Tin Tin Su, a professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (MCDB), also currently serves as director of graduate student affairs for MCDB and co-program leader for the University of Colorado Cancer Center.
Su is the lead inventor on three issued patents, two of which are licensed to SuviCa, Inc., a startup company she co-founded in 2010 and for which she serves as chief scientific officer. Su’s inventions have garnered $4.5 million in federal contracts from the National Cancer Institute, resulting in subcontracts to five Colorado researchers at other institutions and a potential new treatment for an orphan disease. The inventions have created full- and part-time jobs for 13 employees in Colorado.
Currently, Su is utilizing a $2 million SBIR contract for SuviCa to develop an innovative screening platform–hardware and software–to identify novel radiation modulators for cancer. This system will be leveraged to generate intellectual property through partnership agreements to screen compound libraries. Each new compound identified has the potential to generate upwards of $4 million.
At CU Boulder, Su has taught over 2,000 undergraduates, mentored 59 Ph.D. students as PI or thesis committee member and trained six postdoctoral researchers.
