March 27, 2025 — Laura Ranum, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, has been named a University of Florida distinguished professor, UF’s highest faculty honor.

She will deliver a distinguished professor lecture March 31 at 2 p.m. in the McKnight Brain Institute’s DeWeese Auditorium.

Distinguished professors at UF are named based on an exceptional record of achievement in teaching, research and publication, as well as for professional and public service, both nationally and internationally. The title signifies a rare and special accomplishment, acknowledging a candidate’s preeminent standing in their discipline.

Ranum, the Kitzman Family Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and founding director of UF’s Center for NeuroGenetics, is a leading investigator of genetic mutations in neurological diseases. Her laboratory has identified genetic mutations related to Alzheimer’s disease, ataxia and myotonic dystrophy.

For 30 years, Ranum’s work has focused on understanding mechanisms and developing therapies for disorders in which letters of the genetic code are repeated too many times, called repeat expansion disorders.

In 2011, her lab discovered that repeat expansion mutations can produce up to six unexpected toxic proteins. While Ranum’s group first found evidence for these repeat associated proteins in spinocerebellar ataxia type 8 and myotonic dystrophy, the proteins are now known to contribute to a growing number of repeat expansion diseases, including specific forms of ALS, frontotemporal dementia and Huntington’s disease.

Most recently, Ranum and collaborators discovered a novel repeat expansion mutation and associated buildup of toxic proteins are tied to an increased risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s.

Her lab is now working on ways to reduce levels of these toxic proteins and to translate these findings into much-needed therapies.

In addition to her new title of distinguished professor, Ranum is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.