Bio
Austen Brooks Casey, PhD, is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine (advisor: Boris Dov Heifets, MD, PhD). He originates from western North Carolina, and has had a long-standing interest in drug discovery for major depression and schizophrenia, which was invigorated by initial coursework in organic chemistry and biochemistry. Austen trained at Northeastern University (advisor: Raymond G. Booth, PhD) where he studied the medicinal chemistry and pharmacology of novel ligands targeting serotonergic G protein-coupled receptors. Currently, he is investigating neural circuits activated by psychedelic drugs, with the long-term goal of using modern techniques in neuroscience to complement drug design efforts toward the development of novel antidepressant and antipsychotic medications.
