. Dr. Inglese is the Founding Editor (2002) and Editor-in-Chief of the journal, ASSAY and Drug Development Technologies.

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Lecturer:

Basics of High Throughput Screening (HTS)

Frank E. Koehn, PhD, Pfizer Inc.

Frank E. Koehn is Research Fellow and Head of the Natural Products Laboratory at Pfizer Worldwide R&D. Koehn obtained his BS degree in chemistry from Butler University, Indianapolis Indiana in 1977, and did his PhD research on marine red tide neurotoxins at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA. Following postdoctoral work in plant natural products at the University of Pennsylvania, he joined the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Fort Pierce, Florida, USA, where he spent the next decade identifying biologically active molecules from marine macro and micro-organisms. Intrigued by the therapeutic potential of natural product-based drug candidates, Koehn joined the Natural Products and Analytical Chemistry program at Lederle Laboratories in 1994, which subsequently became Wyeth Research. In 2010 he joined Pfizer as Natural Products Laboratory head. At Pfizer, Dr. Koehn’s research group is focussed on the discovery and application of microbial natural products to address unmet medical need.

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Lecturer:

Natural Products as Drug Starting Points

Ravi G. Kurumbail, PhD, Pfizer Inc.

Ravi Kurumbail is currently a research fellow and a structural biology lab head at Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development at their Groton, Connecticut campus. He received a BS degree in chemistry from his home town college (Victoria college, Palakkad) and an MS degree in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Ravi moved to America in the early 80s and obtained his doctorate degree in chemistry from the Michigan State University where he worked on protein X-ray crystallographic studies of blood coagulation proteins in the lab of Alexander Tulinsky.  During this time, Dr. Kurumbail also had an opportunity to collaborate with Professor Robert Huber at the Max-Planck Institute, Martinsried, Germany, which led to the structure determination of human a-thrombin, one of the first structures of thrombin that were reported. He then worked with Johann Deisenhofer at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Univ. of Texas Southwestern Medical center, Dallas and solved the structure of a bacterial cytochrome P450. Ravi then moved to St. Louis where he spent the next 13 years at Searle, Monsanto, Pharmacia and eventually Pfizer.  While at St. Louis, Dr. Kurumbail elucidated the structure of the membrane protein cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) that is the target of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. He was an active member of the COX-2 team that discovered Celebrex™, Bextra™ and Dynastat™ and contributed to their mechanistic study and regulatory filings. Over the years, Ravi’s research interests have spanned proteases, protein kinases, hydrolases, nuclear hormone receptors, cyclooxygenases, cytochrome P450s and proteins involved in blood coagulation and fibrinolysis. Dr Kurumbail has been actively pursuing structure-based drug design over the past 15 years in the pharmaceutical industry. He has broad experience in evaluation of kinase inhibitors for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and was the leader for a kinase discovery project for Alzheimer’s disease.

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Lecturer:

Challenges in Targeting Kinases for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Christopher A. Lipinski, PhD, Melior Discovery, Inc.

Dr. Christopher Lipinski learned his medicinal chemistry skills in a 32 year career at Pfizer in Groton, CT where he retired at the most senior scientific position. He is currently a Scientific Advisor to Melior Discovery a drug repurposing startup located in Exton, PA and carries out his medicinal chemistry consulting through Christopher A. Lipinski, PhD, LLC located in Waterford CT. Chris serves on the scientific advisory boards for academic drug discovery efforts in Leuven, Belgium, Dundee Scotland and London UK. He is a conference committee member for the annual MIPTEC meeting in Basel Switzerland which is now the largest early drug discovery meeting in Europe. He is a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences (AAPS) and the Society for Laboratory Automation Screening (SLAS). He is the author of the “rule of five” a widely used filter to select for acceptable drug oral absorption which is now the most highly cited paper in medicinal chemistry drug discovery. Chris is a member of the ACS “Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame”. In 2006 he received an honorary law degree from the University of Dundee and won the Society of Biomolecular Sciences Achievement Award. In 2005 he won the ACS E. B. Hershberg Award for Important Discoveries in Medicinally Active Substances and in 2004 won the ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry Award. An adjunct faculty member in Biochemistry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Chris has over 250 publications and invited presentations and 18 issued US patents.

