Dr. Suzanne Tomlinson is the Director of Research Programs and Strategic Initiatives for the Gulf Coast Consortia for Quantitative Biomedical Sciences (GCC), a consortium of eight member institutions (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Rice University, University of Houston, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston [UTMB], The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Institute of Biosciences and Technology of Texas A&M Health Science Center) and several affiliate-member institutions (e.g., Texas Southern University, and The University of Texas at Austin). By working closely with investigators from GCC institutions, she fosters the development of interdisciplinary and strategic research teams and training programs that yield cutting-edge therapeutics, devices, and diagnostics, all with the ultimate goal of enhancing patient care. As Director of the GCC Innovative Drug Discovery and Development Consortium, a shared-resource collaborative that leverages a Texas-wide network of drug development cores, she has been able to forge collaborations across several Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)-funded cores to benefit numerous cancer researchers in the advancement of their innovative technologies.
Notably, Dr. Tomlinson played a key role in the establishment of the CPRIT-funded GCC Center for Comprehensive Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics and Formulation at Texas Southern University. She also co-developed the Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics at TMC Innovation, which drives innovation and fosters collaboration among Texas-based academic and biotech entrepreneurs. Additionally, she serves as Co-PI of the CPRIT-funded Cancer Therapeutics Training Program, a postdoctoral training program she co-developed. She also played a pivotal role in the success of outreach and education initiatives within the CPRIT-funded Texas Screening Alliance for Cancer Therapeutics and Combinatorial Drug Discovery Program.
Before leading GCC Research, Dr. Tomlinson was Director of Molecular Therapeutics for UTMB’s Center for Addiction Research, where she mentored faculty in advancing drug development programs and developed neurotherapeutics targeting the serotonin system to treat substance use disorder. Dr. Tomlinson received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UTMB. During her doctoral research, she developed small-molecule inhibitors of dengue and West Nile viruses, resulting in patented compounds that were out-licensed to industry. Her postdoctoral training focused on developing small-molecule aldose reductase inhibitors as a potential treatment for colon cancer. Dr. Tomlinson continues to serve as an operations and finance consultant, providing guidance to the biotech company that emerged from her thesis laboratory, exemplifying her commitment to bridging the gap between research and commercialization.
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