Keith A. Gary, Ph.D., Vice President at the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute is responsible for building regional scientific collaboration to compete more effectively for federal research dollars, ensuring the availability of a competent workforce well-trained in math and science, and advocating for life sciences research and commercialization at the local, state and federal levels.

Prior to joining the Life Sciences Institute, Dr. Gary was an Assistant Professor and Director of Basic Science Laboratories in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut. Dr. Gary positioned his research program at the preclinical/clinical interface, allowing new discoveries in the laboratory to quickly impact clinical care and to bring clinical observations back to the lab for analysis in appropriate animal models. His research interests were focused on thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) as a neurotransmitter in the brain and what role TRH played in mechanisms underlying mood disorders (bipolar disorder, depression). His research aimed at understanding neurochemical changes in specific brain regions and their relationship to psychiatric disorders has led to Dr. Gary’s interest in supporting patient advocacy groups focused on neurological and psychiatric disorders. In addition to his research activities, Dr. Gary was actively engaged in medical, graduate and postgraduate education. He served as Co-director of the Psychopharmacology Didactic Courses for Psychiatry Residents (PGYII/III), and was a member of the faculty in the Neuroscience and Pharmacology Graduate Programs.

Dr. Gary received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Missouri-Kansas City under the direction of Dr. Bibie Chronwall. He completed postdoctoral training with Dr. Andrew Winokur at the University of Pennsylvania in neuropsychopharmacology. Dr. Gary is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society, the New York Academy of Sciences and the Society for Neuroscience. He has numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals and was a contributing author to Basic Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications of Bipolar Disorder.

Collaborate2Cure:Ameliorating Mitochondrial Dysfunction as a Therapeutic Strategy in Neurodegenerative Disease, Kent Leslie