Nicholas Cosford PhD

Nicholas Cosford, PhD has served on the Sanford Burnham Prebys Board of Trustees since 2023. He is the first faculty member to do so.

Cosford joined the Sanford Burnham Prebys faculty in 2008 as an associate professor. In 2013, he became a full professor. His lab investigates the interactions of small molecule compounds with therapeutically important proteins and cellular signaling pathways. With a specific focus on the discovery and optimization of compounds that might treat cancer, central nervous system diseases and infectious diseases.

Prior to joining Sanford Burnham Prebys in 2005, Cosford worked in both the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.  At Sibia Neurosciences and at Merck Research Laboratories, he directed multidisciplinary research teams focused on small-molecule hit-to-lead optimization and was responsible for moving several lead compounds through to the clinical phase, including a nicotinic agonist (Altinicline) from research to Phase II clinical trials for treating Parkinson’s disease.

He is an author of more than 90 peer-reviewed, published scientific papers, and has been issued more than 40 issued patents, with an additional 40 patent applications pending.

Cosford has a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Bath in England and Doctor of Philosophy degree in organic chemistry from Emory University in Atlanta, GA.  

Related Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), Bone Mineralization Disorders, Breast Cancer, Cancer, Neurodegenerative and Neuromuscular Diseases, Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders, Ovarian Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Prostate Cancer

We are interested in investigating the interactions of small molecule compounds with therapeutically important proteins and cellular signaling pathways. One aspect of our research emphasizes the use of medicinal chemistry and chemical biology approaches to probe intracellular pathways that regulate cell survival and cell growth. Another area of active research is the development of synthetic chemistry methodology using microfluidic technology for the rapid synthesis of biologically active small molecules. Therapeutically, we are primarily focused on the discovery and optimization of compounds that have the potential to treat cancer, CNS diseases and infectious diseases.