Thomas Large

Dr. Thomas Large is CEO and Co-Founder of Blue Oak Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on using systems neurobiology and informatics approaches to discover and develop drugs for mental health. Previously, he led discovery, preclinical research and translational medicine for ten years at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (originally Sepracor Inc.). Under his leadership, the discovery group at Sunovion developed a target-agnostic approach for CNS drugs by integrating research collaborations worldwide. Prior to Sunovion, Dr. Large was a scientific leader and manager for eight years at Eli Lilly in neuroscience research, where he led several projects that resulted in clinical candidates for anxiety, psychosis and pain. During his tenure with Eli Lilly, Dr. Large also managed a group developing innovative approaches for drug targets in the central nervous system (CNS), endocrine and oncology therapeutic areas. Dr. Large holds a PhD in Neurobiology/Physiology from Northwestern University and completed a Howard Hughes postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Large has served as a faculty member of the Department of Neurosciences at Case Western Reserve University Medical School.