Director, Office of Translational Initiatives and Program Innovations (OTIPI)
National Institute on Drug Abuse/NIH, Maryland
Elena Koustova, Ph.D., MBA is the Director of the Office of Translational Initiatives and Program Innovations (OTIPI) at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), NIH. Elena is a trained applied neuroscientist and an experienced biomedical product developer, with more than 25 years of practice in translational research in both the public and private sectors. Elena is a founding member of the NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network, the virtual pharma unit that provides neuroscience researchers with funding and access to a full range of industry-style drug development services and expertise. She also coordinates NIDA’s multimillion small business programs and establishes strategic partnerships in areas of drug development, entrepreneurship, translational research, and technology transfer. Before joining NIH, Elena worked at DOV Pharmaceutical, where she directed programs on the discovery of novel targets and drugs, with a particular focus on treatments for depression and pain. Elena earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Moscow State University and her MBA in Executive Leadership and Organizational Innovation from the Gallup Organization/UNL. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in neuropharmacology at the NIH Intramural Program.
Saturday, April 15, 2023
10:15 AM – 11:30 AM