Dr. Mark W. Holladay is Vice President of Drug Discovery and Medicinal Chemistry at Ambit Biosciences (San Diego, California) where he leads drug discovery programs in oncology and autoimmune diseases and has contributed to compounds in clinical development. He began his drug hunting career at Abbott Laboratories where he achieved the position of Volwiler Associate Research Fellow as a medicinal chemist and project leader in the Neurosciences Research Area. He also conducted collaborative drug discovery research as a member of contract research organizations including Biofocus and Discovery Partners International. He is a co-author on over 70 peer-reviewed research articles, reviews, or… chapters and is named as an inventor on over 40 patents and patent applications. Dr. Holladay earned his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University, his Ph.D. at Northwestern University under the direction of Professor Richard B. Silverman, and conducted postdoctoral studies with Professor Daniel H. Rich at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.