Cognition-First Biotech
Advancing the Future of Cognition
Building therapeutics and scientific reasoning systems to restore, preserve, and ultimately enhance cognitive function.
Building selectively, partnering thoughtfully, and protecting the science that matters.
Rigorous science. Measurable biology. A long horizon for human cognitive health.
Manhattan Neuroscience is a biotechnology company focused on understanding the biology that governs cognition—and translating that understanding into therapeutic programs.
We begin with defined neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions where biology can be tested rigorously. Over time, the same discovery framework may help illuminate how cognitive function can be restored after disruption, preserved across aging and biological stress, and ultimately enhanced through validated mechanisms.
Cognition Is the Platform
Improve cognitive function where neurological conditions disrupt underlying biology.
Restore
Understand the mechanisms that support cognitive resilience across the lifespan.
Preserve
Explore how validated biology may safely extend cognitive function beyond restoration.
Enhance
Therapeutics provide the first proof. Cognition is the broader biological opportunity.
From Biological Knowledge to Scientific Decisions
Manhattan is developing two complementary systems for cognition discovery.
Cognitive Atlas
What Manhattan knows
The Cognitive Atlas organizes evidence across human genetics, multi-omics, scientific literature, biomarkers, perturbation biology, and experimental results. It preserves not only scientific findings, but also their origins, uncertainties, contradictions, and evolving interpretations over time.
Scientific Reasoning Engine
How Manhattan reasons
The Scientific Reasoning Engine uses evidence to compare biological hypotheses, challenge assumptions, identify uncertainties, and prioritize experiments. It helps determine which therapeutic ideas warrant investigation, guiding decisions through structured reasoning and experimental validation.
Knowledge → Reasoning → Experiment → Evidence → Better Decisions
The Atlas stores the evidence. The SRE helps decide what to test next.
Our Approach
From human evidence to biological reasoning to experimental validation, we combine data, models, and experiments to find what’s real.
Human Evidence First
Human genetics, multi-omics, disease biology, and clinical evidence anchor the questions we pursue.
Biological Reasoning
The Cognitive Atlas and Scientific Reasoning Engine help connect evidence, challenge hypotheses, and prioritize the most informative next step.
Experimental Validation
Predictions matter only when they survive biological testing. Manhattan is designed around explicit experiments, measurable outcomes, and the ability to stop weak programs early.
Therapeutic Translation
Selected programs advance toward molecule discovery, biomarkers, preclinical validation, intellectual property, and clinical development through internal work and specialized partners.
The objective is not more AI output. It is better scientific and therapeutic decisions.
The Manhattan Discovery Loop
Every experiment can improve the evidence available to the next decision.
Where We Begin
Manhattan concentrates on a small number of research areas where cognition biology, human evidence, and therapeutic tractability intersect.
Gene Regulation & Programmable Neurobiology
Neurodegeneration & Cognitive Aging (Preclinical)
Precision Neuropsychiatry (Preclinical)
AI-Driven Drug Discovery & Experimental Loops
Operating Team
A multidisciplinary operating team spanning neuroscience, medicinal chemistry, strategy, law, venture formation, and life-sciences investing.
Priscilla Duggan
Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer
Medicinal chemistry • cognition biology • target evaluation • scientific operations
Graduate training in medicinal chemistry at the University of Edinburgh; MD student at LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans.
Duncan Kliphuis
Co-Founder & Program Development Lead
Neuroscience • cognition biology • program development • scientific partnerships
Neuroscience graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder; MD student at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.
Ryan Place
Operating Lead, Business Development
Partnerships • company operations • external execution • business development
Entrepreneur and founder of Detroit Book Fest.
Lily O’Brien, LLM
Legal & Governance
Corporate governance • contracts • diligence • strategic operations
Law studies at the University of Oxford; Academic Scholar at Christ Church; graduate of The University of Law, with additional study at Panthéon-Assas University.
