Michael Luther, Ph.D., MBA
Life Sciences Managing Partner, Chief Science Officer
Dr. Michael Luther recently served as the President of the David H. Murdock Research Institute. Prior to becoming President of the David H. Murdock Research Institute, Dr. Luther held the position of Vice President and Site Head at the Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research in Montreal, QC. In this role, he led drug discovery to proof of concept efforts in therapeutic areas of Inflammation and Metabolic Diseases. Before Merck, Dr. Luther was with GlaxoSmithKline in a number of positions of increasing responsibility including his last role as a Vice President in Discovery Research. At GSK, he was also the founder and head of a new internal business venture that integrated diagnostics and therapeutics called Predictive Medicine. Dr. Luther holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Chemistry from North Carolina State University, a doctorate degree in Biochemistry from the St. Louis University School of Medicine and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He was a Muscular Dystrophy Fellow at The Salk Institute where he conducted research in Myasthenia Gravis. He started his professional career in biotechnology as the fourth employee of a company, Procept Inc., in Cambridge, MA. He is the author of over 40 scientific publications, and holds issued patents in diagnostics as well as pharmaceutical discovery and development. In addition to his role as President of the David H. Murdock Research Institute he also is a member of their board of directors. He is founding Director of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Research Foundation at North Carolina State University, and a board member of the Chagas Disease Foundation, North Carolina Association of Biomedical Research Facilities, Cabarrus College of Health Sciences, and the North Carolina Biotechnology Industry Organization. He also serves on several additional Advisory Boards including Agile Biosciences, and the North Carolina State University College of Management. He is an adjunct Professor at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
