The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation Appoints Dr. Laura Nisenbaum as Executive Director of Drug Development

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) announces an expansion of its scientific leadership team with the hiring of Laura Nisenbaum, Ph.D., as Executive Director of Drug Development. Dr. Nisenbaum will report to both Dr. Howard Fillit, ADDF’s Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer, and Mark Roithmayr, ADDF’s Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Nisenbaum is a proven scientific leader with 30 years of experience in the biotechnology industry and academia. In her new role, she will oversee the ADDF’s Scientific Affairs, Biomarker Development, and Aging and Alzheimer’s Prevention teams. These teams manage our diverse and robust portfolio spanning all phases of clinical development and biomarker research.

“Dr. Nisenbaum brings a wealth of industry experience to the ADDF, which is invaluable as we advance our mission of speeding the development of treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias,” said Dr. Fillit. “We are excited to welcome her to the team with her track record of demonstrated success in biomarkers, translational medicine, clinical development, drug discovery and management.”

Dr. Nisenbaum joins the ADDF from Biogen Inc., where she served as Senior Director of Aducanumab Biomarkers and Diagnostic Pathways. In her role at Biogen, she led the biomarker strategy for aducanumab, which was granted Accelerated Approval by the FDA last year, as well as heading the Diagnostics Pathway group within the Biomarker Organization. She also brings 20 years of experience at Eli Lilly and Company, where she honed her scientific skills in neuroscience drug discovery, translational medicine and clinical development.

“I am thrilled to be joining the ADDF, which is a leader in the Alzheimer’s research field,” said Dr. Nisenbaum. “I look forward to applying my expertise to further our progress in biomarker and drug development, and to advance clinical trials focused on varied pathways of aging. In the future, these advancements may allow us to combine drugs and tailor individualized treatments for patients through precision medicine.”

Throughout her career, Dr. Nisenbaum has contributed to the advancement of more than 15 novel therapeutics through drug discovery and development, bringing five molecules from preclinical drug discovery into clinical trials, advancing 10 molecules through early to late-stage clinical development, and bringing three molecules for FDA approval. She has also authored over 35 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Prior to joining the biotechnology field, Dr. Nisenbaum received a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Cologne, Germany. She then completed her Ph.D. in neuroscience in 1991 at the University of Pittsburgh and transitioned to industry after completing postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, and a faculty position in Physiology and Neurobiology at the University of Connecticut.