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Nigel H. Greig , Ph.D., Chief
The Drug Design and Development Section (DDDS) is focused to identify drugs that improve brain function and/or forestall the neurodegenerative process in age-related neurodegenerative disorders. Data arising from studies on neurodegenerative and neuroprotective signaling pathways are used to identify potential drug targets. Candidate drugs are designed and synthesized and then screened for efficacy in cell culture and animal models, and the most effective compounds are moved through preclinical studies to clinical trials. Several novel as well as re-positioned drugs that mitigate neurodegenerative processes are currently in clinical trials, and novel compounds to dampen neuroinflammatory cascades involved in acute and chronic neurodegenerative disorders are at various preclinical stages of development.
Portfolio/Research Areas
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Molecular & In vivo Pharmacology
- Toxicology
- Translational Research into Humans
Findings and Publications
Lecca D, Jung YJ, Scerba M, Hwang I, Kim KY, Kim S, Modrow S, Tweedie D, Hsueh S-C, Liu D, Luo W, Glotfelty E, Li Y, Wang J-Y, Luo Y, Hoffer BJ, Kim DS, McDevitt RA, Greig NH. Role of chronic neuroinflammation in neuroplasticity and cognitive function: A hypothesis. Alzheimers Dement., 18: 2327-40, 2022. PMID: 35234334. PMCID: PMC9437140.
Lecca D, Hsueh S-C, Luo W, Tweedie D, Kim DS, Baig AM, Vargesson V, Kim YK, Hwang I, Kim S, Hoffer BJ, Chiang Y-H, Greig NH. Novel, thalidomide-like, non-cereblon binding drug tetrafluorobornylphthalimide mitigates inflammation and brain injury. J Biomed Sci. 30:16, 2023. PMID: 36872339. PMCID: PMC9987061
Kopp KE, Glotfelty EJ, Li Y, Greig NH. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and neuroinflammation: implications for neurodegenerative disease treatment. Pharmacol Res. 186:106550, 2022. PMID: 36372278 . PMCID: PMC9712272
Bedolla A, Wegman E, Weed M, Stevens MK, Kierra Ware K, Paranjpe A, Alkhimovitch A, Ifergan I, Taranov A, Peter JD, Gonzalez JMS, Robinson JE, McClain L, Roskin KM, Greig NH, Luo Y. Adult microglial TGFβ1 is critical for microglia homeostasis via an autocrine mechanism to maintain cognitive function. Nat Comm., 15:5306, 2024. PMID: 38906887. PMCID: PMC11192737
Mitchell JL, Hannah Lyons H, Walker J, Yiangou A, Olivia Grech O, Alimajstorovic Z, Greig NH, Li Y, Tsermoulas G, Brock K, Mollan SP, Sinclair AJ. The effect of exenatide on intracranial pressure in Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, IIH Pressure: A randomised clinical trial. Brain. 146:1821-1830, 2023. PMID: 36907221. PMCID: PMC10151178