The LDDN
The Laboratory for Drug Discovery in Neuroscience (LDDN) is a collaborative academic group in the Department of Neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Harvard Medical School (HMS). Its mission is to identify small molecules that can lead to the development of innovative drugs for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. We work closely with principal investigators from academia to translate their discoveries in disease biology into viable drug discovery opportunities. Below, are examples of tool molecules we have recently identified to support both BWH colleagues and external collaborators in their research.
Initially, the LDDN centered on assay design, high-throughput screening, and medicinal chemistry. However, in 2015, we shifted our focus solely to advancing new medicinal chemistry strategies for CNS drug discovery. Traditionally, medicinal chemists were synthetic organic chemists transitioning into the pharmaceutical industry, where they received training in their early years Recently, the landscape of medicinal chemistry and drug discovery has evolved, resulting in fewer entry-level positions in both large pharmaceutical companies and biotech firms for those looking to enter the field. We strive to provide students with opportunities to enhance their synthetic and medicinal chemistry skills through hands-on involvement in our collaborative drug discovery projects. We frequently host Northeastern University students for their six-month co-op placements and we collaborate with several other US and European universities, offering 6-12 month research placements for BSc and MSc students.
The Team
Katie Novak
Kathleen (Katie) earned her double major in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Psychology (with honors) from Boston University 2021. That same year, she started her career the LDDN and intends to become a physician-scientist.
Shirin Shabahang
Shirin has a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Houston where she worked on "Optimization of Receptor-Interacting Protein Kinase 2 (RIPK2) Inhibitors and Development of Mixed Lineage Kinase Domain-Like (MLKL) Activators". She joined the LDDN in 2024.
Brian Garreffi
Brian has a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Tufts University in Boston. Brian developed syntheses to the monosaccharides and polysaccharides found in the saccharomicins A and B. He joined the LDDN in 2024.
Kevin Hodgetts
Kevin is an organic and medicinal chemist with extensive experience in drug discovery across industrial and academic settings. With over 20 years dedicated to developing treatments for CNS diseases, several compounds from his laboratories have progressed to clinical trials. He is the Director of the LDDN and Associate Professor of Neurology at BWH and HMS. Recently, he co-founded two start-ups inspired in part by research from the LDDN: Violet Therapeutics, with longtime BWH collaborator Fran Quintana, and Modulate Bio, alongside his close friend Dario Doller.
Drug discovery pipeline
A number of our projects have led to patents that were licensed, led to spin-outs, and clinical compounds, including:
Our current medicinal chemistry projects include:
For further details about these technologies, please contact Kevin Hodgetts at khodgetts@bwh.harvard.edu or reach out to Shruthi Krishnamurthy, Senior Manager of Business and Development at MGB Innovation, at skrishnamurthy@mgb.org.