Senior Director, Disease Biology

Role: Senior Director of Disease Biology leading target discovery and preclinical development for Alzheimer's Disease Initiative (ADI). Responsibilities: build and lead a team to carry validated targets through hit-to-lead, optimize candidates with chemistry and model teams, guide target translation from genetics and functional genomics, oversee existing in vivo and cellular model teams, partner with computational biology for causal modeling, and coordinate external CROs for preclinical studies. Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to advance therapeutic programs. Requirements: PhD in neuroscience, immunology, cell biology, genetics, or pharmacology; extensive experience in neurodegeneration target discovery, validation, and progression to IND-enabling studies; expertise in advanced 3D cellular models; proven leadership in building and mentoring scientific teams; experience in biotech or nonprofit research settings; ability to work onsite in Palo Alto at least four days/week. Preferred: direct Alzheimer’s drug discovery experience, animal models of Alzheimer’s (e.g., APOE4, TREM2), integration of computational target prioritization, and partnership with high throughput biology teams. HighValue: Alzheimer's disease, neurodegeneration, target validation, in vivo and in vitro models, genetic and functional genomics, causal modeling, cross-disciplinary collaboration, leadership in a research-focused environment.