College of Medicine

   Richard Nowakowski, the Randolph L. Rill Professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, has joined the Florida Biomedical Research Advisory Council. Florida Gov. Rick Scott made the appointment in October.
   The advisory council advises the state Surgeon General on decisions about how millions in annual research grant money in Florida is allocated among state university and independent scientists. The funding comes from the James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program and the Bankhead-Coley Cancer Research Program.
   Nowakowski fills a vacant seat on the 11-person council that was previously held by Myra Hurt, the College of Medicine’s senior associate dean for research and graduate programs. Hurt originally was appointed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 2006 and later was reappointed by former Gov. Charlie Crist for a four-year term that expired last year. Nowakowski’s term runs until January 2018.
   The Florida Legislature originally designated funds from the state’s 1997 settlement with the tobacco industry to be used to support biomedical research on the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure for tobacco-related diseases. Legislation enacted in 2006, shortly after Hurt joined the council, doubled available funding to $18 million annually.
   Tobacco is linked to each of the top three causes of death in Florida. Cancer is the leading cause, followed by heart disease and the tobacco-related diseases of emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and chronic lower respiratory disease.
Scientists at any university or institute in Florida may apply for grant funding based on scientific merit. The advisory council is charged with developing the program’s objectives and priorities, and with recommending which research proposals should be funded.
   Numerous young researchers at the College of Medicine and other departments at FSU have received financial support for their work from the King and Bankhead-Coley Programs. Examples include Yoichi Kato, Akash Gunjan, and Yanchang Wang from Biomedical Sciences, and former faculty member Mary Gerend from Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine.
   Nowakowski earned his Ph.D. in cell and developmental biology at Harvard University and completed postdoctoral fellowships in neuroscience at Duke University and the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry.

   He has extensive grant-reviewing experience for the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and NASA, and for many foundations. He also has been a member of the scientific advisory board of Autism Speaks and has served on the board of directors for the National Postdoctoral Association.

   "It is a privilege to represent the scientific community and to serve the people of Florida through this appointment," Nowakowski said.