Dr Hughes was formerly vice president and global head of cardiovascular and metabolism disease area at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Cambridge, where he directed drug discovery research teams specializing in cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and related metabolic disorders.
Dr Hughes has earned his PhD in nutritional biochemistry from Tufts University and received an MS in zoology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Dr Hughes graduated with a BA in biology from Franklin and Marshall College.
Peter Barrett, chairman of board of directors at Zafgen, said: Tom’s experience is ideally suited to lead Zafgen through our next stage of growth as we prepare to enter the clinic with our first drug candidate in 2009. His move to join Zafgen is further validation of this disruptive approach to treating obesity.”