The University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy has created a new Center for Pharmaceutical Research and Innovation that will serve as a catalyst for drug discovery and development research.
Jon Thorson has been tapped as the center’s inaugural director and will serve as professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the UK Chandler Medical Center Endowed Chair in Pharmaceutical Research and Innovation.
Thorson’s research focuses on developing antibiotics and anticancer drugs from natural products and is currently funded through the National Institutes of Health.
He is also the co-founder of a start-up company in Madison, Wis., called Centrose, a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for the treatment of cancer and other hard-to-treat diseases.
Thorson said CPRI will help enhance the competitiveness of UK faculty in securing federal research funding in the area of drug discovery and development, while building upon the college’s strong tradition of educating graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for careers in drug discovery and development.
“As Kentucky’s land-grant institution, UK must be focused on creating new professional opportunities for its students and alumni,” said Thorson. “My belief is that CPRI can help do that for those students and graduates interested in exploring an exciting career in the pharmaceutical industry – right here in Kentucky.”
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