Category: Faculty News

UF scientist helps breed better fruit

Thornless, disease-resistant and tastier blackberries could be on the horizon thanks to new genetic research led by UF/IFAS professor Zhanao Deng, Ph.D.

UF physicists celebrate prestigious Breakthrough Prize

A global research team led by six UF physics professors—Andrey Korytov, Ph.D., Guenakh Mitselmakher, Ph.D., Jacobo Konigsberg, Ph.D., Philip Chang, Ph.D., Yuta Takahashi, Ph.D., and Paul Avery, Ph.D.—has won the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, one of the world’s most prestigious science prizes. The $3 million award honors discoveries and measurements made at the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s biggest and most powerful international scientific experiment, located in Europe.

Citizen scientists help UF researchers protect keystone species

UF/IFAS Florida Sea Grant agent Rick O’Connor’s Panhandle Terrapin Project recently commenced its 20th season combing the Gulf coast in search of terrapins.

Unraveling the mysteries of dark energy at UF

Recently, groundbreaking data has brought new urgency to the study of dark energy. Zachary Slepian, Ph.D., an associate professor in the UF Department of Astronomy and a member of the Astraeus Space Institute, is at the forefront of this cosmic investigation.

UF-wide teaching and advising winners announced

Five faculty members were announced as winners of the highest UF-wide 2024-25 teaching and advising awards.

UF professor develops AI tool to better assess Parkinson’s disease, other movement disorders

Diego Guarin, Ph.D., has developed a program called VisionMD that uses AI to help doctors more accurately monitor subtle motor changes in patients.

UF professor’s paper ranks No. 2 in citations this century

A publication by Thomas Schmittgen, Ph.D., chair of pharmaceutics in the UF College of Pharmacy, has nearly 150,000 citations in the Web of Science database.

Researcher finds potential treatment for lost sense of smell

UF and Northwestern University scientists significantly reduced nasal inflammation and improved the sense of smell in mice by using a vitamin D nasal spray.

UF Research Foundation names 2025 professors

The University of Florida Research Foundation has named 35 of the university’s most productive and promising faculty members as UFRF Professors for 2025. 

The UFRF Professors were recommended by their college deans based on nominations from their department chairs, a personal statement and an evaluation of their recent research accomplishments as evidenced by publications in scholarly journals, external funding, honors and awards, development of intellectual property and other measures appropriate to their field of expertise.

The sweet history of chocolate draws thousands to St. Augustine

Tourism in St. Augustine got a delicious boost last winter when UF researchers introduced a free exhibit about the history of chocolate, created thanks to a $14,000 Forrest E. Mars, Jr. Chocolate History Grant.

UF professor Clarissa Carr, Ph.D., and UF Master of Historic Preservation student Anthea Grant, pictured above, were recently awarded an additional $17,000 to conduct further research on cultural traditions related to cocoa production.