Susan Froshauer, the former Pfizer Inc. scientist who took over as leader of the state's top bioscience organization four years ago and was a driving force behind the CURE Innovation Commons business incubator in Groton, has announced she is leaving the organization Oct. 1.

Froshauer, who also has been a key leader in efforts to revitalize the local economy as co-leader of the Thames River Innovation Place effort that this week successfully won the pledge of $900,000 in state grants, made the announcement in a letter sent out Friday through her organization, Connecticut United for Research Excellence.

"After giving the matter careful consideration, I feel that this is the right time for me to be moving on to other projects that will engage the same level of passion and community building that we at CURE have been fostering," Froshauer said in the letter. "I look forward to the challenges ahead."

Froshauer, president and chief executive of CURE, said she also is resigning her position as president of CURE Innovation Commons. But she invited colleagues to a picnic June 13 at CURE Commons for CURE's annual meeting and to hear about the progress the incubator has made.

Froshauer, in a phone interview Friday, said she plans to remain active with Thames River Innovation Place to shepherd through one of its proposed projects, called Ignite, that would help connect local entrepreneurs and spark new enterprises through various events, including hackathons and innovation boosts.

"It's really exciting," she said. 

Froshauer said she is interested in a wide range of entrepreneurial issues, from energy conservation to tying academia to business interests to how government policies can align better with science. The Guilford resident said she has the desire to learn more in an effort to help find new approaches to move Connecticut's economy forward.

"What I know about Connecticut is we've all been rowing together," Froshauer said.

Froshauer said she had been focusing on rebuilding the bioscience community, a task which she deemed a success, pointing to CURE Innovation Commons, an incubator that started with only a handful of businesses but now, only about a year later, is nearly out of lab space.

"I’ve worked first hand with our developing pipeline of assets: a rich talent pool, commercially-valuable science and intellectual property, engaged faculty, experts and entrepreneurs, an impressive armamentarium of funding, incubators, and accelerators," she said in her letter. "Together we have created a very strong network, an environment of spark, partnership, and teamwork."

Froshauer, former chief executive of Rib-X Pharmaceuticals in New Haven, previously directed the Technology Exchange Portal at the University of Connecticut's Office of Economic Development. She is a graduate of Harvard University and Connecticut College.

Froshauer said a search committee has been formed at CURE to find the organization's next CEO. She was unsure whether the new leader also would hold the mantle as president of CURE Commons, saying that would depend on the individuals identified as top candidates for the CURE job.

l.howard@theday.com