Renowned DNA-Mapping Scientist To Join Growing UF Genetics Institute

July 29, 1999

GAINESVILLE — Combining computer technology with molecular biology — a union that may improve the study of disease development such as cancer — is the newest marriage of genetic sciences being forged by the University of Florida Genetics Institute.

The institute may be unknown to some, but the initiative involves a team of leading-edge scientists who already have garnered about $20 million in annual federal research support. Competing for that money is a host of university-based genetic research centers being organized across the country, but the Florida institute stands out for its heavy use of medical, agricultural and chemical research, three disciplines not usually allied.

Soon to join the UF Genetic Institute is R. Frank Rosenzweig, the interim chair of the department of biological sciences at the University of Idaho. Rosenzweig is the first scientist hired specifically for the Genetics Institute, which was approved by the Florida Board of Regents this summer.

“Dr. Rosenzweig brings with him a state-of-the-art technology that combines powerful computer technology with molecular biology in a way that allows one to monitor the activity of thousands of genes simultaneously,” said Terry Flotte, the interim director of the UF Genetics Institute.

His technology was developed to examine the expression of all 6,000 genes from brewer’s yeast simultaneously. But, Flotte said, the same technology will be used to study complex processes in human cells, such as the development of cancer.

“I am convinced that only now are we in a position to realize completely the promise of molecular genetics,” Rosenzweig said this week. “Florida’s Genetics Initiative could not be better timed; through its willingness to commit major funding to genomics research, UF will place itself in a position not only to capitalize on sweeping changes in biomedical research, but also to play a role in shaping the research agenda.”

Combing computer technology with biology is just one example of the vastly different fields of study the genetics institute is bringing together. Consider some of the founding members’ disciplines: pediatrics, horticultural sciences, biostatistics, chemistry and botany.

They all have a particular expertise in some aspect of individual genes or their functions and/or their interaction with other genes, which is known as functional genomics. This science, they say, will lead the next wave of basic biomedical science and technology.

UF scientists already are national leaders in studying how to use gene therapy — replacing or altering defective genes with healthy genes to treat diseases such as cystic fibrosis, or, in agriculture, to improve crop yields.

The UF Genetics Institute will pull together all of this kind of work going on across campus and absorb already established areas of study such as the UF Gene Therapy Center, the Program in Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology, the Center for Mammalian Genetics and the Program in Medical Ethics, Law and Humanities.

The addition of Rosenzweig, who will be an associate professor of molecular genetics and microbiology, also establishes the UF DNA Microarray Facility, which he will direct.

“Frank is recognized as a national leader in functional genomics and was recently invited to speak at a very prestigious Gordon Research Conference on this topic,” Flotte said. “The recruitment of Frank to join our team represents an outstanding start in our effort to make UF a world-class institution in this area. We are all thrilled that he is coming to Gainesville.”

Rosenzweig also is excited about joining the UF Genetics Institute in January.

“I was drawn to UF because it was made clear that the institute will be truly interdisciplinary. It will be composed of faculty appointed in all colleges involved in biomedical and agricultural research,” he said. “My own group’s research agenda is broad — embracing evolutionary genomics, microbial ecology and biogeochemistry. UF’s willingness to embrace this kind of research made it clear that my career and the careers of my students and postdocs would flourish in Gainesville.”