Dr. Sue O’Connor is currently vice president of neuroscience research at Bionomics Ltd.in Adelaide, Australia. Bionomics (ASX: BNO) is a global, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary platform technologies to discover and develop a deep pipeline of best in class, novel drug candidates targeting ion channels. Dr. O’Connor joined Bionomics in 2003 as a member of the drug discovery team before her appointment as senior director of central nervous system research and development. Her role at Bionomics has included a high level of involvement with the identification of BNC210, a drug candidate with considerable potential as a new treatment for anxiety disorders and a collaboration with Merck & Co on a discovery-phase pain program. Dr. O’Connor’s current focus is the development of new drugs to treat cognitive impairment associated with several disease states. One of these programs was partnered with Merck & Co in 2014 and is now in early clinical development. Previously she entered the biotechnology sector working on drug development projects in the department of gastroenterology at Flinders Medical Centre. During this time, Dr. O’Connor’s interest in neuro-psychopharmacology and the development of drugs for the treatment of psychiatric disorders was formed.
Dr. O’Connor earned her doctor of philosophy degree in molecular genetics from the University of Adelaide, Australia and completed her post-doctoral research at the Hanson Institute in Adelaide, Australia.