MSU Seeks Visionary Director to Lead Drug Discovery Program

The Michigan State University Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology through the College of Osteopathic Medicine is seeking a new director for its Drug Discovery Program.

This position is supported through Michigan State University’s Global Impact Initiative, designed to address global grand challenges and national priorities through the creation of over 100 new faculty positions in some of the most promising – and critical – fields of research.

The MSU Drug Discovery program has enjoyed significant success since its initiation in 2016 by Professor Emeritus Dr. Richard Neubig. The program has supported over 60 faculty members from 13 departments and six colleges in project design and execution, publications, and grant applications. Activities of MSU Drug Discovery have resulted in more than 15 patent applications, 35 funded extramural grants with an income totaling more than $38 million, and four spinoff companies.

The new director of MSU Drug Discovery will lead a strategic expansion of the program, including recruiting three junior faculty members with a research focus on broad applications of drug discovery, exploring new therapeutic modalities beyond small molecules, and the continued development of the MSU drug discovery community.

“It has been a highlight of my career to work with the outstanding staff of MSU Drug Discovery and to foster collaborations with great scientists across the MSU campus,” Dr. Neubig said. “I look forward to seeing what new directions MSU DD takes under the leadership of the new Director.”

The director will also work with the University and the MSU Innovation Center and advise and collaborate with faculty across MSU to facilitate research translation from target discovery to validation.

“I am excited that we were able to secure Global Impact Initiative funding for this important hire, which indicates MSU’s commitment to expanding research in the drug discovery space," said Dr. Anne Dorrance, Chairperson of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. "I look forward to collaborating with the new Director of Drug Discovery to continue to build this unique program.”