Nigel H. Greig (PhD, University of London 1982) heads the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Drug Design & Development Section, which combines cellular, molecular and in vivo pharmacology with medicinal chemistry. The focus of the NIA is to design novel agents against rate-limiting steps involved in the pathophysiology of diseases associated with aging, with an emphasis on the nervous system. These include chronic progressive disorders, like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer's disease, and acute conditions, such as head trauma and stroke.

Novel compounds from Dr. Greig’s program are utilized in extensive multidisciplinary collaborations as pharmacological tools to elucidate disease mechanisms, and, for specific agents, drug-like features are incorporated to provide appropriate features to support their use as drugs to test new treatment strategies. This has resulted in the development of several novel drug classes from concept into clinical studies in neurodegenerative disorders and diabetes.