I am a computational medicinal chemist who brings a unique blend of medicinal and computational chemistry to portfolio and technology platforms in pharmaceutical and biotech settings. My areas of expertise include computer-aided drug design, medicinal chemistry, and oncology drug discovery research. I have extensive experience in advancing small molecules from target identification to clinical proof of concept.
Throughout my nine-year career at Eli Lilly and Company, I utilized structure-based design (SBDD) and computational tools to optimize small molecule inhibitors for oncology and immunology targets. I participated in 14 drug discovery projects and served as a key SAR driver, leading to pre-clinical candidate declarations. I contributed to eight oncology clinical candidate molecules, including LY3214996 (ERK1/2 inhibitor), LY3499446 (KRAS G12C inhibitor), LY3475070 (CD73 inhibitor), and LY3200882 (TGFβRI inhibitor).
I established and led a protein degradation platform at Eli Lilly, building a team from the ground up and securing multimillion-dollar business development opportunities, including a $800 million collaboration deal with Seed Therapeutics. In 2021, I joined MOMA Therapeutics as a director of computational chemistry, focusing on the discovery of first-in-class small molecules to target molecular machines. Additionally, I am the principal at Drug Design Solutions LLC, helping universities and startups build their drug discovery and development capabilities.
Key Milestone Expertise in Drug Discovery & Development:
- Hit Identification
- Lead Identification
- Lead Optimization
- Predevelopment (candidate selection)
