The Role of Research Labs in Drug Discovery: Sam Sherratt ’15 on Elucida Labs’ Work 

Sam Sherratt ’15 studied biology, chemistry and molecular biology at Gordon and is the scientific director at Elucida Research, a biotech company in Beverly, MA, that specializes in analytical biochemistry research for cardiovascular disease in partnership with pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions. We sat down with him to ask about his role working in a research lab and trends in the world of cardiovascular health.  

What is Elucida Research? What do they do?   

Elucida is part of the drug-discovery pipeline. Pharmaceutical companies trying to get drugs patented, or who already have patents and want further research, come to us. Our expertise is in biochemistry and biophysics. Primarily, we seek to discover the mechanisms of new cardiovascular treatments to better understand how cardiovascular diseases negatively impact our bodies. Sometimes we test to see if the compounds companies claim are in their drugs are really there, or if there’s something in the drugs that shouldn’t be. Or, maybe a company made a cardiovascular inflammation drug that reduces heart disease but still isn’t sure quite how it works. We provide an impartial, third-party look to help understand the chemistry of these drugs and how that impacts various models of disease. 

In most cases we publish our findings in peer-reviewed literature like scientific journals and through presentations at national or international congresses. Both myself and my colleague, founder of Elucida Dr. Preston Mason ’85, have connections to Harvard Medical School and the Icahn School of Medicine in New York, which open us up to collaboration with some of the top physicians and researchers in this space. Peer review is the bedrock of the world of science; it helps us understand how these drugs work and how we can improve patient care. From there we turn to clinical research and trials to determine whether these drugs actually improve lives. When they do, everyone is happy. But it’s a multilayered, complicated road from coming up with a potential target for a therapy to eventually implementing it into treatment regimen.  

What does a typical day look like at your job? 

My day varies depending on my clients’ needs. Sometimes I’m managing data from a third-party partner and translating it into graphs and charts. Most of the time I look at data we’ve collected to see what’s missing and how it fits into a particular field. Then I consider how to answer the question through an experiment. I put together the experiment, make the protocols, run them myself or with a lab technician and then analyze the data. I think people imagine lab work is this glamorous thing where you’re making discoveries all the time. In reality most experiments only provide incremental advances, and you have to try again and again, many, many times, each time making small changes before you have a comprehensive story.  

Then I write up the results and submit them to scientific journals. I have anywhere from one to four papers I’m working on at a time, from reading up on background information to responding to comments from peer reviewers. There’s always something coming in the world of cardiovascular disease, so I’m constantly reading up on the latest studies. If a new idea drops, your whole concept of what you’re working on could change. You have to constantly be reading, writing and thinking to stay on top of the latest thing! 

What are trends in the world of cardiovascular awareness people should know about? 

Ozempic (semaglutide) is this new weight-loss drug that’s taking the world by storm, especially on social media and in Hollywood. That class of compounds, known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, is showing promising signs in initial trials for not only helping people lose weight and treat type 2 diabetes, but also for reducing many health-related causes of death. Losing weight affects so much of your health: heart disease, sleep apnea, quality of life. If you can come up with a way to help people lose weight without having to change their lifestyle, it would be a game-changer. There’s still lots to learn and analyze about these compounds, but they could be really impactful for a lot of health fields. 

We’re also anticipating big trials being published in the next year or two about a biomarker called lipoprotein(a). It’s a genetically determined biomarker, meaning you can’t change it by your own doing. Studies show this biomarker is strongly correlated to heart disease; higher levels of it equal a greater risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular complications. Clinical studies are underway to test whether novel compounds can reduce the risk of heart disease events by more than 90 percent. If they do, millions of people could reduce their risk of heart disease.    

How did Gordon prepare you for the career you have now? 

I would not be here without Gordon. I got the opportunity to do research with a professor early on in my undergraduate years, which got me comfortable with asking questions and doing things organically. My work at Gordon prepared me to interact with people in the biomedical field. My analytical and instrumental chemistry classes showed me how to actually function in a chemistry lab. When I got an internship at Elucida, I walked in with many of the skills I needed.  

I also can’t say enough about studying liberal arts. It’s important to be well-versed about topics outside your field and able to engage in other skills—especially learning to write! If you can write well, that will carry you through more fields than anything else. I can’t thank Gordon enough for teaching me communicate effectively.