Biosketch and Research Interests
Dr. Conn is the Lee E. Limbird Professor of Pharmacology, and founding Director of the Program in Translational Neuropharmacology and the VICB Program in Drug Discovery at Vanderbilt Medical Center. Conn received the Ph.D. degree in Pharmacology from Vanderbilt University in 1986 and pursued postdoctoral studies in the Department of Pharmacology at Yale University. Dr. Conn joined the faculty of the Department of Pharmacology at Emory University in 1988 where he where he rose to the rank of Full Professor and established himself as a leader in studies of neurotransmitter receptors and their roles in regulating brain function in circuits involved in psychiatric and neurological disorders. In 2000, Dr. Conn moved to Merck and Company to assume the position of Senior Director and Head of the Department of Neuroscience at Merck’s site in West Point, PA. Dr. Conn moved to Vanderbilt University in 2003 to start a new Program in Drug Discovery, with a primary mission of facilitating translation of recent advances in basic science to novel therapeutics. Dr. Conn is Editor in Chief of Molecular Pharmacology, Regional Editor (North America) of Current Neuropharmacology and serves on the editorial boards of 6 other international journals. Dr. Conn serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Addex Pharmaceuticals, Cephalon Inc., AstraZeneca USA, Roche Pharmaceuticals, Forrest Pharmaceuticals, Precient Neuropharma,  Michael J. Fox Foundation, and the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation. He is the Chair Elect of the Neuropharmacology Division of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). He has received numerous awards and honors, including the NARSAD Essel Investigator Distinguished Investigator Award, the Pharmacia-ASPET award in Experimental Therapeutics, the ASPET Astellas Award in Translational Pharmacology, and was named as an ISI Most-Cited Scientists in Pharmacology & Toxicology. He serves on several national and international committees, including International Union of Pharmacology (IUPHAR) subcommittee on receptor nomenclature, Executive Committee, Neuropharmacology Division of ASPET, the ASPET Publications Board of Trust, and is an Expert Consultant, Compound Selection Committee, Treatment Units for Research on Neurocognition and Schizophrenia. Dr. Conn’s current research is focused on development of novel treatment strategies for schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain disorders.