Thomas P. Burris, Ph.D., director of the University of Florida Genetics Institute and a professor of cellular and systems pharmacology in the UF College of Pharmacy, has been selected as the recipient of the Louis S. Goodman and Alfred Gilman Award in Receptor Pharmacology, one of the most distinguished honors in the field of pharmacology.
The Goodman and Gilman Award is presented biennially by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, or ASPET, and has been awarded since 1980. Burris is the 24th recipient of this honor. Notably, eight past recipients have gone on to receive Nobel Prizes and/or Lasker Awards, underscoring the exceptional scientific impact and prestige associated with this award. Named for the pioneering pharmacologists whose textbook, “The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics,” helped define modern pharmacology, the award recognizes careers marked by sustained and transformative contributions to receptor pharmacology.
“It is deeply humbling to receive the Goodman and Gilman Award, whose recipients include scientists who have defined modern pharmacology, and I am honored to be included among them,” Burris said. “As a pharmacologist and drug discovery scientist, ASPET has served as my scientific society home for many years. I have served on the editorial board of one of their key journals, Molecular Pharmacology, for two decades.”
Burris is internationally recognized for seminal contributions to nuclear receptor biology and pharmacology, including the discovery and characterization of ligands for orphan nuclear receptors and the development of pharmacologic strategies targeting these receptors. His work has fundamentally reshaped understanding of nuclear receptors in metabolism, circadian regulation, inflammation and cardiovascular disease, and has catalyzed multiple translational and drug discovery programs that have progressed toward clinical development.
Burris will be formally recognized with the Goodman and Gilman Award at the ASPET Annual Meeting, May 17-20, in Minneapolis, where his career and scientific contributions will be highlighted before an international audience of pharmacologists and biomedical scientists.