2013 Alumni Professional Achievement Award Winner
As one of the world’s leading voices in microbiology, Teresa Compton was a testament to UT’s mission to “move forward the frontiers of human knowledge.”
Compton earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and a PhD in cellular and molecular biology from UT. After completing postdoctoral research at New York University Medical Center, she served at the Scripps Research Institute before joining the faculty of the University of Wisconsin. There she built an internationally known research program focused on virus-host interactions and was extensively engaged in university, national, and international service while holding multiple campus leadership roles.
In 2005, Compton was recruited to the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research to build and lead antiviral drug discovery. During her six-year tenure at Novartis, her group advanced three molecules into clinical development directed toward the Hepatitis C and Cytomegalovirus viruses. In 2011 she moved to Biogen Idec, where she served as vice president of translational sciences and virology.
In 2015, Compton joined Akebia Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as senior vice president and chief scientific officer, working to develop innovative therapies for patients with kidney disease. She also provided consulting services to a variety of biopharmaceutical companies.
Throughout the course of her career, Compton remained true to her academic roots, publishing more than 80 research articles as well as numerous reviews and book chapters. At Novartis, she trained postdoctoral fellows and gave seminars and lectures at multiple universities. At Biogen, she successfully championed the establishment of a postdoctoral training program. She spent several years serving on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Morgridge Institute, a private-public partnership of the University of Wisconsin, and as chair of the Board of Visitors for the Department of Microbiology at UT.
Compton passed away May 8, 2018, in Concord, Massachusetts. As a final tribute to her research legacy, her family requested that in lieu of flowers donations be made in her memory to UT’s Microbiology Enrichment Fund.
As one of the world’s leading voices in microbiology, Teresa Compton was a testament to UT’s mission to “move forward the frontiers of human knowledge.”
Compton earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and a PhD in cellular and molecular biology from UT. After completing postdoctoral research at New York University Medical Center, she served at the Scripps Research Institute before joining the faculty of the University of Wisconsin. There she built an internationally known research program focused on virus-host interactions and was extensively engaged in university, national, and international service while holding multiple campus leadership roles.
In 2005, Compton was recruited to the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research to build and lead antiviral drug discovery. During her six-year tenure at Novartis, her group advanced three molecules into clinical development directed toward the Hepatitis C and Cytomegalovirus viruses. In 2011 she moved to Biogen Idec, where she served as vice president of translational sciences and virology.
In 2015, Compton joined Akebia Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as senior vice president and chief scientific officer, working to develop innovative therapies for patients with kidney disease. She also provided consulting services to a variety of biopharmaceutical companies.
Throughout the course of her career, Compton remained true to her academic roots, publishing more than 80 research articles as well as numerous reviews and book chapters. At Novartis, she trained postdoctoral fellows and gave seminars and lectures at multiple universities. At Biogen, she successfully championed the establishment of a postdoctoral training program. She spent several years serving on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Morgridge Institute, a private-public partnership of the University of Wisconsin, and as chair of the Board of Visitors for the Department of Microbiology at UT.
Compton passed away May 8, 2018, in Concord, Massachusetts. As a final tribute to her research legacy, her family requested that in lieu of flowers donations be made in her memory to UT’s Microbiology Enrichment Fund.
