Our Neuroscience Leadership Team

BILL MARTIN, PH.D.

GLOBAL THERAPEUTIC AREA HEAD

Bill leads the Neuroscience therapeutic area of Janssen Research & Development, LLC in discovering and developing important new therapies for people living with brain disorders. His role is focused on addressing areas where the greatest unmet needs in neuroscience remain, and where the biggest impacts can be made for patients and society, including serious mental illness (such as treatment-resistant depression and schizophrenia) and neurodegenerative disorders (such as Alzheimer's disease). Despite the rich complexities and challenges associated with brain disorders, Bill and his team are firmly committed to ensuring a future where we can both predict and prevent these conditions, and ultimately improve lives and society on a global scale.

Prior to joining Janssen R&D, Bill held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Blackthorn Therapeutics, and previously served as the company's Chief Scientific Officer and Head of R&D. He co-founded Blackthorn, which integrates computational and clinical neuroscience and applies a precision medicine approach to creating novel therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) disorders.

Before Blackthorn, Bill held multiple leadership positions at Theravance Biopharma, including leading the company's research portfolio planning initiative and serving as a member of the strategic partnership team and project team leader for an advanced clinical stage CNS program. He began his career at Merck, where he contributed to the strategic direction of the company's Neuroscience franchise.

Bill is also a member of the Board of Directors for Brown University's Carney Institute for Brain Science and has held leadership positions in the Society for Neuroscience, the Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, the American Physiological Society and the International Brain Research Organization. He has published extensively on neuroscience and brain disorders, with more than 75 publications in scientific journals.

Bill received a bachelor's in Psychology from Swarthmore College and a doctorate in Experimental Psychology from Brown University. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Keck Center for Integrative Neuroscience at the University of California, San Francisco.

ALISON CHALKER, PH.D.

PORTFOLIO STRATEGY & DATA SCIENCES INTEGRATION LEADER

As Strategic Portfolio and Data Sciences Integration Leader for Neuroscience at Janssen Research & Development (R&D), Alison Chalker, Ph.D. leads a team responsible for driving Therapeutic Area operations, Neuroscience portfolio management and strategy, and integration of data science approaches in R&D programs from discovery to commercialization.

With more than three decades of experience, Alison began her career at GSK, where she led a team in exploring novel therapeutics for unusual bacterial pathogens, utilizing bioinformatic, genetic, and biochemical techniques.  During her career, Alison has led global cross-functional drug development programs for small molecules and biologics, from discovery through lifecycle management, in Anti-Infectives, Cardiovascular, Gastro-intestinal, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Oncology; and has held Department Head roles in Regulatory Affairs and Program Management.

Alison received a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology from Bristol University and a doctorate in Molecular Microbiology from the University of Edinburgh, where she also conducted postdoctoral research. She is passionate about the transformational potential of the empowered cross-functional team; conducting drug development with an unwavering sense of accountability to our patients and customers; and developing the next generation of pharma leaders.

Fiona Elwood, Ph.D.

NEURODEGENERATION DISEASE AREA STRONGHOLD (DAS) LEADER

Fiona Elwood, Ph.D., has extensive experience in neuroscience and neurodegenerative research and development, a passion for bringing relief to patients and their caregivers, and dedication to scientific excellence and exceptional teamwork. She brings deep expertise in molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, including in tau biology, and the use of human cell models and advanced screening approaches to support novel target identification and validation.

Fiona was most recently Interim Global Head of Neuroscience and Head of Neurodegeneration at Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research. Before moving to Novartis, she spent nearly 10 years at Merck Research Laboratories in positions of increasing responsibility.

Fiona received her doctorate in Neuroscience from the University of London, United Kingdom, and completed her postdoctoral work in Neuroscience at Stanford University.

WAYNE DREVETS, M.D.

DISEASE AREA LEADER IN NEUROPSYCHIATRY

Wayne Drevets, M.D. is Stronghold Leader, Neuropsychiatric Disease Area for Neuroscience, where he leads a cross-functional team in the development of Janssen's industry-leading portfolio of novel therapeutics in mood and psychotic disorders. Wayne also oversees the strategy, conception, and execution of a program he built at Janssen for developing novel treatments for major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia from discovery through late-development phases.

Wayne has published more than 375 articles and chapters and has been cited more than 67,000 times in scientific literature. His research has focused on characterizing the neurocircuitry of mood disorders, elucidating the mechanisms underlying antidepressant and mood-stabilizing therapies, and the discovery of novel therapeutics.

