Christopher McCurdy, Ph.D., FAAPS, has been promoted to distinguished professor, the highest faculty honor at the University of Florida. He is only the third current faculty member in the UF College of Pharmacy to earn this title.
The distinguished professor title recognizes faculty who have a sustained and exemplary record of accomplishments in research, teaching, outreach and service. The distinction is reserved for professors whose scholarly achievements have made a significant impact on their field and who rank among the nation’s leading experts in their discipline. Eligibility is limited to tenured faculty who have spent at least a decade at UF and served as a professor for seven or more years.
McCurdy joined the UF College of Pharmacy in 2017 and was promoted to distinguished professor in his first year of eligibility. He serves as the Frank A. Duckworth Eminent Scholar Chair and the associate dean for faculty development in the UF College of Pharmacy. Additionally, he is the director of the UF Translational Drug Development Core.
A broadly trained medicinal chemist, behavioral pharmacologist and pharmacist, McCurdy’s research focuses on discovering and developing new therapies for pain, substance use disorders and other neurological conditions. He is internationally recognized for his pioneering research on kratom, or Mitragyna speciosa, and its potential as a treatment for opioid withdrawal syndrome, as well as his work developing novel sigma receptor compounds for pain diagnosis and treatment. He has authored nearly 250 scientific publications and book chapters and delivered more than 400 invited presentations worldwide.
McCurdy has earned extensive federal funding support from agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since joining UF, he has secured more than $40 million in federal extramural awards.
McCurdy has also distinguished himself through mentorship and national leadership. He has mentored nearly 200 students, postdoctoral associates, research scientists and trainees, many of whom now work in academia, industry or with federal agencies. He served as president of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, or AAPS, one of the world’s leading professional organizations for pharmaceutical scientists, and has received numerous national honors, including the AAPS Distinguished Service Award and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Chemistry Section Lifetime Research Award.
McCurdy joins Charles Peloquin, Pharm.D., FCCP, the Jack C. Massey Endowed Professor and Almut Winterstein, Ph.D., FISPE, the Dr. Robert and Barbara Crisafi Chair for Medication Safety, as faculty holding the distinguished professor title in the UF College of Pharmacy.