Meet Our Team

Richard Layer

Rick Layer serves as Senior Vice President, Head of Research at Myrtelle. He joined the company in 2021, bringing more than 25 years of experience in the development of CNS therapies within the medical device, pharmaceutical, and gene therapy industries. Most recently, Rick was Sr. Director of Pharmacology and Preclinical Development at Renascent Biosciences where he led gene therapy research and translational efforts for neurodegenerative and kidney diseases. Prior to Renascent, he headed research groups at InVivo Therapeutics and Cognetix, Inc., was director of Program Operations at Alseres Pharmaceuticals, and cofounded Ganglion Therapeutics where he was Chief Scientific Officer. Rick is a co-author of over 35 scientific publications, review articles, and book chapters, a co-inventor on over 10 patents, and an enthusiastic banjo player. Rick is a graduate of Gettysburg College, obtained his M.Sc. at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and his Ph.D. in Pharmacology at The Ohio State University. He conducted his post-Doctoral research training at the Laboratory of Neuroscience, NIDDK, of the National Institutes of Health. A central, driving force for Rick is the desire to bridge the gap between basic scientific research and the development of new therapeutic interventions that improve patients’ lives.