Wayne's academic career spanned over two decades and involved tenures at Washington University School of Medicine (St Louis), the University of Pittsburgh, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Laureate Institute for Brain Research/ University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and a Member of the Society for Biological Psychiatry.

Wayne received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Wheaton College and a doctorate degree in Medicine from the University of Kansas. He completed his residency and fellowship training at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis.

ANDREA HOUGHTON, PH.D.

GLOBAL HEAD OF BIOLOGY

Andrea Houghton, Ph.D., is Vice President, Global Head of Biology of Neuroscience at Janssen Research & Development LLC, one of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical companies. Andrea has a proven track record in drug discovery.

Prior to joining Janssen R&D, she was Associate Vice President of Quantitative Biosciences at Merck and Co. Inc.  Andrea spent much of her career at Merck.  She joined the MSD Research Laboratories (formerly Organon Laboratories in Scotland) in 1999 and, during the next 10 years, held roles of increasing responsibility. She transitioned to Merck and Co. in the United States in 2010 as Executive Director of the Pain & Migraine Department before becoming Executive Director of the Discovery Pharmacology Department.

Andrea received her doctorate in Physiology from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom (UK).  She completed two post-doctoral fellowships – one in the Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch and a second in the Department of Physiology at the University of Bristol, UK.

MICHELLE KRAMER, M.D., M.P.H.

GLOBAL HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT

Michelle Kramer, M.D., M.P.H. is the Global Head of Development for Neuroscience at Janssen Research & Development. With more than two decades of experience at Janssen and Johnson & Johnson, she has been involved with cross-therapeutic area clinical development including the immunology, neuroscience, infectious disease, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic areas.
 
Most recently, Michelle led Medical Affairs for Neuroscience in the United States, where she oversaw the medical strategy for the INVEGA TRINZA® and INVEGA HAFYERA™ (paliperidone palmitate), SPRAVATO® (esketamine) and PONVORY™ (ponesimod) launches.
 
Michelle received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, as well as a doctorate in Medicine from Tuft’s University and a master’s in public health from Drexel University. She completed her residency in psychiatry at Duke University.

SIMON LOVESTONE, B.SC., B.M., PH.D.

GLOBAL HEAD OF DISCOVERY AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH

Simon Lovestone, B.Sc., B.M., Ph.D., is Global Head of Discovery and Translational Research for Janssen Neuroscience, where he leads the global Johnson & Johnson teams seeking novel therapies for neurodegeneration, neurology and neuropsychiatry.

Before joining Janssen, Simon was a Professor in Translational Neuroscience at the University of Oxford where he co-founded the Oxford Dementia Drug Discovery Institute and before that in Old Age Psychiatry at King’s College London where he was also Director of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health and Director of R&D at King’s Health Partners.

His research interests include the identification of new targets for therapy in Alzheimer's disease and related disorders through the understanding of basic mechanisms and clinical translation through experimental medicine and biomarkers; all this work underpinned by the use of Big Data ranging from molecular through to clinical information derived from electronic medical records.

Simon earned his bachelor’s degrees in Microbiology from Sheffield University and in Medicine from the University of Southampton, a Master of Philosophy in Clinical Research in Psychiatry and a doctorate in basic Neuroscience from the University of London and, until recently also practiced as a clinician in Old Age Psychiatry. He was Knighted for services to neuroscience in 2017 and will be awarded an honorary degree by his alma mater, the University of Sheffield, in January 2022.

GUY SEABROOK, PH.D.

HEAD OF EXTERNAL INNOVATION

As Head of External Innovation for Neuroscience, Guy Seabrook, Ph.D. creates and implements the external innovation plan to deliver the Neuroscience Therapeutic Area Research & Development strategy. Guy and his team work to identify the best opportunities for value-generating collaborations and develop an industry-leading portfolio of investment opportunities, which involves the cultivation of a strong scientific network of experts in the global innovation community.

He has over 30 years of experience in drug discovery research, which includes preclinical research on marketed products and candidates in clinical development. Formerly, Guy was part of Eli Lilly’s Global External Research & Development (GER&D) organization where he led the GER&D team for the Lilly Bio-Medicines Business Unit, and also at Merck & Co, Inc., where he was the Head of the West Point Department of Alzheimer's Disease Research.

He graduated with a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Nottingham in 1987 and completed his postdoctoral research at the University of Miami School of Medicine.