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Stephen Liggett, MD, had no idea the awards were coming. At this year’s USF Health Research Day, Liggett received not one but two unexpected honors: a Culture Coin recognizing his contributions to USF Health and a custom award that featured a double helix design and acknowledged his support and advancement of Research Day during his tenure.

“I understand (the Culture Coin) is not given out very often, and I’m very appreciative of the recognition associated with the award,” Dr. Liggett said of the initiative that honors those who go above and beyond to enhance the culture at USF Health.

The recognition comes as Dr. Liggett steps down from his role as Senior Associate Vice President for Research for USF Health this month. He previously stepped down as Vice Dean for Research at the Morsani College of Medicine in January. He will remain a professor of Internal Medicine, Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology and Medical Engineering, continuing his laboratory research while exploring new leadership opportunities.

Building a research powerhouse

When Dr. Liggett joined USF Health in mid-2012, he saw a relatively young institution ready to transform, one that could move quickly when opportunities arose.

He tracked national scientific trends and recruited researchers who were at the forefront of emerging areas of research.

When department chairs asked how many faculty slots they could fill, his answer was “infinite.” He told them that if they identified quality candidates, that he and other USF Health leaders would support the recruitment. “The concept was for us to not limit ourselves based on some preconceived notion of department or college size, but rather on research themes and building research teams,” he said.

“USF Health has made incredible gains during Dr. Stephen Liggett’s tenure as a research leader with us,” said Dr. Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “We are so grateful to Dr. Liggett for his outstanding leadership in this critical arena. His contributions have been incredibly valuable, both as a leader and as a highly respected scientist.”

His recruitment strategy proved effective.

“As a physician scientist, Steve’s exceptional leadership was instrumental in developing translational research programs and expanding research faculty at USF Health,” said Sarah Yuan, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Pharmacology & Physiology and professor of Surgery at the Morsani College of Medicine. “He brought an invaluable perspective to our recruitment efforts with critical judgment based on deep clinical understanding and scientific insights.”

The strategy created critical mass. As USF Health brought in more nationally recognized scientists with funding from the National Institutes of Health, that success naturally attracted additional NIH-funded faculty. This influx of research talent elevated USF Health’s research reputation, increased collaborative opportunities and strengthened the institution’s ability to compete for major grants.

The numbers tell the story of that transformation. Total research awards grew from $122 million in fiscal year 2014 to a projected $381 million in fiscal year 2025. Clinical trials revenue grew from $7.2 million in fiscal year 2015 to $22.3 million in fiscal year 2025. This growth contributed to the Morsani College of Medicine being ranked in Tier One, or one of the top 16 research-intensive medical schools in the nation, in both 2024 and 2025 by U.S. News & World Report.

Research Day and the research culture

Dr. Liggett sees research as the glue that unites teaching and patient care.

When faculty bring the latest discoveries into their teaching, whether it be in the classroom or the lab or the bedside, student curiosity is enhanced. Before long, students are thinking more about an academic career involving some component of clinical, translational or basic research. 

“By teaching the fundamental concepts, and invoking a research mindset, our graduate and medical students become lifetime learners,” Dr. Liggett said. “When students understand how diseases work, they can see how new drugs and diagnostics might fit into new treatment plans instead of simply memorizing existing protocols. They can adapt as medicine evolves.”

Research Day has become a visible high point in that long mentoring process. As faculty mentors raised their own scientific standards, their students’ work improved. The sophistication of poster presentations and the quality of science have increased each year, building a collaborative spirit that researchers maintain throughout their careers.

Dr. Lockwood praised Dr. Liggett’s commitment to Research Day, an annual celebration of student and faculty research work from every USF Health college and several colleges across the entire university.

“USF Health Research Day has grown into one of the largest events of its kind in the country,” Dr. Lockwood said. “Dr. Liggett has recognized and nurtured this celebration as a creative way to develop the talents of the next generation of research scientists, as well as to draw students with little research experience into learning the satisfaction and the critical thinking skills that come with making their own research discoveries.”

Dr. Liggett credited the Office of Research staff, who worked to improve every aspect of Research Day, from online submissions to enhanced judging and score collection. The staff believed in the culture and went above and beyond because they saw tangible results: increased research funding, faculty publishing in higher-impact journals and the institution’s scientific reputation growing.

“I got to be the one to stand up at the mic, but there were a lot of people working really hard to make it happen,” he said.

