Scientific Advisory Board

David Julius is Chair of Physiology at the University of California San Francisco, where his laboratory studies the molecular biology of sensory transduction and ion channels. Dr. Julius received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch. He holds numerous other honors and awards, including but not limited to the Prince of Asturias Award in Technical and Scientific Research, Passano Award and a Shaw Prize in Life Sciences and Medicine. Dr. Julius is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.

David MacMillan, Ph.D., is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry at Princeton University, where his lab’s research centers on the field of organic synthesis and catalysis. He shared the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Benjamin List for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis. Dr. MacMillan was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in July 2022 and by King Charles at Buckingham Palace in February 2023. He was formerly the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Chemical Science, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the National Academy of Sciences.

Alan Basbaum, Ph.D., FRS, is Chair of Anatomy at the University of California San Francisco. Dr. Basbaum’s laboratory examines the mechanisms through which tissue and nerve injury produce changes in the peripheral and central nervous system that result in persistent pain. Dr. Basbaum is the former editor-in-chief of Pain and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom.

David Clapham, M.D., Ph.D., is Aldo R. Castañeda Professor of Cardiovascular Research and Professor Emeritus of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Clapham’s laboratory at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Janelia Research Campus studies ion channels and their control of cell signaling pathways, as well as the molecular structures in those pathways. Dr. Clapham was HHMI’s vice president and chief scientific officer from 2016 to 2022. He has published in leading scientific publications and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Jeffrey Noebels, M.D., Ph.D., is Cullen Trust for Health Care Endowed Chair in Neurogenetics and Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience and Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. He is also Director of Baylor’s Blue Bird Circle Developmental Neurogenetics Laboratory, applying mutational analysis to learn how single genes regulate neuronal excitability and brain network synchronization. Dr. Noebels’ pioneering epilepsy gene discoveries, which include the first large-scale translational genomic research study examining variants in human ion channel genes, have appeared  in leading journals such as Nature, Cell, Neuron, Science, and Journal of Clinical Investigation. He is a past President of the American Epilepsy Society and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Wendy Young serves as a board member and scientific advisor at several biotech companies and is an advisor at Google Ventures. Previously, Dr. Young was the senior vice president, small molecule drug discovery at Genentech where she actively built and led the research & discovery organization. Under her leadership, more than 25 clinical candidates progressed into development. Additionally, Dr. Young led the BTK discovery program and is co-inventor of fenebrutinib, which is currently in Phase 3 trials for multiple sclerosis. Prior to joining Genentech, Dr. Young held roles of increasing scientific leadership at Celera Genomics and Scios, a J&J company. She is an inventor and/or author on more than 70 published patents and manuscripts.