Southern Research has named Michael Catalano and Mark Suto, PhD chief operating officer and vice president for Life Sciences, respectively. Previously, Catalano served as interim COO and Suto was VP for Drug Discovery and interim VP for Drug Development.

Catalano joined Southern Research in 2017 as general counsel and assumed the interim COO role in 2018. As permanent COO, he will continue to manage the day-to-day operations. Catalano's previous roles include serving as general counsel at Influence Health; chief operating officer and general counsel for SilverStaff; vice president of finance for Caesars Entertainment; and senior development counsel for CVS Caremark.

Since joining Southern Research in 2011, Suto has developed multiple research collaborations spanning a diverse array of diseases. In his new role, he will build on ongoing efforts to unite Drug Discovery and Drug Development to optimize growth in SR's Life Sciences portfolio and impact.

He has over 35 years of experience working in several large pharmaceutical companies, as well as smaller biotech and venture-backed organizations.