Thomas Burris, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacodynamics and the director of the UF Genetics Institute, has agreed to serve a two-year term as department chair beginning Aug. 1. As department chair, he will lead the recruitment of several new faculty hires, provide mentoring and guidance to faculty, and make annual research, teaching and service assignments, among many other duties. In serving the department of pharmacodynamics, Dr. Burris will draw upon his leadership experience with the UF Genetics Institute as well as previous positions as vice president for research and graduate education at the University of Health Science and Pharmacy in St. Louis and chair of the department of pharmacological and physiological science at the St. Louis University School of Medicine.
Jason Frazier, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacodynamics, has been appointed as associate chair of the department. He began his new role on June 15. Dr. Frazier joined the UF College of Pharmacy as an assistant professor in 2003. In his two decades with the college, he has run a successful and highly collaborative lab supporting more than $17 million in grant funding as key personnel, with approximately $9 million as a principal investigator or MPI. He also served a seven-year term as the department’s graduate coordinator, has mentored over a dozen graduate students in his laboratory and was appointed as a UF Term Professor in 2017. As associate chair, he will serve on the department’s administrative team and assist faculty in seeking scholarly opportunities and collaborations.
Finally, Maureen Keller-Wood, Ph.D., plans to officially retire and end her tenure as interim department chair on July 31. We congratulate Dr. Keller-Wood on reaching this milestone and thank her for 35 years of service to the UF College of Pharmacy.