Laboratory for Drug Discovery in Neuroscience

Mission

The Laboratory for Drug Discovery in Neuroscience (LDDN) is a collaborative academic group in the Department of Neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Harvard Medical School (HMS). Its mission is to identify small molecules that can lead to the development of innovative drugs for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The lab works closely with principal investigators from academia to translate their discoveries in disease biology into viable drug discovery opportunities.

Director

The director is Kevin Hodgetts, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurology at BWH and HMS.  Dr Hodgetts is an organic and medicinal chemist with extensive experience in drug discovery across industrial and academic settings. With over 20 years dedicated to developing treatments for CNS diseases, several compounds from his laboratories have progressed to clinical trials. Recently, he co-founded two start-ups inspired in part by research from the LDDN: Violet Therapeutics, with longtime BWH collaborator Fran Quintana, and Modulate Bio, alongside his close friend Dario Doller.

Training Opportunities

The LDDN also provides training opportunities for students wishing to gain hands-on experience of synthetic and medicinal chemistry.   In particular the lab frequently host Northeastern University students for their six-month co-op placements and we collaborate with several other US and European universities, offering 6-12 month research placements for BSc and MSc students.

Further Information

For further information, including current lab members, ongoing projects and potential licensing opportunities, please visit the LDDN website or contact Dr Hodgetts: khodgetts@bwh.harvard.edu