Frederick Westhorpe, Ph.D.

Professional Bio

Ethos

My commitment, and my priority, is to create inclusive and empowering environments where people feel valued and supported. I believe great science happens when people collaborate openly, share ideas freely, and celebrate diverse perspectives. My leadership and communication style is rooted in trust, kindness, and a genuine desire to help others excel in their roles.

Biotech & Pharma

I driving drug discovery and development in CNS disorders, using nature's complex chemistry as a guide towards outsized, differentiated human efficacy. I take pride in providing both detail-oriented execution and high-level strategic input.

I began my industry career at Merck Research Labs in South San Francisco (USA), where I established pharmacology strategies for small molecule target identification, hit ID and lead optimisation, and led development across metabolic indications.

At CuraSen Therapeutics (USA), as a founding employee, I built, scaled, and managed the in vitro pharmacology lab and team. We advanced multiple small-molecule programs targeting GPCR activation in the CNS, including two programs now in clinical trials. CuraSen aims to slow or even reverse symptoms of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.

As Director of Discovery Pharmacology at COMPASS Pathways (UK), I led the pharmacology team and multiple research programs, advancing assets towards clinical readiness. I oversaw multi-million pound annual discovery partnerships and contributed to the preclinical team and R&D portfolio growth strategy.

I am currently head of preclinical research at Brandaris Therapeutics, developing next-generation serotonergic activators for CNS disorders. I also have a number of C-suite advisory and ongoing consulting roles.

Academia

My academic journey began at Newcastle University (UK), where I earned a First-Class BSc Honours degree in Human Genetics. I completed a Wellcome Trust-funded Ph.D. in cell biology at the University of Manchester (UK), during which time I discovered pathways controlling cell division, advancing understanding of mechanisms exploited by cancers for rapid growth.

I joined Stanford University’s Department of Biochemistry (USA) as a postdoc, using novel biochemical techniques to study the epigenetic control of genome integrity.

I continue to advise academic groups, particularly in terms of translating novel science into executable, translational biotech companies with potential therapeutic value to patients.