Thomas Helton Email & Phone Number

Chapel Hill, Nc, Us

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

Program manager for g protein coupled receptor (GPCR) pharmaceutical target research initiatives in the Roth lab in the Department of Pharmacology at UNC Chapel Hill.

Durham, North Carolina, United States

EvE Bio is a Convergent Research focused research organization (FRO), on a 5-year mission to map the pharmome: the union of the sets of all approved pharmaceuticals and the gene products with which they functionally interact, particularly including their unintended or currently unknown targets. Learn more about the FRO model for high-impact research funding at ConvergentResearch.org.

Triangle Park, Nc

Lead research on Morphological and excitatory synaptic diversity in hippocampal area CA2 pyramidal neurons. Studied effects of alternative splicing on biophysical and pharmacological properties of L-type voltage-gate calcium channels in mammalian hippocampus. ► Held full accountability for project management, research, budgeting, and resource allocation for a 2-year study that culminated in the discovery of a new aspect of brain functioning in a disease state. ✓ Built new data set from scratch. ✓ Negotiated for equipment, space, supplies, fund allocations, and intellectual property rights.✓ Published findings in peer reviewed journal; presented data to experts at global neuroscience conference.✓ Developed business plan and budget to justify equipment purchases. ✓ Leveraged relationships with technology creators and electrophysiology vendors to eliminate tens of thousands of dollars in costs. ✓ Forged strategic partnerships with Duke, UNC, and Stanford to optimize resources.

Cambridge, Ma

Researched inheritable risk factors of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Investigated and developed selective dopamine antagonists for treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Studied pharmacological intervention in age-related and disease related cognitive decline as well as active transport of neuro-active agents across the blood/brain barrier. Oversaw $2M budget and staff of 10 research scientists. ► Led strategies for expediting drug target identification/testing while remaining under budget.✓ Championed non-conventional drug discovery methodologies that uncovered evidence to fuel Phase 1 trials. ✓ Collaborated with medicinal chemists to identify a compound for stabilizing receptors that culminated in Phase 2 trials for a therapeutic for Parkinson’s disease. ✓ Reinvestigated a drug target originally considered unviable and created an option that provided a safe alternative for treating schizophrenia and bi-polar that was recognized with Pfizer’s Innovative Scientist Award. ✓ Consistently came in on or under budget; created forecasts to ensure costs for personnel, supplies, and equipment were properly allocated; achieved 100% on-time payment to vendors. ✓ Negotiated research funding agreements with Harvard, MIT, and Stanford; defined scope of project to optimize arrangements while keeping costs down.✓ Created the business rationale to support costly licensing of evolving technologies, including microendoscopy, optogenetics, and epigenetics and identified strategies for integrating these techniques into pharmaceutical research.

Providence, Rhode Island Area

Focus of Study: − Role of pre- and post-synaptic voltage-gated Ca2+channel endocytic trafficking in excitatory synaptic development, maintenance, and long-term potentiation. − Alternative splicing of presynaptic voltage gated Ca2+channels in hyperalgesia pain pathway. Collaborations:− Regulation of voltage-gated Ca2+channel alternative splicing by Fox2 proteins.− Activity dependent reorganization of dendritic endoplasmic reticulum.− Regulation of CaV2.2 N-type Ca2+ channel surface expression by ubiquitination.

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area

Focus of Study:− Effects of hereditary mutations in the E3 ligase parkin on excitatory synapses of the CNS.− Mechanisms underlying spine regulation by the hereditary Parkinson disease-linked ubiquitin ligase parkin.Collaborations:− Role of large GTPase dynamin-3 in postsynaptic positioning of endocytic zones and AMPA receptor endocytosis via coupling to Homer.− Changes in dendritic spine morphology mediated by exocytic membrane trafficking from recycling endosomes.− Alpha-actinin medicated modulation of NMDDA receptor activity by PIP2.

Providence, Rhode Island Area

Focus of Study: − Biophysical recharacterization of L-type voltage-gated Ca2+channels.Collaboration:− Identified and characterized of cell-specific N-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channel splice variants in pain pathway.

Master Of Business Administration - Mba, Biosciences Management

Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd), Cell/Cellular And Molecular Biology

Investigated roles of alternative splicing on biophysical and pharmacological properties of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels.

Master Of Science (Ms), Physiology

Bachelor Of Science (Bs), Biology

Biology: PreMed