Scientific Advisors

Meet the group of scientists, experts in their field, that provide scientific guidance and perspective to DAMONA’s scientific development.


Dr. Guy Griebel

Head of External Innovation, Rare and Neurological Disorders, Sanofi
Dr. Guy Griebel

Dr. Guy Griebel served as Global Head of the Department of Neuroscience Pharmacology leading global, cross-functional and cross-divisional teams of up to 60. He played a key role in the discovery, characterization, and clinical testing of a variety of first-in-class compounds in psychiatric, pain and neurodegenerative disorders (20+). Under his supervision, several of these compounds have made it to Phase III clinical trial and some are still under active development.

His contributions, which have spanned over 20 years have been seminal to the field of neuropsychopharmacology. Among many contributions, his research has led to the identification of key neurobiological roles for several neurotransmitter and neuropeptide systems in mental diseases and key novel targets associated with the pathophysiology of these conditions. In addition to his work in the field of drug discovery and development, he has made key contributions to the implementation and standardization of animal models for psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. For example, he has championed the systematic use of multiple animal models of anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia to predict new compounds prior to movement to the clinical setting.


Dr. John Krystal

Co-Director, Yale Center for Clinical Investigation; Chair, Department of Psychiatry; Chief of Psychiatry, Yale-New Haven Hospital
Dr. John Krystal

Dr. Krystal is a leading expert in the areas of post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. His work links psychopharmacology, neuroimaging, molecular genetics, and computational neuroscience to study the neurobiology and treatment of these disorders. He is best known for leading the discovery of the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine in depressed patients.

Dr. Krystal previously served on the Department of Defense Psychological Health Advisory Committee, and the NIMH Board of Scientific Counselors (chair, 2005-2007). He has led the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (president, 2012), and International College of Neuropsychophamacology (president, 2016-2018).

Currently, he is co-chair of the Neuroscience Forum (NeuroForum) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and he edits the journal, Biological Psychiatry.


Dr. Uwe Rudolph

Head, Comparative Bioscience, University of Illinois
Dr. Uwe Rudolph

Dr. Uwe Rudolph is Professor and Head of the Department of Comparative Biosciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He received a medical degree and a research doctorate in Pharmacology from the Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany and postdoctoral training in the Department of Cell Biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, before moving on to the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.  Before moving to Illinois, he was Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School working at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA.

Research by Dr. Rudolph and colleagues has identified pharmacological functions of GABAA receptor subtypes using a combination of genetic, molecular, morphological and behavioral techniques and provides a framework for the development of drugs targeting specific GABAA receptor subtypes.