Matthew Splett

The award will provide more than $1 million in funding over five years to train future biomedical scientists.

Hendrik Luesch, Ph.D., a professor of medicinal chemistry and the Debbie and Sylvia DeSantis Chair in Natural Products Drug Discovery and Development, appeared on the Dr. Gundry Podcast with best-selling author Steven Gundry to talk about his marine drug discovery research at the University of Florida.

The award recognizes McCurdy's decades of sustained and influential contributions to medicinal chemistry research.

McCurdy is only the third current faculty member in the UF College of Pharmacy to earn this title.

The NIH cited research led by UF College of Pharmacy faculty in the Investigational New Drug application for mitragynine.

Yanjun Li, Ph.D., and Xingui Liu, Ph.D., who are both faculty in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry in the UF College of Pharmacy, awarded inaugural UF Health Cancer Institute Catalyst Awards for high-risk, high-reward cross-campus research projects.

The Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development and the Department of Chemistry jointly hosted the 3rd RM1 Trainee Meeting at the University of Florida on March 12, 2026.

The Fifth Scientific Kratom Symposium brought together about 100 researchers for four days of presentations and collaboration.

The college’s investigators earned $19.4 million in NIH awards in 2025, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.

Dr. Ratnayake was recognized for her leadership in the renovation of a new $10 million, 14,500-square-foot laboratory designed to advance UF’s integrated drug discovery initiatives.