The Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park has been voted the #1 sculpture park by readers of USA Today in 2023and 2024

Tetra Therapeutics is a clinical stage company focused on bringing clarity of thought to people suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, Fragile X syndrome, and other brain disorders. Tetra drugs selectively target isoforms of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) including PDE4B and PDE4D. Tetra’s lead program, BPN14770/zatolmilast is in Ph3 clinical trials in Fragile X Syndrome. Tetra was acquired by Shionogi, a Japanese pharmaceutical company in 2020.

Chair of NIH / Center for Scientific Review Special Emphasis Panel ZRG1 ETTN-M (11). This Study Panel is for Small Business: Drug Discovery for Aging, Neuropsychiatric and Neurologic Disorders.

Grand Angels invests in businesses located in Michigan. Grand Angels typically invest from $250K to $1M in early-stage companies. Through mentoring, strategic advice, expanding networks and connections to customers, management and venture capital, Grand Angels investments fuel the entrepreneurial economy of innovative companies throughout the West Michigan region.

Adjunct Professor, Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, West Virginia University

Michigan Accelerator Fund I (MAF-1) is an investment partnership headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The purpose of this venture capital fund is to drive forward the new economy of Michigan, providing a path to funding and partnerships for the commercialization of new regionally developed opportunities.

Compounds in Clinical Development• DG-041, a novel anti-platelet targeting the EP3 receptor for PGE2, currently in PhII clinical trials for prevention of acute thrombosis.• DG-051, a potent and selective LTA4H leukotriene B4 synthesis inhibitor, currently in PhII clinical trials for prevention of MI & stroke.• DG-071, a mechanistically novel allosteric modulator of PDE4D, currently entering PhI clinical trials for cognitive benefit in Alzheimer’s disease.Research Highlights• Established DcpS as a therapeutic target in spinal muscular atrophy [Singh et al. (2008) DcpS as a Therapeutic Target for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, ACS Chem Biol. 3:711-22].• Developed EP3 antagonists as novel anti-platelet agents in heart attack and stroke that do not prolong bleeding [Singh et al. (2009) Antagonists Of The EP3 Receptor for Prostaglandin E2 Are Novel Anti-Platelet Agents That Do Not Prolong Bleeding, ACS Chem Biol. 5 Feb 2009 [Epub ahead of print].• Developed leukotriene A4 hydrolase inhibitors as anti-inflammatory agents in heart attack and stroke using metabolomics-based, fragment screening combined with structure based drug design [Davies et al. (2009) Discovery of leukotriene A4 hydrolase inhibitors using metabolomics biased fragment crystallography. J Med Chem. 52:4694-715].• Discovered allosteric mechanism for modulating phosphodiesterase 4D [Burgin et al. (2009) Design of phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) allosteric modulators for enhancing cognition with improved safety. Nat. Biotech. 27 Dec 2009 [Epub ahead of print].

Discovered the Alzheimer’s disease beta-secretase [Yan et al. (1999) Membrane-anchored aspartyl protease with Alzheimer's disease beta-secretase activity. Nature 402:533-537].

Developed the SOD1-G93A mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [Gurney et al. (1994) Motor neuron degeneration in mice that express a human Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase mutation. Science, 264: 1772-1775].