Senior Management

Neal G. Simon, Ph.D., CEO, has headed Azevan Pharmaceuticals since 1999. Dr. Simon is the former Chair of Biological Sciences at Lehigh University. He has over 25 years research experience in behavioral neurobiology. His research in drug development, hormone-neurotransmitter interactions, and behavioral regulation has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Ben Franklin Northeast Tier Technology Partnership, the Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central PA, and the H.F Guggenheim Foundation, and private corporations. He serves on foundation and scientific advisory boards and consults for biotechnology companies. Dr. Simon received a B.A. with honors from the State University of New York at Binghamton, the M.S. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University, and was a National Research Service Postdoctoral Fellow at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. In 1996, he served as a Distinguished Research Professor at Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France.

Gary Koppel, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, is a retired Eli Lilly and Company Research Scientist. At Lilly, he designed and developed third generation antibiotics, chaired the Immunology Research Committee, was named group leader of newly formed molecular immunology program, and was elected to the American Association of Immunologists. Dr. Koppel also coordinated the drug targeting program at Lilly Research, helped design the first human clinical trials of monoclonal antibody drug conjugates for cancer therapy, and developed a new research program in memory, learning, and behavior. He has published extensively on novel synthetic methods for medicinal products and holds over 50 patents.

Craig Ferris, Ph.D., Chief of Biological Sciences, is recognized as an authority on the neurobiology of aggressive behavior. Dr. Ferris is Professor of Psychiatry and Physiology in the Department of Psychiatry and Director, Center of Comparative Neuroimaging, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His research has been supported by the NIH and the NSF. Dr. Ferris is President of Insight Neuroimaging Systems, LLC, a bioengineering company specializing in the development of radiofrequency electronics and contrast agents for use in magnetic resonance imaging. Dr. Ferris received his bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from New York Medical College, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Medical School.