Deborah Thompson

Bio

Deborah M. Thompson, Ph.D. is Director of Research Partnerships for North Carolina State University’s College of Agriculture & Life Sciences (CALS). She is also Associated Faculty in the department of Agriculture and Resource Economics. In that role, Deborah works as the key liaison between university faculty and industry scientists. She develops and manages corporate partnerships among CALS faculty and corporations around the world, with an emphasis on North Carolina and the Research Triangle Park (RTP) area matching college assets to industry needs. She is a results driven and creative connector, skilled at fostering synergy between academic and industry research programs and developing relevant and valued collaborations through established mechanisms and novel partnering models. Deborah is a trusted partner who leverages a deep understanding of faculty expertise and capabilities to create opportunities for CALS faculty to partner with industry.

Deborah received her B.S. degree in Biology from Rutgers University and her Ph.D. degree in Molecular and Population Genetics from the University of Georgia at Athens. Deborah is a biotechnology and agricultural biotechnology professional with over 15 years of research and development experience. She has worked in academia, industry (from startups to multinational companies), government, and not for profit institutions. She has mentored over 30 interns from High School, Undergraduate, and Graduate Students to Postdoctoral Fellows. Thirteen of those interns were undergraduates in the Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics.