Yanan Zhang

Yanan Zhang, Ph.D., leads multiple drug discovery programs on the discovery of bioactive molecules as probes of biological system functions or as potential therapeutics for the treatment or prevention of central nervous system (CNS) disorders such as drug addiction, sleep disorder, cognitive dysfunction, and pain. He has more than 20 years of experience in synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry.

Dr. Zhang’s current research involves G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) targets, including cannabinoid (CB1 and CB2), orexin 1 and 2 (OX1R and OX2R), lysophosphatidic acid 5 (LPA5), and neuropeptide FF receptors, among others. He serves or has served as the Principal Investigator (PI) or Multiple PI (MPI) on 10 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants and contracts. He also collaborates with pharmacology groups and serves as the chemistry lead on multiple NIH or Veterans Administration (VA)-funded research grants.

Dr. Zhang has published more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and written multiple book chapters and patents. He has received multiple awards, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Early Career Award, College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) Early Career Investigator Award, and International Narcotics Research Conference Travel Award. He is an active member of several professional societies, including College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) and Society of Neuroscience (SfN). Dr. Zhang currently serves as an editorial board member of Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group). He has served as a reviewer on many NIH review panels, including Drug Discovery for the Nervous System (DDNS), Drug Discovery and Molecular Pharmacology B (DMPB), R15 Academic Research Enhancement Awards (AREA), and multiple Special Emphasis or Member Conflict panels.