John Oldenhof

Dr. John Oldenhof is an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Toronto and Executive Director, Clinical Pharmacology at Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. He is a clinical pharmacologist and neuropharmacologist with more than 25 years of experience in clinical drug development, spanning early translational development through Phase III clinical programs.

Dr. Oldenhof completed his graduate training in pharmacology at the University of Toronto. His doctoral research in molecular neuropharmacology examined intracellular signaling and protein-protein interactions associated with dopamine receptors, with a particular focus on SH3-domain interactions involving the dopamine D3 and D4 receptors.

His scientific interests lie at the interface of clinical pharmacology, translational neuroscience, and therapeutic development. His work has included first-in-human development, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, dose selection, drug-drug interactions, food-effect studies, human abuse potential assessment, and the integration of clinical pharmacology data into regulatory and clinical development strategy.

A major focus of his current work is therapeutic development for genetic epilepsies and rare neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Oldenhof is particularly interested in how natural-history data, clinical outcome measures, biomarkers, pharmacology, and individual disease trajectories can be integrated to improve clinical trial design and interpretation of treatment effects in small and heterogeneous patient populations. He collaborates with researchers at the University of Toronto and other institutions on emerging natural-history and translational research initiatives in rare neurological disease.

Dr. Oldenhof serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the STXBP1 Foundation and is also an active parent advocate. Drawing on both his scientific background and lived experience as a parent, he contributes to efforts to incorporate patient and family perspectives into therapeutic development. He has represented the Foundation in regulatory and scientific forums and has contributed both parent and researcher perspectives to discussions involving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Epilepsy Foundation, and the broader epilepsy research community.

At the University of Toronto, Dr. Oldenhof contributes to teaching and scholarly activities in clinical pharmacology, translational drug development, and related areas of pharmacology and therapeutics.

Select Publications

1. Bernstein G, Davis K, Mills C, Wang L, McDonnell M, Oldenhof J, Inturrisi CE, Manfredi PL and Vitolo OV (2019) Characterization of the Safety and Pharmacokinetic Profile of D-Methadone, a Novel N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Antagonist in Healthy, Opioid-Naive Subjects: Results of Two Phase 1 Studies. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 39: 226-237.

2. Setnik B, Sokolowska M, Johnson F, Oldenhof J and Romach M (2014) Evaluation of the Safety, Pharmacodynamic, and Pharmacokinetic Effects Following Oral Coadministration of Immediate-Release Morphine with Ethanol in Healthy Male Participants. Hum Psychopharmacol. 29: 251-265.

3. Oldenhof J, Hochberg M, Schiff M and Brune K (2010) Effect of Maximum OTC Doses of Naproxen Sodium or Acetaminophen on Low-Dose Aspirin Inhibition of Serum Thromboxane B2. Curr Med Res Opin. 26: 1497-1504.

4. Schiff M, Hochberg MC, Oldenhof J and Brune K (2009) Platelet Inhibitory Effects of OTC Doses of Naproxen Sodium Compared with Prescription Dose Naproxen Sodium and Low-Dose Aspirin. Curr Med Res Opin. 25: 2471-2477.

5. Torres Filho IP, Spiess BD, Barbee RW, Ward KR, Oldenhof J and Pittman RN (2005) Systemic Responses to Hemodilution after Transfusion with Stored Blood and with a Hemoglobin-Based Oxygen Carrier. Anesth Analg. 100: 912-920.

6. Oldenhof J, Ray A, Vickery R and Van Tol HH (2001) SH3 Ligands in the Dopamine D3 Receptor. Cell Signal. 13: 411-416.

7. Oak JN, Oldenhof J and Van Tol HH (2000) The Dopamine D(4) Receptor: One Decade of Research. Eur J Pharmacol. 405: 303-327.

8. Oldenhof J, Vickery R, Anafi M, Oak J, Ray A, Schoots O, Pawson T, von Zastrow M and Van Tol HH (1998) SH3 Binding Domains in the Dopamine D4 Receptor. Biochemistry. 37: 15726-15736.