Dr. Free received his B.S. from Capital University in Biology and Chemistry and his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Pharmacology, where he studied the characterization and regulation of neuronal nicotinic receptors with Dr. Dennis McKay.
Dr. Free came to the NIH for a postdoctoral fellowship in the Molecular Neuropharmacology Section with Dr. David Sibley to investigate the regulation and proteomics dopamine receptor trafficking and was appointed as a research fellow in 2009. Dr. Free was appointed as an NINDS staff scientist in 2011 and his work focuses on the identification and optimization of dopamine receptor chemical probes and therapeutics, and the use of those compounds both as clinical candidates and probes to study molecular interactions and signaling of dopamine receptors.
In April, 2022, Dr. Free joined the NINDS Office of the Scientific Director (OSD) as Assistant Director of Science Operations Support. In this capacity, Dr. Free:
- Oversees policy, planning, and operations of NINDS and shared/collaborative core facilities
- Serves as an ex-Officio member for key NINDS advisory committees.
- Supports operational and strategic space planning and tracking, physical emergency management and facilities activities, and lab renovations/shutdown planning.
- Interfaces with data storage facilities and IT operations.
- Oversees the equipment reallocation processes, equipment calls, research collaboration calls/awards.
- Serves as internal resource/liaison for employees, trainees and CIVIL, functioning as an internal resource to explain options and facilitate support.
- Provides scientific leadership of the Personnel Transition Unit (PTU), a program designed to reassign well performing federal employees deemed displaced due to departure/retirement of a PI or restructuring (i.e., lab closure, consolidation, downsizing, etc.)