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P. Jeffrey Conn, PhD - Executive Committee
Professor, Director, Program in Translational Neuropharmacology
Department of Pharmacology
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee

Dr. Conn received the Ph.D. degree in Pharmacology in 1986 from Vanderbilt University and pursued postdoctoral studies in the Department of Pharmacology at Yale University where he focused his on the roles of G-protein coupled receptors and second messenger systems in regulating neuronal function. Dr. Conn joined the faculty of the Department of Pharmacology at Emory University in 1988 where he where he attained the rank of Full Professor and established himself as a leader in the roles of neurotransmitter receptors in regulating brain function and the relevance of this for development novel approaches to treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders. In 2000, Dr. Conn moved to Merck and Company to assume the position of Senior Director of Neuroscience and Head of the Department of Neuroscience at Merck's site in West Point, PA. Most recently, Dr. Conn moved to Vanderbilt University to start a new Program in Translational Neuropharmacology and Drug Discovery. The primary mission of this effort is to promote translation of advances in basic science to novel therapeutics agents. One major focus of this program is discovery of novel approaches to treatment of Parkinson's disease.