Bright Minds Biosciences announced that Mark A. Smith M.D., Ph.D. will join the Company as Chief Medical Officer, effective December 1, 2022. The Company also announces that Dr. Revati Shreeniwas' engagement with Bright Minds as Chief Medical Officer has been terminated. Prior to joining Bright Minds, Dr. Smith was Chief Medical Officer at VistaGen Therapeutics, where he led the clinical development of drug candidates in the areas of major depression, social anxiety disorder, and depression through all phases of development.

Previously, Dr. Smith served as the Clinical Lead for Neuropsychiatry at Teva Pharmaceuticals, where he was accountable for the strategy and clinical development of neuropsychiatric drugs with a focus on schizophrenia, sleep disorders, and agitation. He also held a range of director positions, including as Executive Director of Clinical Development at AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical Company, where he led the development of several novel chemical entities targeting treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. Dr. Smith was also Senior Director of Experimental Medicine of Global Clinical Development and Innovation at Shire Pharmaceuticals and Senior Investigator and Principal Research Scientist of CNS Diseases at DuPont Pharmaceuticals.

Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, he served as a Senior Staff Scientist of the Biological Psychiatry Branch and Senior Staff Fellow of the Clinical Neuroendocrinology Branch at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Dr. Smith received his Bachelor's degree and Master of Science from Yale University, his Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy in Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of California, San Diego, and completed his residency in the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center. He currently serves on the National Institute of Mental Health Translational Neuropsychopharmacology Task Force.