Scientific Director

Darby Thomas 博士

Darby Thomas 博士

Darby Thomas, PhD, is the Scientific Director of Fortrea's Rare Diseases, Advanced Therapies and Pediatrics Team (RAPT). She has more than 20 years of experience in virology, cell and molecular biology, gene and cell therapy and biotechnology.

She also has broad experience in adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy with roles in CMC, discovery, translational development and patient advocacy for several AAV-focused companies including AGTC, StrideBio, and Sio Gene Therapies with an emphasis on rare neurological diseases and ophthalmology.

Before the formation of Fortrea, Dr. Thomas was the Director of the Labcorp Enterprise Cell and Gene Therapy team. She also worked as the Director of Rare Diseases at Intrexon, where she gained translational experience developing AAV and plasmid-based gene therapies as well as gene-modified cell therapies for the treatment of rare skin disorders.