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Adam Yasgar

NIH/NCATS, Maryland, United States

Adam S. Yasgar obtained his B.Sc. in chemistry from George Washington University in 2001. During his undergraduate years, he developed an interest in analytical chemistry while using HPLC/MS to identify illegal components in dietary supplements for the FDA. This experience led to his first position at Pfizer's Groton, CT research facility in the Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics, and Metabolism preclinical group. At Pfizer, Yasgar was part of a team specializing in the CNS therapeutic area, contributing to the development of two approved drugs, asenapine (Saphris) and varenicline (Chantix).

In 2005, he joined the newly established NIH Chemical Genomics Center (NCGC) at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). Initially, the center had a small staff, and Yasgar played a key role in building a multidisciplinary team of automation and compound management experts. He later joined the biology team under the leadership of Dr. Anton Simeonov, where he focused on miniaturizing biochemical and cell-based assays for high-throughput screening (HTS) campaigns to create small-molecule probes.

In 2011, the NIH formed the NIH Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), with NCGC as its core research and screening arm. At NCATS, Yasgar collaborates in a team of specialists with diverse backgrounds in biology, informatics, and medicinal chemistry. They work with various partners, including other NIH institutes, academia, biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies, to identify probe molecules through target- and phenotypic-based HTS assays.

During his 18 years at NIH, Yasgar has been involved in over 40 HTS campaigns, resulting in more than 50 publications and 15 probe molecules. He is also dedicated to mentoring young scientists and has been involved in various programs and achievements, including leading the Summer Internship Training Program, contributing to the creation of the NCATS Pharmaceutical Collection, and leading a team that identified a Zika virus inhibitor during the 2016 public health emergency.

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