Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery announces new director

Philip S. Low, the Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, has passed the director's baton to Zhong-Yin Zhang, the Robert C. and Charlotte P. Anderson Chair in Pharmacology and Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, to lead the Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery.

Due to the expanded time commitments from Low’s new startup companies and the increased number of his lab’s discovered drugs entering human clinical trials, the time was right to transfer oversight of PIDD to a new director.  Low will continue to maintain an active role with PIDD as he transitions to his new role as Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery.

Zhang was recruited to Purdue in 2016 to head the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology in the College of Pharmacy, a position he will maintain. He received a PhD in chemistry from Purdue in 1990 and held academic positions at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, where he served as the Robert A. Harris Professor and Chair. He currently directs the high-throughput screening and chemical genomics facility in PIDD and chairs the PIDD Internal Advisory Board. Zhang’s role as director of PIDD is effective immediately. 

Low has successfully led Purdue’s efforts in drug discovery, launching the Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery, advancing the recruitment of drug discovery researchers across campus, and accelerating the translation of basic research into life-changing treatments. During his time as director, the Purdue drug pipeline grew from 20 drugs to 58 with six of these drugs entering into human clinical trials. With 16 faculty-discovered drugs in clinical trials and two FDA-approved drugs, Purdue is one of the most advanced academic drug pipelines in the world.