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Lecturer:

Where is Drug Discovery Going?

Frank M. Longo, MD, PhD, Stanford University & PharmatrophiX

Dr. Longo received his MD in 1981 and PhD in Neurosciences in 1983 from the University of California, San Diego. Following an internship in medicine at NYU/VA, he trained as a resident in neurology and fellow in neurobiology at University of California, San Francisco. While at UCSF he created the Neurogenetics Clinic which was the first West Coast site in the U.S. to offer DNA testing for families with Huntington’s disease. He also led the creation of a national referral center for deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease and contributed to the development of programs in dementia, epilepsy and other areas. At UCSF he became professor and vice chair of the Department of Neurology and in 2001 he was recruited to become chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. While at UNC, Dr. Longo launched or expanded programs for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, stroke, epilepsy, sleep disorders, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. In January 2006, Dr. Longo became chair of the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford where he is focused on building and expanding multidisciplinary programs in neurology and neuroscience. In 2006 he was named a Stanford Fellow. Dr. Longo’s research team focuses on elucidating novel mechanisms that prevent neural degeneration and promote regeneration. He and his colleagues have pioneered the development of small, drug-like, molecules that target neurotrophin receptors to delay onset of or slow progression of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders.

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Lecturer:

Starting Your Own Biotech: Challenges and Pitfalls

Bruce Molino, PhD, Albany Molecular Research, Inc.

Dr. Bruce Molino is Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry at AMRI, a provider of contract R&D services with global facilities in the United States, Europe and Asia. His international experience and successful track record in drug discovery comes from working more than 25 years in pharmaceutical R&D. Dr. Molino has worked for nearly 14 years with AMRI, where he has successfully managed contract drug discovery teams in pursuit of novel drug molecules for the treatment of a wide range of diseases and therapeutic areas. Prior to AMRI, Dr. Molino was a Director in the Medicinal Chemistry Department of Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (known today as Sanofi-Aventis) for more than 10 years. Over his career, Dr. Molino has contributed to programs that have progressed compounds into human clinical trials for treatment of congestive heart failure, thrombosis, respiratory disorders and most recently major depressive disorder. He is currently a member of the ADDF scientific review board.

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Lecturer:

A Drug Discovery Services Perspective on Academic Collaborations

Steve Perrin, PhD, ALS Therapy Development Institute

Dr. Steven Perrin is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) in Cambridge, MA. He earned his Ph.D. at Boston University Medical Center studying the transcriptional regulation of genes during adipocyte and myocyte differentiation. Dr. Perrin moved into the pharmaceutical industry in 1997 holding positions at the Hoechst-Ariad Genomics Center, Aventis Pharmaceuticals and more recently as Director of Molecular Profiling at Biogen Idec. Dr. Perrin joined ALS TDI in 2007 as part of historical collaboration between the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Augie’s Quest and ALS TDI to develop effective therapeutics for ALS patients.  Since joining ALS TDI Steven has spearheaded the development of computational biology capabilities and information management systems to more clearly understand the molecular mechanisms associated with disease onset and progression in neurodegenerative diseases. He has expanded ALS TDI’s drug screening program to include expertise in the generation and assessment of gene therapy vectors and protein biologics in preclinical models of neurodegeneration. He has developed a business plan to facilitate pharmaceutical partnerships for rapid clinical development and commercialization of promising targets for ALS patients. Dr. Perrin is a frequent participant in international conferences in computational biology, genomics, drug development, and neurodegeneration.

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Lecturer:

Optimization and Characterization of Mouse Models of Neurodegeneration 

Suzana Petanceska, PhD, National Institute on Aging

Dr Suzana Petanceska received a BS degree in molecular biology and physiology from the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia and a PhD degree in pharmacology from New York University. Following her postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University and at the Nathan Kline Institute of NYU she became an Assistant Professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the Nathan Kline Institute of NYU. Her research focused on the role of disrupted sterol metabolism in the development of Alzheimer’s disease amyloidosis and the mechanisms by which estrogens and cholesterol-lowering drugs might exert neuroprotection. In 2005 she joined the Division of Neuroscience at the National Institute on Aging where she serves as a Program Director responsible for research areas that address the role of metabolic and vascular factors in normal brain aging and in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). She is also involved in the development and oversight of NIA’s AD Translational Research Program composed of a series of funding initiatives for drug discovery and preclinical drug development for AD, mild cognitive impairment and age-associated cognitive decline.

