College of Medicine

Jeffrey Joyce’s path to the Florida State University College of Medicine began just down the road in Gainesville, but took him on a winding journey from California to Pennsylvania, Arizona and Kansas.

He will be the College of Medicine’s new senior associate dean for research and graduate programs, effective Feb. 1. Myra Hurt, who helped create the College of Medicine and has served since 2004 as its head of research and graduate programs, will move into a new role leading the university’s Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences program.

Joyce, currently vice president for research at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, has served in research leadership positions and taught at a half-dozen medical schools. He established the consortium that became the Arizona Parkinson's Disease Research Center and directed its three clinical sites and six research labs. He also has been awarded more than 25 federal, state and pharmaceutical industry grants, and has served on numerous NIH and Veteran's Administration review boards.

“In my many different roles and institutions I have worked and collaborated with remarkable researchers, clinicians and patients,” he said. “That culture of collaboration enabled me to be more successful in my own research, and to provide a platform for greater success of the scientists, physician-scientists and students I worked with.

“What attracted me to FSU and this College of Medicine is the people that work here. We have gifted researchers and students that want to make a difference. I will ensure we have a culture of collaboration between all faculty, departments, colleges at FSU and Floridian institutions.”

Internationally recognized for his research in central nervous system drug discovery, Joyce earned a Ph.D. in philosophy and physiological psychology at the University of Florida. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Irvine.

Florida State’s structure and mission, while quite different from those at medical schools where he previously taught, was a selling point.

“The missions to train primary-care physicians and grow an interdisciplinary graduate program are important to me personally and professionally,” he said. “Research needs to be integrated into primary care and general medicine as a tool to enhance the quality of medical delivery and care.

“The distributed Clinical Research Network provides a unique opportunity to drive that core mission, provide opportunities for medical students, graduate students and clinicians to integrate research into primary care, and provide new approaches to treatment to their patients.”

Joyce said the most significant challenge awaiting him will be to help Florida State develop its translational research.

“This will provide new prospects for external funding, greater impact in the community and opportunities for our students,” he said. “The state Legislature has set important missions for our research that we need to translate into real impact for the people that live and work here in Florida. I believe that all research is ‘young’; that is why it is always creative and difficult.

“Because we are a relatively young College of Medicine we are able to create our own path to success, and touch the lives of many Floridians in doing so.”