I am pleased to announce an important leadership change to our research program. , vice dean of Research for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, has now become the senior associate vice president of Research for USF Health.
Dr. Bohn takes on this role as , steps down after almost 14 years leading USF Health’s research enterprise. I am grateful for Dr. Liggett’s pioneering leadership during an era of explosive research growth for USF Health and am excited to have Dr. Bohn at the helm as we enter a dynamic new period of further research expansion.
As you may know, Dr. Bohn joined MCOM last fall as senior associate dean for Basic and Translational Research and professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology. She then became vice dean early this year. Dr. Bohn joined us from The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, where she served as chair of the Department of Molecular Medicine, co-director of the Center for New Medicines Initiatives, and held the Dembling Endowed Chair for Drug Discovery and Human Health Research. She previously held tenured faculty appointments at The Ohio State University and Scripps Research.
Dr. Bohn is an internationally recognized leader in molecular pharmacology and neurobiology, best known for her pioneering studies on G protein–coupled receptors, or GPCRs, the most common kind of drug targets in the human body. Her laboratory has made landmark discoveries in opioid receptor signaling bias, elucidating how selective activation of intracellular pathways can achieve potent analgesia without respiratory depression or tolerance development. This paradigm-shifting work has transformed our understanding of opioid pharmacology and inspired the search for next-generation, non-addictive pain therapeutics.
Her research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), particularly the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), for more than two decades. She currently serves as principal investigator or multiple principal investigator on several active NIH R01 and P01 awards totaling over $15 million, including studies on biased mu- and kappa-opioid receptor ligands, endocannabinoid signaling, and natural product pharmacology. Dr. Bohn has authored over 130 peer-reviewed publications, including seminal papers in Science, Nature, Cell, Neuron, Journal of Clinical Investigation, and Molecular Pharmacology, with more than 30,000 citations to her work. She also holds multiple U.S. and international patents related to GPCR-targeted therapeutics.
Dr. Bohn earned her undergraduate degrees in biochemistry and in chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and her PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from the St. Louis University School of Medicine. She did postdoctoral research with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University Medical Center with Drs. Marc Caron and Robert J. Lefkowitz.
An exemplary mentor, she has trained dozens of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who now hold leadership roles in academia, government, and the biopharmaceutical industry.
Her scientific distinction is reflected in a remarkable array of national and international honors, including the John J. Abel Award from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), the Joseph Cochin Young Investigator Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, and numerous distinguished lectureships such as the Coy W. Waller, William & Carmella Riker, and Dennis Feller Memorial Lectureships. She has delivered hundreds of invited talks worldwide and chaired major meetings, including the Gordon Research Conference on Molecular Pharmacology.
Dr. Bohn has also played a major role in shaping biomedical research policy through service on the NIDA and NIDDK Boards of Scientific Counselors, numerous NIH study sections, the ASPET Publications Committee, and multiple scientific advisory boards spanning academia, industry, and federal agencies.
As we move forward at USF Health, Dr. Bohn will play a pivotal role in continuing to expand our research portfolio, with an emphasis on multidisciplinary collaboration and integration of basic, translational and clinical research. She also takes the helm as we are beginning work on the planned Translational Research Institute and reimagining our use of research space across campus.
Meanwhile, we are fortunate that Dr. Liggett will remain at USF as a professor of Internal Medicine, Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology and Medical Engineering. You can read more about his work at USF Health here. I greatly appreciate the way both he and Dr. Bohn have worked together to achieve a seamless leadership transition for our institution.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Bohn and Dr. Liggett as they move into their new roles.