Dr. Kenneth S. Kilgore

Vice President of Scientific Operations

Ken earned his undergraduate and M.S. (Cell Biology) degrees from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1987 and 1989, respectively. In 1993, he obtained his Ph.D. in Pharmacology at the University of Michigan followed by postdoctoral training in the Department of Pathology (University of Michigan). Over the next 23 years, Ken held a series of positions in the pharmaceutical industry with stops at Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline, where he was Head of Translational Pharmacology for the ImmunoInflammation Center of Excellence. In 2009, Ken joined Janssen Pharmaceuticals, where he established the ImmunoPharmacology Group (Immunology TA) which focused on in vivo modeling and translational sciences. Upon being named a Director in 2010, Ken formed the Early Proof-of-Concept group which sought to establish non-traditional, external collaborations/alliances to rapidly progress early-stage assets. After leaving Janssen In 2019, Ken joined Princeton University as an Executive-in-Residence. The following year, he joined Beyond Celiac, a non-profit organization focused on developing treatments for celiac disease, where he served as the Chief Scientific Investment Officer for the organization. Ken is an author on over 60 scientific publications and completed his Executive MBA at St. Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, PA). He is also active in the venture capital and biotech start-up communities in both Pennsylvania and Michigan. Ken currently resides in Berwyn, Pennsylvania with his wife and two daughters.

We chose Melior Discovery because they were responsive and cost effective. We are staying with them as a chosen scientific partner because of their thoughtful scientific input to experimental design and attention to detail. Their expertise and flexibility allowed us to quickly adapt the study design and evaluate additional outcome measures to pursue unexpected activity.
Sridharan Rajamani, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist
Gilead Sciences
I have been working with Melior on a number of projects over the course of a few years now. They have been a great partner throughout this time. The scientists whom I have worked with have been great problem-solvers and were customer focused
Jay Lichter
Avalon Ventures
[We] have been impressed with [Melior’s] ability to rapidly and effectively evaluate compounds in animal models…as we strive to identify compounds to ameliorate the devastating symptoms of Rett,
Monica Coenraads, Executive Director
Rett Syndrome Research Trust
Melior is more than just a service company. Their experienced staff guided us in our drug development efforts. We consider Melior an extension of our own research team.
Josh Schultz
Carolus Therapeutics
Addex Therapeutics has been collaborating with Melior Discovery for more than a year. The studies performed at Melior are always carefully planned and skilfully executed while the progress of the project is well-tracked and communicated to the customer. On several occasions, when testing our compounds in a new in vivo assay, we relied on Melior's scientists in their guidance and advice. We have been particularly pleased with a series of experiments involving assessment of compounds' profiles in the rat sleep/wake EEG. This approach, that has a translational relevance, offered a sensitive measure of a compound's efficacy and side-effects
Mikhail Kalinichev, Ph.D., Associate Research Director
Addex Therapeutics
Having worked with Melior quite extensively over the past several years, we find the team to be highly knowledgeable, responsive and adaptable to our needs. The overall process has been highly efficient and we are impressed by the quality of their reports
Christopher Prior, Ph.D., CEO,
PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals Inc.
…to evaluate our lead compound in an EEG-based sleep wake model. Melior’s very experienced team provided valuable insights and recommendations on study design, analysis and interpretation of the data. As a virtual company, Prexa relied on Melior to become an extension of our knowledge team and they met all our expectations
Pat Baskin and Ev Graham
Prexa Pharmaceuticals
State of-the-art Preclinical Pharmacology
Melior provided State-of-the-art Preclinical Pharmacology Support for a period of nearly a year where a series of in vivo studies were completed on a weekly basis. The staff was extremely user-friendly and the operational processes were excellent. I can recommend Melior without reservation.
Richard DiMarchi, PhD
Cox Professor of Chemistry & Gil Chair in Biomolecular Sciences Indiana University, Department of Chemistry