Nick Castoria, MBA 2026
Strategy & Operations
Corporate strategy • operating development • partnerships • fundraising support
Harvard Business School; Strategy Consultant at Accenture; University of Pennsylvania Class of 2019; participant in Sponsors for Educational Opportunity.
Amie Leighton, BA
Venture & Growth
Company building • fundraising • partnerships • behavioral-health strategy
Co-Founder of Allia Health, focused on Precision Psychiatry; studied at the University of Oxford and Christ Church.
Ben Cyrulnik, MS
IP & Life-Sciences Strategy
Biotech diligence • intellectual property • pharmaceutical science • investment analysis
Investment Associate at JLS Fund; Patent Analyst at Calyx Law; background in Pharmaceutical Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Built lean by emerging founders and operators; amplified by experienced scientific advisors and specialized partners.
Scientific & Strategic Advisors
Manhattan’s operating team is supported by senior scientists, clinicians, technologists, legal experts, and company builders across neuroscience and biotechnology.
George Church, PhD
Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School; founding core faculty member, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.
Stephen Haggarty, PhD
Director, MGH Chemical Neurobiology Laboratory; Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School; Senior Associate, Broad Institute.
John Granata, MEng
Product Director, Coinbase; former Director of Engineering at Coinbase; trained in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT.
Glenn Cohen, JD
Deputy Dean, Harvard Law School; James A. Attwood and Leslie Williams Professor of Law; Faculty Director, Petrie-Flom Center.
Jacob Hooker, PhD
Lurie Family Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School; Director of Radiochemistry, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Logan Fahrenkopf, JD
Attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; background spanning biotechnology, intellectual property, and emerging life-sciences companies.
Jerrold Rosenbaum, MD
Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Emeritus Chief of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Brendan Hussey, PhD
President & CEO, Zymgeist Labs; Vice President, JLS Fund; former Stifel Investment Banking associate; synthetic-biology background.
Maurizio Fava, MD
Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Massachusetts General Hospital; Chair of Psychiatry, Mass General Brigham Academic Medical Centers.
Dominique Russo, MBA, MPA
Technology entrepreneur and strategist working across AI, extended reality, innovation, and emerging technology ecosystems.
AI Is a Tool for Scientific Judgment
Manhattan does not measure progress by how sophisticated an AI output sounds. We measure progress by whether reasoning leads to better hypotheses, better experiments, and ultimately better biological decisions.
Prediction is useful. Experimental validation is decisive.
Our
Talent
Invitation
We’re assembling a small, exceptional team at the intersection of cognition biology, scientific AI, genomics, medicinal chemistry, and experimental neuroscience.
If you want to help build rigorous tools and therapeutics to understand, restore, preserve, and ultimately enhance cognition, we’d like to hear from you.
Who We’re Looking For
Six complementary disciplines. One shared scientific mission.
Scientific AI & SRE Engineering
Reasoning systems • evaluation • scientific software • agent orchestration • evidence infrastructure
Cognition Biology & Genomics
Human genetics • single-cell biology • multi-omics • causal inference • regulatory biology
Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacology
Small-molecule discovery • CNS pharmacology • ADME • translational drug development
Translational Experimentalists
Human cellular systems • assay development • biomarkers • electrophysiology • reproducibility-first workflows
Data & Platform Engineering
Scientific databases • provenance • automation • knowledge systems • laboratory interfaces
Operator Builders
Program management • partnerships • biotech operations • regulatory strategy • company building
High agency, intellectual honesty, and scientific discipline matter more to us than conventional career paths.
Start a Conversation
Manhattan Neuroscience is building a cognition-first biotechnology company at the intersection of human biology, scientific reasoning, and therapeutic discovery.
We welcome conversations with scientific collaborators, prospective team members, strategic partners, and investors who share a long horizon for cognition.
We review inquiries carefully and engage selectively where there is a strong scientific or strategic fit.