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Chair:

Resources and Services For Advancing Drug Discovery

Seth W. Pinsky, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC)

Seth W. Pinsky was appointed President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in February 2008, seven months before the collapse of Lehman Brothers ushered in one of the most significant economic downturns in generations. Seth has worked to meet the challenge presented by the crisis by re-evaluating the agency’s strategy for expanding the City’s economy and redoubling existing efforts to position the City as the international center for innovation in the 21st century. NYCEDC’s agenda includes an aggressive slate of programs aimed at diversifying the City’s economy, helping legacy industries transition to 21st Century business models, and expanding entrepreneurship to ensure that the City is well-represented in the fields of tomorrow. Seth’s efforts have also included modernizing NYCEDC’s property management portfolio; overseeing $2.5 billion in capital investments ranging from basic infrastructure improvements to new parks and streetscapes across the City; and helping to negotiate and structure the City’s involvement in some of the most complex development projects in recent years, including the World Trade Center, Yankee Stadium, and Citifield.

An attorney by training, prior to joining NYCEDC, Seth was an associate at the law firm of Cleary Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in the Real Estate practice and a financial analyst at the Mergers & Acquisitions boutique, James D. Wolfensohn Incorporated. Seth is a graduate of Columbia College, where he majored in ancient history, and Harvard Law School.

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Welcome from New York City

Susan Rohrer, PhD, Merck Research Laboratories

Susan Rohrer obtained her undergraduate degree in biology at the University of Michigan and her graduate degree in biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame. She joined the Merck Research Laboratories in 1987 to work on the biochemical isolation of the receptor for Merck’s antiparasitic agent known as ivermectin. She subsequently contributed to the development of small molecule analogues of somatostatin as potential agents for the treatment of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy and to the identification of selective estrogen receptor modulators for use as safer alternatives to currently available hormone replacement therapies.

Susan joined External Scientific Affairs as liaison for Neuroscience Licensing in September 2004. She chairs Merck's Neuroscience Review and Licensing Committee and is responsible for identifying external licensing opportunities aligned with priorities and needs of the Neuroscience Franchise. Her recent major licensing deals include Neuromed (NMED-160 patent license and research collaboration), Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (patent license and research collaboration covering ApoE mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative diseases), Addex mGluR5 (patent license covering mGluR5 PAMs for schizophrenia) and Addex mGluR4 (patent license and research collaboration covering mGluR4 PAMs for Parkinson's disease).

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Lecturer:

Pharmaceutical Companies: Licensing and Sponsored Research Agreements

Gerard Rossé, PhD, Dart Neuroscience

Dr. Rossé has been involved in drug discovery research and development for more than 15 years. He is currently Associate Director, Chemistry, at Dart Neuroscience and also serves as Adjunct Associate Professor at Drexel University as well as Professor in Medicinal Chemistry at the Pennsylvania Drug Discovery Institute. Prior he functioned in leadership and scientific positions in medicinal and high throughput chemistry with Cephalon, Sanofi Aventis and F. Hoffman-La Roche. During his industrial tenure, he led multidisciplinary teams and invented 3 pre-clinical candidates and 9 compound lead series spanning a wide range of therapeutic indications. These include CNS (cognition, schizophrenia, alzheimer’s disease), Inflammation, Metabolism, Oncology, Cardiovascular disease and Antibacterial agents. Dr. Rossé’s career is also characterized by implementation of innovative high throughput technology platforms in the area of small molecules and peptides drug discovery, analytical chemistry and data management that increased productivity and accelerated the drug discovery process. Dr. Rossé is a distinguished speaker at business meetings in US and Europe and has authored 40+ patents and publications. He received the PhD degree in chemistry from the University of Basel in Switzerland and postdoctoral training at Stanford University.

