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Florida Faculty and Professional Staff
Roy Smith
Chairman
Metabolism & Aging
TSRI - 2008
Education
Ph.D. – 1967 – 1970 Organic Chemistry, Queen Mary College, London University, U.K.
Grad. R.I.C. – 1960 – 1967 Chemistry, Physics, Royal Institute of Chemistry, London, U.K, (Part-time) Mathematics
Academic Appointments1998 – 2008: Director, Huffington Center on Aging, Professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Professor, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
1984 – 1987: Professor, Research Director and Director of AUA Scholars Program, Department of Urology, Associate Professor, Department of Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine
1982 – 1984: Associate Professor, Research Director and Director of AUA Scholars Program, Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine
1982 – 1987: Associate Professor, Department of Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine
1979 – 1982: Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston
1976 – 1979: Associate Professor and Director of Endocrine Fellow Research Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine
1974 – 1976 : Assistant Professor, Department of Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine
Pharmaceutical Industry Employment1994 – 1998: Vice President, Basic Research, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Rahway, NJ
1991 – 1994: Executive Director, Basic Research, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co.
1987 – 1991: Senior Director, Basic Research, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co.
Business2002 – 2004: Chairman and CSO, Rejuvenon Corp., Houston, Texas
2000 – 2002: Founder, Chairman, CEO and CSO, Rejuvenon Corp.
Awards & Activities
1968: Elected Associate Royal Institute of Chemistry
1969 – 1970: Chairman, Chemical Society of Queen Mary College, London University
1975: Elected Chartered Chemist of U.K.
1988 – 1989: Vice President & President Elect, Society of Basic Urologic Research (AUA)
1989 – 1990: President, Society of Basic Urologic Research (AUA)
1992: Merck & Co. Management Award
1996: University of District of Columbia Beta Kappa Chi Scientific Honor Society Award for encouraging women and minorities in the sciences
2003 – Present: National Scientific Advisory Council, American Federation for Aging Research
2003 – 2006: Endocrine Society, Program Committee
Editorial Boards2002 – Present: Steroids
2004 – Present: Human Molecular Genetics
2003 – Present: Neuro-Endocrinology
2005 – Present: Honorary Editorial Board, Clinical Interventions in Aging
2006 – Present: International Journal of Medical Science
Research Focus
The Scripps Research Institute's Department of Metabolism and Aging at the Scripps Florida campus is focused on understanding the basis of metabolic diseases and identifying the physiological changes that cause loss of function during aging. By understanding the processes associated with these diseases, scientists can take advantage of the unique facilities offered at Scripps Florida that include medicinal chemistry and pharmacology; both are essential for the efficient development of safe and novel therapies.
Multidisciplinary approaches create synergy in the discovery process. Areas of research include developmental biology of fat and muscle, cartilage catabolism, whole body metabolism, molecular genetics, bioinformatics, imaging, and structural studies on G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). The department also applies zebra fish and mouse genetics to help identify safe drug targets for treatment and prevention of functional deficiencies. Such approaches led to identification of a new GPCR, GHS-R1a, and its endogenous agonist, a hormone called ghrelin. A decline in ghrelin production appears to explain many of the changes occurring during normal aging.
In animal models, ghrelin administration inhibits neuronal loss associated with Parkinson's disease, and stroke. Ghrelin also regulates metabolic pathways and the immune system. Identifying the key structural elements of the GHS-R1a is being done in collaboration with Scripps La Jolla. Ongoing studies are designed to elucidate the mechanisms involved.
Selected References
Dixit VD, Yang H, Sun Y, Weeraratna AT, Youm Y-H, Smith RG and Taub DD (2007) Ghrelin promotes thymopoiesis during aging. Journal of Clinical Investigation 117:2778-2790.
Kapás L, Sun Y, Smith RG, Krueger JM (2007) Spontaneous sleep and homeostatic sleep regulation in ghrelin knockout mice. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 293:R510-7.
Sun Y, Butte NF, Hicks LM and Smith RG (2008) Characterization of adult ghrelin and ghrelin receptor knockout mice under positive and negative energy balance. Endocrinology 149:843-850.
Garcia JM, Cata JP, Dougherty PM and Smith RG (2008) Ghrelin prevents cisplatin-induced mechanical hyperalgesia and cachexia. Endocrinology 149:455-460.
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