Our Team
Meet The Founders
World-class scientists and builders united by a single mission
Making chronic pain a solvable problem.
Alex Thomsen, Ph.D.
Founder & Executive
Director
GPCR signaling & receptor pharmacology
Dr. Alex R. B. Thomsen is the Founder of Unco Therapeutics and an Assistant Professor at New York University where he runs an active Research Laboratory. With more than 20 years of experience in GPCR research, including training in the Nobel Prize–winning Lefkowitz lab, he has a deep understanding of GPCR activation mechanisms, which he leverages to design innovative therapeutics targeting this important class of drug targets. His research has been published in some of the most prestigious scientific journals, and he has received multiple awards recognizing his contributions to the field.
Surbhi Chitnis, Ph.D.
Co-Founder &
Founding Scientist
Medicinal chemistry & drug discovery
Dr. Surbhi Chitnis is a Co-Founder and Founding Scientist at Unco Therapeutics and a medicinal chemist specializing in small-molecule drug discovery. She brings expertise in kinase biology, GPCR pharmacology, and structure-guided drug design, bridging discovery science and translational strategy to advance early-stage discovery programs. She currently conducts research in the Thomsen Lab at New York University and previously completed her Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry at the University at Buffalo, where her work contributed to the development of novel targeted cancer therapies.
May Khanna, Ph.D.
Co-Founder &
Scientific Advisor
Computational biology & entrepreneurship
Dr. May Khanna is a Co-founder of Unco Therapeutics and serial bioentrepreneur with strong experience in biotech startup and therapeutics innovation. Dr. Khanna currently holds a position as Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Florida and is a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors.
Our team brings together expertise in:
GPCR biology & pharmacology
Medicinal chemistry & drug discovery
Structural
biology
Entrepreneurship & innovation
This combination enables us to connect molecular insight directly to therapeutic design and development.