Tonia Lane is Director for the Institute for Imaging & Analytical Technologies, a university-level center administered out of the Office of Research and Economic Development at Mississippi State University. I2AT houses major research instrumentation for microscopy and microanalysis applications making it available for use by the research community. Prior to joining I2AT, Tonia served as Director of Business Operations for MSU's Advanced Composites Institute where she led program management, workforce development, and business operations.

Tonia joined Mississippi State University in 2016 bringing with her decades of experience leading project teams both in the academic and private sectors. After earning her Master of Science in Biochemistry at the University of Tennessee, Ms. Lane worked as a Research Scientist with the multinational pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline where she characterized enzyme targets for the drug discovery program. A relocation to the Washington, DC area provided Ms. Lane with the opportunity to develop her project management skills with a local company working on FDA regulated assay development projects.

Tonia later served as a member of the site leadership team for the algae biofuel company, Sapphire Energy, supporting the strategic goals of SEI's New Mexico field testing site. In addition to her 11 years working in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors Ms. Lane spent 5 years at New Mexico State University where she built and managed a $1.8 million state-wide educational and outreach program.