Andres Hurtado-Lorenzo

Andres Hurtado-Lorenzo, PhD has a distinguished work experience in the field of translational research, drug discovery, and neurodegenerative diseases. Andres currently holds the position of Senior Vice President, Translational Research & IBD Ventures at the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation since 2016. Prior to this, they served as Vice President and Senior Director of Translational Research & IBD Ventures at the same organization.

Before joining the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, Andres worked at Proteostasis Therapeutics, Inc. (PTI) as a Senior Scientist and Team Lead from 2011 to 2016. Andres played a crucial role in the drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases and preclinical development for cystic fibrosis. During their tenure, they led a preclinical development program and successfully nominated PTI-428 as a clinical candidate for first in human trials for cystic fibrosis. Andres also directed and executed research that established an innovative proteasomal enhancers project for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Prior to PTI, Andres worked at Pfizer as a Senior Scientist and Program Lead from 2007 to 2011. Here, they contributed to drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases by establishing novel cell-based and in vivo pharmacodynamics models. Andres made significant discoveries related to the Parkinson's disease gene LRRK2 and its role in alpha-Synuclein aggregation. Andres also collaborated with medicinal chemists for lead compound identification and validation.

Andres began their career as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Columbia University from 2006 to 2007. Their research focused on the role of signaling phospholipids in autophagy and neurodegeneration. During this time, they made a groundbreaking discovery of the PLD1 signaling pathway's role in autophagy and its function in neurodegeneration. This research was published in Nature Communications.

Before joining Columbia University, they worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Medicine at Harvard Medical School from 2002 to 2006. Their project was focused on molecular mechanisms of lysosomal protein degradation pathways. Andres published a highly influential paper in Nature Cell Biology, which shed light on the regulation of the protein degradation pathway and the role of vacuolar pH in this process. Andres also discovered a novel role of the V-ATPase as an endosomal pH-sensor.

Overall, Andres Hurtado-Lorenzo, PhD has made significant contributions in the field of translational research and drug discovery. Andres has a strong background in neurodegenerative diseases and has led multiple successful preclinical development programs. Their research findings have been published in reputable journals, and they have collaborated with industry leaders and experts in the field.

Andres Hurtado-Lorenzo, PhD pursued their education starting from 1997 to 2002 at The University of Manchester. During this period, they completed their Ph.D. in the field of Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy. Prior to that, they attended Pontificia Universidad Javeriana for an unspecified duration and obtained knowledge in Molecular Biology.