GRA BLOG

September 27, 2023

Georgia Research Alliance Trustees Name New President and CEO

Tim Denning, Ph.D. will succeed retiring Susan Shows in November

The Trustees of the Georgia Research Alliance voted today to appoint Timothy Denning, Ph.D., vice president for research and economic development at Georgia State University, as the fifth president and CEO of GRA. He will take the reins from Susan Shows, who announced her retirement in a planned succession after serving GRA since 2001 and as president and CEO since September 2020.

Denning, who will take the helm of the Alliance November 1, has led research and commercialization through a period of historic growth at Georgia State. Last month, the university announced it had earned just under $225 million in research funding for FY2023, the highest total in university history.

The university now has more than 70 research centers, including five university-level enterprises that address critical quality-of-life issues such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, brain health and infectious disease.

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September 27, 2023

GRA President and CEO Susan Shows to Retire with 22-Year Legacy

Tenure marked by shaping all major aspects of the organization

A driving factor in the development and success of the Georgia Research Alliance over a tenure that has spanned more than two decades, President and CEO Susan Shows today announced her retirement from the Alliance at the fall meeting of GRA’s Board of Trustees.

Since joining GRA in 2001 as vice president, Shows was instrumental in shaping each of the organization’s areas of operation. She worked closely with member universities to bring top scientific talent to their campuses, playing an active role in the recruitment of most of GRA’s 78-member Academy of Scientists. She also partnered with university leaders to identify “best investments” in high-tech lab equipment and core research facilities to make Georgia’s institutions more competitive in winning lucrative research grants and contracts.

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August 26, 2023

With summer’s end, a potential career path begins

For many of us, summer breaks in college were a welcome respite from the rigors of study, or an opportunity to earn and save a little money for the next school year.

For 14 undergrads from universities across Georgia, summer 2023 was an altogether different experience.

They’re the GRA Student Scholars, and from May to August, they worked between 25 and 40 hours a week in the unfamiliar world of labs and clinics, making real contributions to funded research projects. They engaged with some of Georgia’s top-echelon scientists and immersed themselves in team culture.

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