John brings over 20 years of experience in molecular neuroscience and drug discovery and development, with particular focus on small molecule drug discovery for receptor and ion channel targets, including drug mechanism of action studies, the application of high throughput screening and early and late stage lead development research. John is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), where he leads a laboratory focused on discovering translational targets and molecules that modulate the basal ganglia, a highly-conserved brain region in vertebrates that controls motivation, decision making, and motor function. His laboratory has made important advances in drug discovery for G protein-coupled receptors in translational research for neuropsychiatric disorders and Parkinson’s disease.

He holds a bachelor’s degrees from the University of Illinois, and a doctorate in Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of Illinois-School of Medicine.  He completed postdoctoral work at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill followed by several years working at Pfizer Neuroscience, and then returned to academia to build his academic drug discovery program as a tenure-track faculty member at UTMB.