Kalpana Merchant

Kalpana Merchant, PhD, is a neurobiologist and translational neuroscientist who has led and contributed to the discovery and development of drugs for neurological and psychiatric disorders at start-ups and international pharmaceutical companies for nearly 30 years. She is an Adjunct Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University, a senior advisor to the Michael J Fox Foundation, serves on the Oregon Innovation Council and several advisory boards at the National Institutes of Health. She is the founder President of TransThera Consulting Co., which provides strategic and scientific guidance on drug discovery and translational strategies to biotech/start-up pharmaceutical companies. Kalpana received her PhD in neuropharmacology from the University of Utah, completed postdoctoral training at University of Washington and was Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at University of Washington before transitioning to pharmaceutical research in 1993 at the Upjohn Co followed by Eli Lilly and Co.