P. Jeffrey Conn, Ph.D.
Dr. Conn is the Lee E. Limbird Professor of Pharmacology at Vanderbilt
University and Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery
(VCNDD). Dr. Conn received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Vanderbilt in 1986 and
pursued postdoctoral studies at Yale University. Dr. Conn joined the faculty of the
Department of Pharmacology at Emory University in 1988 where he where he established
himself as a leader in studies of neurotransmitter receptors and their roles in regulating
brain function in circuits involved in psychiatric and neurological disorders. In 2000, Dr.
Conn assumed the position of Senior Director and Head of the Department of
Neuroscience at Merck and Company in West Point, PA. In addition to directing the
drug discovery efforts of his department in multiple CNS therapeutic areas, Dr. Conn
was responsible for overseeing the global efforts of the company in discovery of new
therapeutic agents for treatment of schizophrenia and movement disorders. Dr. Conn
moved to Vanderbilt University in 2003 where he is the founding director of the
VCNDD, with a primary mission of facilitating translation of recent advances in basic
science to novel therapeutics. By 2011 the VCNDD had grown to approximately 100 full
time scientists and under his leadership raised over $100M in external research funding.
In addition, the VCNDD advanced novel molecules from multiple major programs into
development for major brain disorders with industry partners, including Johnson and
Johnson, Astrazeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, and others. Each of these major efforts are
focused on novel mechanisms for therapeutic action that have come from the basic
research efforts of Dr. Conn and his collaborators. Dr. Conn has served as Editor in
Chief of Molecular Pharmacology and in editorial positions with multiple other
international journals. He has served the Scientific Advisory Boards of multiple
foundations, research institutes, and companies. He served as Chairman of the
Neuropharmacology Division of the American Society for Pharmacology and
Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), Fellow of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, and on multiple national and international committees. He has
received numerous awards, including the NARSAD Essel Distinguished Investigator
Award, the ASPET-Astellas Award in Translational Pharmacology, the Pharmacia ASPET Award for Experimental Therapeutics, the Charles R. Park Award for Basic
Research Revealing Insights into Physiology and Pathophysiology, the PhRMA
Foundation Award for Excellence in Pharmacology and Toxicology. V. Sagar Sethi
Mental Health Research Award, Jacob K. Javits Neuroscience Investigatior Award from
the National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke. He was named as an ISI
Most-Cited Scientists in Pharmacology & Toxicology and the Lee University 2008
Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. Dr. Conn’s current research is focused on
development of novel treatment strategies for schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, and
other serious brain disorders.