Evan Lebois Email & Phone Number

Cambridge, Ma, Us

Cambridge, Ma, Us

Cambridge, Ma, Us

Psychiatric Disease TherapeuticsTranslational Research GroupStanley Center Therapeutics TeamStanley Center for Psychiatric Research• Lead small molecule drug discovery teams in psychiatric, neurodegenerative, and neurodevelopmental disease from target validation through lead optimization and in vivo PoC• Neuroimmunology drug discovery team leader focused on drugging novel microglial targets• Lead large cross-functional drug discovery teams from target identification and initial screening through lead-optimization• Routinely use systems biology approaches to drive neuroimmunology drug discovery programs, including single cell and bulk RNA-seq, lipidomics, and proteomics• Employ microglia culture systems to test pharmacological effects and interrogate disease mechanisms, including primary rodent microglia, microglia-neuron co-culture, iPSC-derived human microglia• Employ microglia functional assays including phagocytosis, synaptic engulfment, liposome uptake, cytokine/chemokine production, chemotaxis• Experience FACS sorting microglia, astrocytes, and neurons to enable functional studies• Design and execute fluorescence-based HTS assays (Ca2+ fluorescence, cAMP FRET, beta-arrestin luminescence)• Experience with microglia morphological analysis (e.g. sholl analysis)• Investigate psychiatric disease mechanism at human, animal, and cellular levels of analysis• Use Broad genomics resources to ground drug discovery efforts in human biology• Set and oversee project budgets• Establish and maintain collaborations with external CROs, academic collaborators, and key opinion leaders in the field• Regularly troubleshoot experiments to drive decision making• Establish and direct group strategy and operations to set priorities

• Bridged external stakeholders and internal teams at all levels in a large, highly-matrixed large pharmaceutical setting• Identified and prioritized external collaborations and assets to strategically meet internal stakeholder needs• Identified gaps in neuroscience portfolio strategy from early drug discovery programs to early clinical development stages• Identification and engagement of key external collaborators and negotiation of collaboration scope and terms• Developed, led due diligence, and delivered innovative proposals for investment in high impact neuroscience opportunities• Led cross-functional due diligence teams to drive evaluation process of potential portfolio companies and neuroscience assets• Built consensus around scientific and business needs of potential opportunities• Rigorously analyzed data of potential portfolio companies• Created presentations and pitched potential high impact investments to senior leadership for funding• Served as project lead to manage and support ongoing investments• Helped to provide competitive analysis and market analysis to project teams• Experience with financial models and financial analyses• Deeply in command of central nervous system drug discovery literature, cutting edge science, and competitive landscape• Leader of complex academic-industry research programs and partnerships• Prepared and maintained internal documentation on potential assets to acquire, companies to partner with, and KOLs to reach out to

• Significant management experience as demonstrated by 4 years as research project lead for neurologic and psychiatric disease teams of up to 15 FTE• Project leadership experience from early discovery to early clinical studies• Designed and executed behavioral pharmacology, neuropathology, in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology studies• Significant surgical experience implanting silicon probe recording arrays, recording, and analyzing high-density neurophysiology data• Successfully secured funding for, implemented, and led external neuroscience collaborations to complement portfolio efforts• Established animal (NHP)-to-human translational platforms to drive novel endpoint development by leveraging eye-tracking, EEG, behavioral, intracranial recording, neuroimaging, and molecular approaches• Drove translational biomarker strategy at preclinical/clinical interface using multiple modalities (e.g. functional, fluid) by building internal teams and external collaborations with academic faculty• Experience back-translating human findings to animal systems• Pfizer preclinical lead for large academic-industry consortia• Entrepreneurial experience successfully pitching to corporate venture funds, drawing up research agreements, managing partnerships, and building teams• Strong oral and written communication as demonstrated by presentations to senior leadership, internal governance committees, and scientific publications• Ability to adapt to a highly matrixed and dynamic environment• Effective builder of internal and external cross-functional teams• Conducted due diligence to evaluate potential investment opportunities• Effective at influencing key stakeholders and driving decisions• Numerous cross-functional collaborations in chemistry, chemical biology, immunology and inflammation, translational medicine, clinical development, business development• Troubleshoot experiments to drive decision making• Compose and review FDA regulatory documents

