Thomas P. Conrads, Ph.D., an expert in the development of new biomarkers to detect cancer early, is co-director of the Clinical Proteomics Facility at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and associate professor of pharmacology, biomedical informatics and medicine in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
With an extensive background in proteomics and metabolomics, Dr. Conrads uses new technologies to identify and characterize proteins and small molecules linked to the development and growth of cancer. Prior to coming to UPCI, Dr. Conrads served as director of the Mass Spectrometry Center at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Md., where his research focused on developing proteomic approaches to identify biomarkers for cancer detection and to predict resistance to chemotherapy and patient outcomes.
Dr. Conrads research also aims to develop and use novel technologies that bridge the fields of chemistry and biology, ascribing to the philosophy that overcoming biomedical problems requires creative multidisciplinary approaches. In practice, his research relies on the application of a technique called mass spectrometry to separate and analyze proteins.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and biophysics from Washington State University, Dr. Conrads earned his doctorate in biochemistry at the Ohio State University. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., where he served as a senior staff scientist. He has authored and co-authored more than 140 publications in peer-reviewed medical and basic science journals and currently holds six patents.