Journal of Alzheimers Disease & Parkinsonism
Open Access

Nigel Greig

Laboratory of Neurosciences, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, USA

Biography

Nigel Greig was trained as a pharmacologist with a background in medicinal chemistry and physiology and gained his Ph.D. from the University of London; specifically, from the Pharmacology Department of the Royal College of Surgeons, England. Leaving the Cancer Chemotherapy Department of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London, he joined NIA in 1982. His initial studies focused on optimizing the delivery to and action of drugs within the brain. This resulted in the development of drug candidates for the treatment of brain tumors, and cancers of the breast, lymphatics and ovaries, as well as agents for the treatment of drug abuse and technology for the delivery of neuropeptides, antisense oligonucleotides and proteins to the brain. Leaving NIA in 1989, Dr. Greig was involved in the initiation of the successful California biotechnology company, Athena Neurosciences, now Elan Pharmaceuticals.The company was launched on technology from Dr. Greig's program. Returning to NIA as a tenured scientist in 1991, his research has evolved into his present interest, the design and development of drugs and diagnostics for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, with particular emphasis on Alzheimer's disease, and of type 2 diabetes. He heads the Drug Design and Development Section of the Laboratory of Neurosciences that extensively collaborates within NIA, academia and industry. This has resulted in the development of several agents from concept in the laboratory, through the required U.S. Government regulatory requirements to the bedside. Patents covering a variety of novel compounds of clinical interest have now been licensed from the NIA to industry and are in preclinical and clinical development, and new research within his program is providing both publications and patent applications to support potential drugs of the future.

Research Interest

 Drug development, Alzheimer Disease, pathophysiology, nervous system diseases, brain injury