Atlanta, Ga, Us

PhD, NeuroscienceMentors: Allan Levey, MD, PhD and Joseph Manns, PhDDepartments of Neurology and PsychologyCenter for Neurodegenerative DiseaseAlzheimer's Disease Research Center• Studied M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) activator effects on memory and neuropathology in transgenic Alzheimer's mice as well as hippocampal network dynamics in behaving rats• Experience in a number of research methods including behavioral pharmacology assays, immunohistochemistry, immunoperoxidase staining, ELISA assays, histology, pharmacokinetic assays, primary neuron culture assays, viral transduction• Used high-density in vivo tetrode recordings in awake, behaving rats to gain mechanistic insights into drug effects on memory circuitry• Extensive major survival surgery experience implanting tetrode recording arrays, recording, and analyzing high-density neurophysiology data• Extensive MATLAB and signal processing expertise• Strong written communication skills as demonstrated by conference presentations and scientific research publications• Taught undergraduate neurobiology courses• Strong management skills as demonstrated by mentoring of junior colleagues• Regularly troubleshoot experiments to drive decision making• Served as a peer reviewer for several scientific journals

Nashville, Tennessee, Us

MS, PharmacologyMentors: P. Jeffrey Conn, PhD and Craig Lindsley, PhDVanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug DiscoveryDepartments of Pharmacology and Chemistry• Worked as a medicinal chemist, molecular pharmacologist, behavioral pharmacologist, and slice electrophysiologist on neurologic and psychiatric drug discovery programs• Extensive hit-to-lead small molecule therapeutic synthesis and characterization experience in in vitro and in vivo assays• Developed several novel chemotypes of M1 selective activators licensed to Acadia Pharmaceuticals (2020)• Routinely developed and ran plate-based high-throughput screening assays (e.g. calcium fluorescence and cAMP assays)• Synthesized and characterized novel small molecule therapeutics across multiple CNS targets, modes of pharmacology, neurologic and psychiatric indications to gain mechanistic insights: - Targets: M1, M4, M5, mGlu4, mGlu5, GlyT1 - Modes of pharmacology: PAM, NAM, agonist, antagonist - Indications: schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, PTSD, fragile X, dystonia, and drug addiction• Specialized in allosteric modulator synthesis and characterization• Significant experience as project team member acting with PK/PD, molecular and behavioral pharmacology, chemistry, and neuroimaging colleagues to drive drug discovery programs• Contributed as a named inventor to several patents• Strong written communication skills as demonstrated by 12 high impact scientific publications covering multiple CNS drug targets and indications• Presented research at numerous national and international conferences• Strong management skills as demonstrated by serving as a primary mentor to junior colleagues• Served as a peer reviewer for several primary research journals

London, Gb

Summer undergraduate research fellowship at the Glycobiology Training, Research and Infrastructure Centre (GlycoTRIC)Mentor: Kurt Drickamer, PhD• Summer undergraduate research fellowship at the Glycobiology Training, Research and Infrastructure Centre (GlycoTRIC)• Cloned and characterized human lectins • Acquired glycobiology expertise• Performed SDS-PAGE, affinity chromatography, DNA sequencing, DNA maxipreps, cloning cDNAs into plasmid expression vectors for expression in e. Coli, lyophilization

Newark, De, Us

BS, Biology (with cell/molecular biology/genetics concentration)BS, ChemistryBS, BiochemistryUndergraduate Thesis Advisor: Erica Selva, PhD• Acquired 4 years of molecular genetics experience using Drosophila• Studied the effects of protein glycosylation on CNS development• Awarded 3 competitive summer research fellowships, including HHMI • Acquired skills in molecular genetics, PCR, immunostaining, genomic DNA preparation, agarose gel electrophoresis, light and confocal microscopy, histological staining and paraffin sectioning• Presented research findings at internal and external scientific meetings• Invited to give a platform talk as part of the “Extracellular Matrix at the Organism Scale” symposium session during the 2007 Experimental Biology meeting in Washington DC

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Neuroscience

Master'S Degree, Neuropharmacology And Medicinal Chemistry

Bachelor'S Degree, Chemistry

Bachelor'S Degree, Biology (Cell/Molecular Biology/Genetics Concentration)

Bachelor'S Degree, Biochemistry