MapLight Therapeutics has named Erin Pennock Foff, MD, Res ’10, PhD, as the company’s chief medical officer. Foff is a trained neurologist with an extensive background in molecular biology and genetics. As a clinician-scientist, she has more than 15 years of experience in conducting and designing clinical trials with a subspecialty focus on cognitive neurology and neurodegenerative/dementia-related diseases.

Previously, Foff served as executive director of clinical development at Acadia Pharmaceuticals and led the company’s programs in the neurodegenerative space, most recently as asset development lead for several compounds. Prior to joining industry, she was an assistant professor at the University of Virginia with a clinical practice in cognitive neurology specializing in early-onset dementing illnesses. During her clinical tenure at UVA, Foff was an investigator in numerous interventional clinical trials in neurodegenerative and neurovascular disease as part of a research-focused multidisciplinary clinic. Additionally, she ran a translational laboratory employing 3-dimensional stem cell technology to investigate diseases of RNA toxicity, with public, philanthropic, and industry partnerships. She holds a doctorate in molecular and human genetics from Baylor College of Medicine, obtained her medical degree at Jefferson Medical College and completed her residency and research fellowship in neurology at UVA. She is a board certified neurologist and a licensed physician.