Speakers

Dr. Mehrdad Shamloo received his doctoral degree in 1999 from the Wallenberg Neuroscience Center of Lund University. Mehrdad was recruited to the SF Bay Area that same year, where he held several positions at biopharmaceutical companies, including Affymax and AGY Therapeutics. During this time, he was responsible for discovering and developing novel neuroprotective and regenerative small molecule and peptide therapeutics for multiple brain disorders. As head of the program, he enabled several patent applications, scientific publications, an IND filing, and subsequent clinical trials for CNS indications. These years of industry experience built on his extensive CNS drug discovery and preclinical development background. In 2008, Mehrdad established his research laboratory and a new neurotranslational and neuropharmacology center (BFNL) at Stanford. His research has been focused on understanding normal and pathological brain functions in neurological disorders such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and Parkinson's disease (PD). A 10-year effort from his laboratory led to the discovery of novel adrenergic agonists, and he subsequently founded CuraSen Therapeutics, a clinical-stage II company developing these treatments for PD and AD. Since then, Mehrdad's team has been focused on developing drugs that modulate cannabinoid receptor 2 in the brain. Their approach differs significantly from first-generation molecules developed for this target, with proven molecular, cellular, and in vivo differences. In collaboration with the NIH drug discovery and development team, Mehrdad's team is initiating the IND-enabling studies for the development candidate this September. It aims to start a Phase I safety trial in humans by Q4 of 2025.