Ken Thomas

Dr. Thomas has made numerous significant contributions to FGF-1 research. He partially purified FGF-1 while a researcher at Washington University and while serving at Merck completed the purification of bovine and human FGF-1, determined their amino acid sequences, and established their activities both on cultured cells and in animals. He collaborated with Dr. Blaber to elucidate the crystal structure of human FGF-1 and initiated a development program, culminating in successful proof-of-principle Phase I and II clinical trials for dermal tissue regeneration to promote cutaneous healing. During his 25 years at Merck, he initiated, built, and directed the Growth Factor Research Department and program, leading to six regenerative medicine protein and anti-angiogenic small molecule development candidates. Following Merck, he has consulted for several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Ken has published extensively in the field of growth factors and their receptors, served on The Journal of Biological Chemistry editorial board, co-organized national and international meetings on growth factors, angiogenesis, protein kinases, and signal transduction, and has over 40 issued patents in the U.S. and other major jurisdictions. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Delaware and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Duke University.