Hugh Rosen, MD, PhD
Scripps Research Joint Appointments
Research Focus
Dr. Rosen serves as a Professor of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California where he focused on pursuing his primary interests in the chemical biology of immune regulation by signaling lipids and of receptor therapeutics. This work, in collaboration with Professor Edward Roberts, led to the invention of ozanimod at Scripps Research. Ozanimod is now approved for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis and Ulcerative Colitis and marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb as ZEPOSIAR. Two further Scripps Research compounds from the Rosen & Roberts laboratories are in clinical trials; NMRA-140 for Major Depressive Disorder and NMRA-511 for Anxiety Disorders. Dr. Rosen serves as the President and Chairman of the Board of Activx Biosciences, Inc., a wholly owned biopharmaceutical subsidiary of Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Prior to joining The Scripps Research Institute, Dr. Rosen served in various capacities with Merck Research Laboratories including Executive Director in Immunology, Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases and Chair of the Worldwide Business Strategy Team for Antibacterials and Antifungals. Dr. Rosen was a scientific founder of Receptos, Inc., and of Blackthorn Therapeutics, now Neumora Therapeutics. He received his MB.ChB. (M.D). from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and his D.Phil. in Physiological Sciences from Oxford, where he was a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 awardee. Dr Rosen has been elected a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, A Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, to the Association of American Physicians and the Henry Kunkel Society. He served as Associate Editor of Molecular Pharmacology for 8 years and on the Editorial Board of J. Biol. Chem. for 5 years.
Education
Ph.D. (Physiological Sciences), University of Oxford, Medical Sciences Division, 1986M.D. (Medicine), University of Cape Town, 1982
Professional Experience
2007-2017 Professor, Chemical Physiology, Scripps Research2002-2007 Professor, Immunology and Microbial Science (IMS), Scripps Research
2000-2002 Executive Director, Immunology & Rheumatology, Merck & Co., Inc.
1999-2000 Executive Director, Infectious Diseases, Merck & Co., Inc.
1997-1998 Senior Director, Antibiotic Discovery & Development, Merck & Co., Inc.
1994-1997 Director, Antibiotic Discovery & Development, Merck & Co., Inc.
1994-1994 Senior Research Fellow, Inflammation and Immunology, Merck & Co., Inc.
1990-1994 Research Fellow, Inflammation and Immunology, Merck & Co., Inc.
Awards & Professional Activities
Chair, Committee for Advanced Human TherapeuticsSelected References
Suzanne Mandala, S., Hajdu, R., Bergstrom, J., Quackenbush E., Xie J., Milligan, J., Thornton, R., Shei, G-J., Card, D., Keohane, C., Rosenbach, M., Hale, J., Lynch, C., Rupprecht, K., Parsons, W., and Rosen, H. (2002) Alteration of Lymphocyte Trafficking by Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Receptor Agonists. Science 296:346-9. Published online 28 March 2002.
Rosen, H., R. Hajdu, L. Silver, H.Kropp, K. Dorso, J. Kohler, J. G. Sundelof, J. Huber, G. G. Hammond, J. J. Jackson, C. J. Gill, R. Thompson, B. A. Pelak, J. H. Epstein-Toney, G. Lankas, R. R. Wilkening, K. J. Wildonger, T. A. Blizzard, F. P. DiNinno, R. W. Ratcliffe, J. V. Heck, J. W. Kozarich, M. L. Hammond (1999) Reduced Immunotoxicity and Preservation of Antibacterial Activity in a Releasable Side-Chain Carbapenem Antibiotic. Science 283:703-6.
Parent, S.A., T. Zhang, G. Chrebet, J.A. Clemas, D.J. Figueroa, B. Ky, R.A. Blevins, C.P. Austin, and H. Rosen. (2002). Molecular characterization of the murine SIGNR1 gene encoding a C-type lectin homologous to human DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR. Gene 293:33.
J. Xie, N. Nomura, E. Quackenbush, M. Forrest and H. Rosen (2002) S1P agonists alter trafficking of antigen activated CD4+ T cells (submitted J. Immunol.).