First ‘Institute Professor’ of The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute Inventing New Ways to Target Incurable Diseases Via RNA

Matthew D. Disney, Ph.D., a professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry at The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, has been named the first “Institute Professor” at the institution.

Endowed institute professorships are among the highest honors that the University of Florida can bestow upon a faculty member, recognizing proven leaders whose work embodies a commitment to excellence in research and scholarship.

“Over the course of his research career, Matt Disney has made significant, extensive contributions to science,” said David R. Nelson, M.D., the senior vice president for health affairs at the University of Florida and president of UF Health. “He is an outstanding member of the institute’s leadership team. His tireless efforts and commitment to mentoring and building the institute are critical to our success. For these reasons and many more, he is highly deserving of being named the first Institute Professor of The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute.”

Disney and his team invented a search-and-destroy system for multiple incurable diseases. Their system works by targeting RNA, the cousin to DNA. Because RNA is involved in transcribing genes, building proteins inside cells, and managing quality control for gene transcription, Disney reasoned that targeting RNA could offer a way around challenges that more traditional approaches have posed.

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