C. Thomas Caskey
Encyclopedia
C. Thomas Caskey is an American internist who has been a prominent medical geneticist
and biomedical entrepreneur. He is editor of the Annual Review of Medicine.
Dr. Caskey attended the University of South Carolina
(1956-58) and the medical school at Duke University
(1958-63). As a medical student, he was a student biochemical fellow (1961-62) with James B. Wyngarden, a pioneer in the study of the biochemical basis of metabolic disease. Caskey received his M.D. degree in 1963 and stayed on at Duke as intern and resident in the Department of Medicine (1963-65).
Dr. Caskey then went to the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) from 1965 to 1971. From 1965-67 he was Research Associate at the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) with Nobel Prize
-winner Marshall Nirenberg. Dr. Caskey then became Senior Investigator, Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics (1967-70) and Head, Section of Medical Genetics at NHLI (1970-71).
In 1971 Dr. Caskey left NIH to go to Baylor College of Medicine
in Houston, Texas
. He stayed the next two decades. At Baylor he served as Chief, Section of Medical Genetics (1971-85) and Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry (1971-94). From 1976 to 1994 Caskey was an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
at Baylor. While on sabbatical leave from Baylor in 1979-80, Caskey was a Faculty Scholar at the Cambridge University Medical Research Council
unit with another Nobel Prize-winner Sydney Brenner
.
In 1994 Dr. Caskey left academia to became Senior Vice President for Research and Trustee and President of The Merck
Genome
Research Institute at the Merck Research Laboratories in Sumneytown Pike, West Point, Pennsylvania
.
In 2000 Dr. Caskey returned to Houston as founding Director and CEO of Cogene Biotech Ventures and Cogene Ventures, venture capital funds designed to support early-stage biotechnology and life sciences companies using genome technology for drug discovery.
In 2006 Caskey was appointed director and CEO-elect of the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, part of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a researcher or lecturer. Some geneticists perform experiments and analyze data to interpret the inheritance of skills. A geneticist is also a Consultant or...
and biomedical entrepreneur. He is editor of the Annual Review of Medicine.
Dr. Caskey attended the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
(1956-58) and the medical school at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
(1958-63). As a medical student, he was a student biochemical fellow (1961-62) with James B. Wyngarden, a pioneer in the study of the biochemical basis of metabolic disease. Caskey received his M.D. degree in 1963 and stayed on at Duke as intern and resident in the Department of Medicine (1963-65).
Dr. Caskey then went to the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
(NIH) from 1965 to 1971. From 1965-67 he was Research Associate at the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) with Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winner Marshall Nirenberg. Dr. Caskey then became Senior Investigator, Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics (1967-70) and Head, Section of Medical Genetics at NHLI (1970-71).
In 1971 Dr. Caskey left NIH to go to Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine, located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, USA, is a highly regarded medical school and leading center for biomedical research and clinical care...
in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. He stayed the next two decades. At Baylor he served as Chief, Section of Medical Genetics (1971-85) and Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry (1971-94). From 1976 to 1994 Caskey was an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a United States non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded by the American businessman Howard Hughes in 1953. It is one of the largest private funding organizations for biological and medical research in the United...
at Baylor. While on sabbatical leave from Baylor in 1979-80, Caskey was a Faculty Scholar at the Cambridge University Medical Research Council
Medical Research Council (UK)
The Medical Research Council is a publicly-funded agency responsible for co-ordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom. It is one of seven Research Councils in the UK and is answerable to, although politically independent from, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
unit with another Nobel Prize-winner Sydney Brenner
Sydney Brenner
Sydney Brenner, CH FRS is a South African biologist and a 2002 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate, shared with H...
.
In 1994 Dr. Caskey left academia to became Senior Vice President for Research and Trustee and President of The Merck
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...
Genome
Genome
In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
Research Institute at the Merck Research Laboratories in Sumneytown Pike, West Point, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
In 2000 Dr. Caskey returned to Houston as founding Director and CEO of Cogene Biotech Ventures and Cogene Ventures, venture capital funds designed to support early-stage biotechnology and life sciences companies using genome technology for drug discovery.
In 2006 Caskey was appointed director and CEO-elect of the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, part of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
External links and sources
- Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Caskey on the website of Identigene
- C. Thomas Caskey Will Direct Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, announcement by UT Health Science Center