Leading by example

Dr. Liggett maintained an active laboratory and NIH funding throughout his leadership tenure. With 37 years of continuous NIH funding, 22 issued patents and more than 35,000 citations of his work, he demonstrated the standards he expected from others.

He believes that maintaining an active lab allowed him to advise faculty from experience rather than theory. When researchers came to him with challenges, they knew he had faced the same obstacles. “You’re giving them advice based on your own experience, which can have a lot of impact, especially for early-stage investigators,” he said.

At USF Health, Dr. Liggett received Outstanding Faculty Awards in 2015 and 2019, was inducted into the Robert A. Good Honor Society in 2017 and was designated a Distinguished University Health Professor in 2022.

But his commitment to advancing research extended beyond his own work. “Dr. Liggett is deeply committed to advancing both research and the people who drive it,” said Dr. Laura Blair, investigator at the Byrd Institute and Professor of Molecular Medicine. “He actively ‘checks in’ with new faculty to discuss science and careers, and he recognizes others’ contributions by nominating individuals, especially early-career researchers, for awards.”

Unlocking how drugs work differently in different people

One aspect of Dr. Liggett’s research career has focused on understanding why the same medication works effectively for some patients but fails for others. His work centers on G-protein coupled receptors, the cellular structures targeted by approximately 50 percent of all prescription drugs.

For decades, scientists believed these receptors were the same in the human population. They are not and indeed show significant variation, which leads to different functional capacities between people. 

This discovery is important in modern pharmacogenomics, which allows doctors to predict what drugs will work for which patients based on their genetic makeup. The implications for patient care are significant. In asthma research, Dr. Liggett’s team discovered that variations in the beta-2 adrenergic receptor determine how well patients respond to albuterol, one of the most commonly prescribed asthma medications. Some patients experience dramatic relief while others see little benefit. Understanding these genetic variations helps explain why. His work extends to heart failure as well, where variations in adrenergic receptors predict how patients respond to beta-blockers, a cornerstone of heart failure treatment.

Another aspect of his research involves understanding the fundamental basis of how these receptors are activated, blocked and regulated. His work has shown that early concepts where receptors were thought to work by a “lock-and-key” approach is inadequate to explain their effects in the body and too simplistic for drug discovery to find new therapeutic approaches for treatments. 

His team also made an unexpected discovery: bitter taste receptors, long thought to exist only on the tongue, are found throughout the body, including in the airways. When activated, these receptors can cause bronchodilation, opening potential new treatment avenues for asthma and COPD patients. Using model systems, including “bronchi on a chip,” Dr. Liggett’s laboratory has published multiple papers on these organ-based research tools, advancing understanding of how respiratory diseases develop and how treatments might be improved.

The path to research leadership

When Dr. Liggett first applied to medical school at USF decades ago, he was turned down for being too scientific. At the time, the school was primarily focused on training primary care physicians.

After receiving his MD at the University of Miami School of Medicine he was a resident in Internal Medicine and a fellow in Pulmonary and Critical Care at Washington University in St. Louis. He then went on to a three-year lab-based fellowship at Duke University with Dr. Robert J. Lefkowitz, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2012. After serving as chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Cincinnati for 12 years, transforming a division with no NIH grants into a highly funded operation, he became Professor of Medicine and Physiology and associate dean for Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. That latter role, leading research across multiple schools, including Medicine, Law, Dentistry, Marine Sciences and Nursing, prepared him for USF Health’s four-college structure.

The institution that once rejected him for being too scientific has transformed into a research-focused school, with Dr. Liggett among those driving that change.

Looking forward

Dr. Liggett helped co-found the Department of Medical Engineering, recognizing that melding biological sciences with engineering was the wave of the future. The department is unusual in that faculty and students can enter through either the Morsani College of Medicine or the College of Engineering.

As he prepares to step away from his administrative responsibilities, Dr. Liggett expresses confidence in the foundation he has helped build. The strength of the research faculty will continue to attract more talented scientists. The support systems are in place to help them succeed. The collaborative culture will endure.

When asked how he wants to be remembered, he thought carefully before answering: “Accountability, data-driven and fair.”

As Dr. Liggett transitions from his administrative role while maintaining his professorship and laboratory, USF Health stands positioned to build on the research culture he helped create over 13 years. The metrics tell part of the story. The collaborative spirit, the support systems and the depth of scientific talent tell the rest.