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Lecturer:

Protein-Protein Interaction: A Growing Trend Towards Feasibility

John E. Sagartz, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Seventh Wave Laboratories

John E. Sagartz, DVM, PhD, Diplomate, ACVP is President of Seventh Wave Laboratories, LLC. He received his Doctor of Philosophy from The Ohio State University, Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Columbus, OH, completed his Residency in Veterinary Pathology at Ohio State University, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Columbus, OH, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Kansas State University, College of Veterinary Medicine and his BS from Kansas State University, College of Agriculture in Manhattan, Kansas. From 1997 to 2003 he held positions as a Investigative Pathologist, Section Head, Assistant Director, Director and Site Head, Pharmacia Fellow Manager at Global Investigative Toxicology, St. Louis, MO. John has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards including recognition as a Pharmacia Fellow in 2003. The Pharmacia Fellow Program recognizes individuals who demonstrated outstanding proficiency and accomplishment in their field and a strong record of technical leadership. In addition, Dr. Sagartz received the W.E. Upjohn award in 2001 which is granted to individuals with sustained high impact contribution to the performance of Pharmacia Corporation. Further, Seventh Wave Laboratories was awarded the 2009 Outstanding Entrepreneur Award by the St. Louis County Economic Council. Past Professional Activities include Chair, American College of Veterinary Pathologists Endowment Committee, Endocrine Pathology Program Planning Committee, American College of Veterinary Pathologists annual meeting, 1999. Dr. Sagartz is a member of the Society of Toxicologic Pathologists, Society of Toxicology, American Society of Investigative Pathology, American College of Veterinary Pathologists, and American Veterinary Medical Association, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Missouri Biotechnology Association. He has authored and coauthored numerous publications related to experimental and spontaneous disease.

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Lecturer:

Importance of Toxicology

Diana Shineman, PhD, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation

Diana Shineman, PhD is the Assistant Director, Scientific Affairs at the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, where she is responsible for developing and managing all aspects of the Foundation’s drug discovery and development research programs.

Dr. Shineman earned her PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). At Penn’s Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research led by Drs. Virginia Lee and John Trojanowski, she studied signal transduction pathways that alter amyloid generation in Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Shineman also worked with the Center’s Drug Discovery Group to perform high-throughput screening using cell-based assays. In addition to her dissertation research, Dr. Shineman was an Editorial Intern for the Journal of Clinical Investigation and was an active member of the Penn Biotechnology Group.

Dr. Shineman received a BA in Biology with a Nutrition concentration from Cornell University, where she was named a Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Scholar. She is also a member of the Society for Neuroscience, New York Academy of Sciences, and the Association for Women in Science, and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications.

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Closing Remarks and Announcement of
Young Investigator Scholarship Winners

Geoffrey W. Smith, PhD, Ascent Biomedical Ventures

Geoffrey W. Smith is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Ascent Biomedical Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on early-stage life sciences investments. Geoff is a Visiting Scholar at Rockefeller University where he founded and directs the University’s Science & Economics Program and is an adjunct faculty member at the Center for Clinical and Translational Science. At the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Geoff is a member of the External Advisory Committee for the Mount Sinai Institutes of Clinical & Translational Sciences and a member of the Graduate School of Biological Sciences Oversight Committee. Geoff is also a member of the Leadership Council of the Biomedical Research Institute at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. Geoff received a BA (with honors) from Williams College and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

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Lecturer:

An Early-Stage Venture Capitalist’s View of Neurodegeneration Research Opportunities

Edward G. Spack, PhD, Fast Forward, LLC

Edward Spack, PhD received his doctoral degree from The Johns Hopkins University and his postdoctoral fellowship in cellular immunology at Stanford University. He worked in Bay area biotech companies for 14 years developing therapies for autoimmunity, cancer, and infectious disease spanning discovery and preclinical development through Phase III trial support. At SRI International, Dr. Spack directed the PharmaSTART program, a consortium of SRI, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, and UC San Francisco chartered to support translational development. His responsibilities included designing preclinical development plans for academic researchers, foundations, NIH programs, and start-up companies. He consulted with the NIH translational core services committee and several individual NIH institutes on preclinical development and served as an advisor on the NIH Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Produce Development Working Group. As Sr. Director of Business Development for SRI’s Bioscience Division, Dr. Spack was responsible for alliance management, in-licensing, and out-licensing of drug candidates. He has served on scientific advisory boards, grant review boards, or national board of directors for several foundations, and is currently a managing director at Fast Forward LLC, supporting a translational development program advancing therapeutics for the prevention/reversal of neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis in partnership with EMD Serono.

