On the path from chemistry to neuroscience: Early explorations in chemical medicine under the mentorship of Dr. Erminio Costa, a neuroscientist with a big brain and a bigger heart

In this short note in tribute to Dr. Erminio Costa, I reflect upon the sabbatical period that I spent with him during his early years at the Fidia-Georgetown Institute for the Neurosciences [FGIN] at the Georgetown University Medical Center. I detail some of the interesting projects that we were involved in at that time, that led us to create strong bridges between chemistry and the neurosciences, and that led in turn to the discovery of various classes of interesting molecular tools such as the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor ligand FGIN-1-27.