The Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery at Vanderbilt University (WCNDD) extends traditional academic pursuits in basic science to take the most exciting advances in our understanding of human disease and drug targets to a point where these breakthroughs can directly impact patient care. The most innovative and potentially high impact new approaches for treatment of human disease that arise from academic basic science efforts are often untested and pose unacceptable risks for investment of the tremendous capital required to discover and develop a new drug in an industry setting. This is especially true in discovery of new treatment strategies for the most serious of brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, autism, and others. By incorporating the highest level of drug discovery into academic research, we are able to advance the most exciting scientific breakthroughs beyond the lab and toward the development of patentable and marketable drugs suited for clinical studies.