McKnight Brain Institute Director Todd Golde, M.D., Ph.D., has joined a distinguished list of speakers who have shared their knowledge and expertise during the University of Florida’s Eye Opener Discovery Breakfast series.
The series, hosted by UF for more than 40 years, brings together leaders from across campus and the community to highlight important issues.
On Sept. 12, Golde shared insights into exciting new research underway at the MBI. Aligning with UF’s preeminence initiative, the MBI is drawing world-class neuroscientists who are advancing knowledge and developing treatments for conditions ranging from brain tumors to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s to memory loss associated with normal aging.
“Neuroscience and neuromedicine research are flourishing at the University of Florida,” Golde told the crowd of about 60, noting that funding by the National Institutes of Health has now reached almost $50 million per year. In 2017, the UF neuroscience department was the No. 3 public university in NIH funding, he said.
Golde highlighted the recruitment to UF of multiple prominent neuroscientists over the past four to five years, and said he was honored to lead the MBI as it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
He emphasized that at UF, it’s all about teamwork: The MBI has more than 150 faculty members who participate from virtually all 16 UF colleges, and it provides training to more than 300 undergraduates, about 40 graduate students and dozens of postdoctoral fellows in neuroscience labs each year. The goal is to create translational teams spanning from discovery science to the clinic.
“We’re going to do our best to take this knowledge and turn it into things that can really help patients,” he said.