Dr. Christopher Lepsy

Class of 1980
Career Pathway: Health Sciences

Christopher Lepsy, a GHS honors graduate, participated in football, basketball and forensics. He graduated cum laude from Michigan State University in 1985 with a bachelor of science degree and from the University of Michigan in 1996 with a master of science degree. He earned his Ph.D. in pharmacokinetics from the University of Michigan in 2001.

Dr. Lepsy’s dissertation focused on biomolecular transport processes in the kidney. His research demonstrated, for the first time, that certain antibiotics can be significantly reabsorbed by the kidney, thereby extending their duration of action. Previously it had been thought that the kidney only eliminated certain drugs of this class. His research has also demonstrated that certain acid, base and dipeptide-like drugs handled by the kidney may have the potential for drug-drug interactions.

As a senior principal scientist in the Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics and Metabolism Department of Pfizer Global Research and Development, Dr. Lepsy continues research on the discovery and development of new medicines, as well as on the biomolecular processes in the kidney that are key determinants of how drugs are eliminated from the body.

Dr. Lepsy’s grandmother, Eleanor Gorman Hunter, and his mother, Jackie Hunter Lepsy, graduated from GHS, and his siblings attended GHS. He is married, lives in Ann Arbor and has five children.