Gregg F. Keaney Photo: Mark Ostow

CHARACTER SKETCH

Drug Hunter

NAME: Gregg F. Keaney, A00

PASSION: Solving the challenges of drug discovery

LIFE’S WORK: Designing, synthesizing, and optimizing molecules to develop drugs to fight cancer. Currently he’s doing that as a senior scientific investigator at a biotech startup in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

WHAT HE LOVES ABOUT BIOTECH: The opportunity to have a meaningful impact on people’s lives and to be creative in the process. “There’s a misconception that since organic chemistry is a ‘hard science,’ creativity must be limited or nonexistent. But that’s far from the truth. Any molecule can be built using a variety of strategic approaches, and chemists have to rely on their intuition to get the job done. Those tangential observations and gut feelings can often be the key in discovering new drugs.”

WHAT HE LOVES ABOUT STARTUPS: “Their vibrancy. Working at a startup company means wearing a lot of hats and stretching beyond your comfort zone. The fields of chemistry and drug discovery are rapidly changing. Your scientific training is important, but you also have to develop a broader set of skills that allows you to communicate across disciplines and make quick, effective decisions.”