I am delighted to announce that Laura M. Bohn, PhD, has joined the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine as senior associate dean for Basic and Translational Research and professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology.
Dr. Bohn comes to us from The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, where she served as chair of the Department of Molecular Medicine, co-director of the Center for New Medicines Initiatives, and held the Dembling Endowed Chair for Drug Discovery and Human Health Research. She previously held tenured faculty appointments at The Ohio State University and Scripps Research.
Scientific Leadership and Research Excellence
Dr. Bohn is an internationally recognized leader in molecular pharmacology and neurobiology, best known for her pioneering
Laura M. Bohn, PhD
studies on G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) — the most abundant class of drug targets in the human body. Her laboratory has made landmark discoveries in opioid receptor signaling bias, elucidating how selective activation of intracellular pathways can achieve potent analgesia without respiratory depression or tolerance development. This paradigm-shifting work has transformed our understanding of opioid pharmacology and inspired the search for next-generation, non-addictive pain therapeutics.
Her research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), particularly the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), for more than two decades. She currently serves as principal investigator or multiple principal investigator on several active NIH R01 and P01 awards totaling over $15 million, including studies on biased mu- and kappa-opioid receptor ligands, endocannabinoid signaling, and natural product pharmacology. Dr. Bohn has authored over 130 peer-reviewed publications, including seminal papers in Science, Nature, Cell, Neuron, Journal of Clinical Investigation, and Molecular Pharmacology, with more than 30,000 citations to her work. She also holds multiple U.S. and international patents related to GPCR-targeted therapeutics.
Dr. Bohn earned her undergraduate degrees in biochemistry (BS) and in chemistry (BA) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and her PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from the St. Louis University School of Medicine. She did postdoctoral research with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University Medical Center with Drs. Marc Caron and Robert J. Lefkowitz.
An exemplary mentor, she has trained dozens of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who now hold leadership roles in academia, government, and the biopharmaceutical industry.
Honors and National Impact
Her scientific distinction is reflected in a remarkable array of national and international honors, including the John J. Abel Award from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), the Joseph Cochin Young Investigator Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, and numerous distinguished lectureships such as the Coy W. Waller, William & Carmella Riker, and Dennis Feller Memorial Lectureships. She has delivered hundreds of invited talks worldwide and chaired major meetings including the Gordon Research Conference on Molecular Pharmacology.
Dr. Bohn has also played a major role in shaping biomedical research policy through service on the NIDA and NIDDK Boards of Scientific Counselors, numerous NIH study sections, the ASPET Publications Committee, and multiple scientific advisory boards spanning academia, industry, and federal agencies. Her leadership extends to editorial boards of top-tier journals, including Journal of Clinical Investigation – Insight, Molecular Pharmacology, and Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Role at USF Health
At USF Health, Dr. Bohn will play a central role in advancing our strategic research portfolio, enhancing the integration of basic, translational, and clinical science, optimizing core facilities, and fostering multidisciplinary collaborations across departments and colleges. Her visionary approach to translational pharmacology aligns perfectly with USF Health’s commitment to accelerating bench-to-bedside discovery and improving patient outcomes.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Laura M. Bohn — a scientist of exceptional insight, accomplishment, and leadership — to our USF Health community.