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Chair:

Pre-Clinical Proof-of-Concept & Development

Lecturer:

Requirements for an IND

Shaun R. Stauffer, PhD, Vanderbilt University

Dr. Stauffer is currently a Research Assistant Professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Chemistry at Vanderbilt University and is Associate Director of Medicinal Chemistry within the Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery. Dr. Stauffer received his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Illinois in the laboratory of John Katzenellenbogen developing combinatorial approaches towards selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs). Dr. Stauffer then conducted post-doctoral studies with Professor John Hartwig at Yale University as an NIH fellow where he developed a general high-throughput FRET-based assay for reaction discovery platforms. From 2001-2008 Dr. Stauffer pursued his industrial career at Merck & Co. where he was involved in several cardiovascular and CNS programs including targets for Alzheimer’s disease and chronic pain. While at Merck he was the recipient of the MRL 2007 Special Achievement Award and was a co-author and co-inventor on over 25 publications and patents.

At Vanderbilt Dr. Stauffer leads a team involved in an industry sponsored program focusing on the identification of preclinical candidates for the treatment of schizophrenia, a collaboration which is currently entering year four. In addition, as part of the Molecular Libraries Probe Production Centers Network (MLPCN) supported by the NIH, Dr. Stauffer leads several probe projects including 3C/PL protease inhibitors for SARS and PPI inhibitors for MLL-associated acute leukemias. Dr. Stauffer’s research interests lie in the areas of CNS disorders, glutamate signaling, protease structure-based inhibitor design, PPI inhibitors, organometallic chemistry and reaction discovery.

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Lecturer:

Druggability Considerations for GPCRs and Ion Channels

D. Martin Watterson, PhD, Northwestern University

Dr. Watterson holds the John G. Searle Endowed Chair in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Northwestern University and is Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. He has published extensively in the areas of drug discovery, signal transduction, structural biology, pharmacology and medicinal chemistry, and has developed immunodiagnostics and novel small molecule therapeutic candidates licensed to industry. Dr. Watterson has worked successfully with major pharmaceutical and biotech companies in diverse areas of drug discovery, participated actively in bringing new drug candidates to clinical development, served on the Board of Directors for technology companies, and assisted colleagues and various government agencies with science and technology development. Related to the latter advisory and administrative experience, he founded one of the first academic-based drug discovery programs in the country in 1996, the Drug Discovery Program at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, which later became the university-wide Center for Drug Discovery and Chemical Biology and is currently the Center for Molecular Innovation and Drug Discovery. This premier drug discovery program serves as a model for other academic institutions. He serves on diverse NIH, foundation and international advisory committees in the areas of drug discovery and signal transduction. Dr. Watterson’s doctoral training in chemical sciences was at Emory University, followed by postdoctoral training in biochemistry/bioorganic chemistry at Duke University Medical Center where he was supported by a National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Watterson held faculty positions at The Rockefeller University, where he was an Andrew Mellon Fellow, and at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was Professor of Pharmacology and Howard Hughes Investigator, before moving to Northwestern University. At Northwestern, he has served as a Department Chair, Drug Discovery Program Director, and Co-Director of a University Center.

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Chair:

Basics of Medicinal Chemistry

Lecturer:

Medicinal Chemistry Rules of Thumb, Myths and Realities in CNS Drug Discovery

David Weiner, MD

Dr. Weiner received his medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He was a National Institutes of Health/Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Scholar in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at NINDS in Bethesda. He trained in neurology at Cornell New York Hospital/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and was a post-doctoral fellow in the Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratories at the University of Vermont. He held an active clinical and teaching position as Adjunct Associate Clinical Professor in the Departments of Neurosciences and Psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego (1997-2007). Dr. Weiner has worked, in both the pre-clinical and clinical arena, on the discovery and development of novel small molecule and antibody therapeutics for human neuropsychiatric disease. He worked at ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. from 1997-2006, where he held various positions including Head of Target Validation and Medical Director-CNS, and most recently was Vice President, and Head of Early Clinical Development in neurodegenerative disease at EMD Serono, where he had global responsibilities for early clinical development programs in Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease. Dr. Weiner is also a member of the scientific advisory board of the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

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What Makes a Clinical Candidate?