Lab Director

David M. Devilbiss, Ph.D.

Over 15 years experience in academia and industry focusing on the neurobiology of cognitive function, electrophysiology biomarker development, and drug discovery. Subject matter expert in the neurobiology of the locus coeruleus, stress, attention, and memory, depression, epilepsy, ADHD, and concussion. I am an accomplished in vivo neurophysiologist and data scientist and an expert in EEG, local field potentials, single and multi-unit neuronal recordings, neurostimulation, statistics and big data mining techniques. I continue to team with academics and industry to solve problems of basic sciences for the development of therapeutics.

Assistant Professor

2017 – Present Dept. of Cell Biology & Neuroscience; Rowan University - SOM., Stratford, NJ

  • Determining the role of the locus coeruleus efferent pathway in post-concussive cognitive impairment.
  • Neurobiology of norepinephrine, corticotrophin releasing factor, stress, memory, and attention.
  • Determining the electrophysiological, neurochemical, and behavioral effects of stress-induced cognitive impairment.

Associate Director and Senior Data Analyst of Translational EEG

2017 PsychoGenics Inc., Tarrytown, NY

  • Established all preclinical EEG signal processing algorithms, statistics, and software development.
  • Accountable for global business development and operations of all translational EEG projects.

Founder and President

2007 – 2017 NexStep Biomarkers, Madison, WI

  • Established and overseeing all preclinical laboratory activities, signal processing algorithms, statistics and machine learning, and software development.
  • Collaborated with academia and industry to deliver translational and key biomarker signature data of novel therapeutics for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, depression, and other CNS disorders.
  • Accountable for global business development and operations of all biomarker projects.
  • Served as key opinion leader and knowledge expert in electrophysiology.
  • Licensed all technologies to Psychogenics, Inc.

Principal Investigator and Assistant Neuroscientist

2007 – 2017 University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

  • Established innovative multiple single cell and ECoG/EEG recordings in awake behaving animals.
  • Developed novel signal processing algorithms and big data processing strategies saving < 250k and years of manual data analyses.

Founder and Head of Research and Development

2012 – 2016 Cerora Inc., Bethlehem, PA

  • Data fusion analytics and signal processing lead for clinical EEG, biometric data, and cognitive assessments to drive biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and mild traumatic brain injury.
  • Delivered first revenue from pharmaceutical contract and clinical neurological evaluations.
  • Collaborated with multiple academic and industrial teams to provide high-quality results for clinicians resulting in 25 scientific abstracts and papers and multiple patents.

Senior Research Biologist

2006 – 2007 Merck & Co. West Point, PA.

  • Head of EEG signal processing and analytics software development for screening novel therapeutics – became industry standard for pharmaco-EEG saving 5K hours of manual interpretation annually.
  • Collaborated with Departments of Sleep & Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, disease, academic laboratories and contract research organizations.
  • Demonstrated CNS penetrance and efficacy of characterized and screened pharmaceutical agents.
  • Provided translational bridge between discovery and clinical teams.

Postdoctoral fellow

2002 – 2006 Laboratory of C.W. Berridge, Dept. of Psychology – Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

  • Determining the electrophysiological, neurochemical, and behavioral effects of therapeutically-relevant doses of Ritalin in rats.
  • Developed preparation to investigate changes in signal processing of multiple single neurons across functional sensory or limbic circuits in the awake behaving animal during manipulations of the monoamine projection systems.
  • Demonstrated CNS penetrance and efficacy of characterized and screened pharmaceutical agents.
  • Provided translational bridge between discovery and clinical teams.

Ph.D. in Neuroscience

1996-2002 Laboratory of B.D. Waterhouse, Dept. of Neurobiology & Anatomy - Drexel Univ., Phila PA

  • Studied the impact of the locus coeruleus efferent pathway on thalamic and cortical sensory neuron response properties in the awake rat.
  • Developed preparation to investigate changes in signal processing of multiple single neurons across functional sensory or limbic circuits in the awake behaving animal during manipulations of the monoamine projection systems.
  • Demonstrated CNS penetrance and efficacy of characterized and screened pharmaceutical agents.
  • Provided translational bridge between discovery and clinical teams.

B.A. in Psychology

1990-1994 Laboratory of G. Cicala, Psychology Dept. Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE

  • Studied the Effects of Nitric Oxide Synthetase Inhibitors on Learning and Memory in Rat.