The grant to the UF Genetics Institute (UFGI) will provide $639,540 per year to support 12 predoctoral trainees, covering stipends, tuition, travel, training-related expenses, and childcare support.

“Based on the strength and innovation of the proposed training program, the NIH doubled the number of training positions and overall grant size from the original application,” said Thomas P. Burris, director of the Genetics Institute.

The Genetics Training Program is a collaborative effort between the UFGI’s Genetics and Genomics Graduate Program and the College of Medicine’s Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences.

For the past 16 months, Frazier has taken on the role of associate chair in the Department of Pharmacodynamics. The experience has provided him with valuable insights into the responsibilities of the chair position, and it has equipped him to take on a larger leadership role in guiding the department. 

Scientists have been studying medicines that can mimic the effects of exercise and might help treat various illnesses, including obesity and a group of conditions called metabolic syndrome.

In new research, published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, researchers demonstrated how a substance called SLU-PP-332 acts like a switch that turns on certain beneficial processes in the body, much like what happens when we exercise.

SLU-PP-332 is an estrogen receptor-related (ERR) agonist.

An ERR is a type of receptor that closely resembles receptors that bind estrogen but has no known ligand (binding partner) in the body. Think of it as a special kind of lock.

Senior author Thomas P. Burris, Ph.D., from the University of Florida Genetics Institute, Department of Pharmacodynamics College of Pharmacy, explained the key findings to Medical News Today:

“ERR agonists represent a potential new class of drugs that could be used to treat metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity, as well as muscle weakness in the elderly.”