A World Class Team of Scientists & Engineers
Leadership
Senior Scientific Director
Louis Scampavia, Ph.D.
Email: scampavia.louis@ufl.edu
Office: 561-228-2101
Senior Scientific Director
Timothy P. Spicer, Ph.D.
Email: spicert@ufl.edu
Office: 561-228-2150
Staff
HTS Robotics Engineer III
Justin Shumate
Email: jshumate@ufl.edu
Office: 561-228-2406
Scientific Associate
Virneliz Fernandez-Vega
Email: vfernandezvega@ufl.edu
Office: 561-228-2136
Scientific Associate
Emery Smith
Email: smith.emery@ufl.edu
Office: 561-228-3535
Compound Manager
Lina DeLuca
Email: lina.deluca@ufl.edu
Office: 561-228-2129
Staff Scientist
Yuka Otsuka, Ph.D.
Email: otsuka.yu@ufl.edu
Office: 561-228-2742
Research Assistant III
Luis Ortiz
Email: lmanuel.ortiz@ufl.edu
Office: 561-228-3500
Research Assistant
Rick Hawkins
Email: r.hawkins@ufl.edu
Office: 561-228-3500
HTS Robotics Engineer
Jocelyn Pena
Email: jocelyn.pena@ufl.edu
Office: 561-228-2739
Postdoctoral Associate
Nesrine Benslimane
Email: n.bensilmane@ufl.edu
Office: 561-228-2032
Postdoctoral Associate
Claudia McCown
Email: claudia.mccown@ufl.edu
Office: 561-228-2705
HTS Robotics Engineer
Will Shuman
Email: wshuman@ufl.edu
Office: 561-228-3115
High-Throughput Molecular Screening Center
Under the UF Scripps umbrella in Jupiter, FL, the High Throughput Molecular Screening Center operates in greater than 6500 ft2 of office and laboratory space. Founded in 2005, the High-Throughput Molecular Screening Center is comprised of administrative, scientific and engineering personnel with backgrounds in both industry and academia. Included in those categories are cell/molecular biologists, biochemists, microbiologists, software programmers, cheminformaticists and compound managers. In addition, the High-Throughput Molecular Screening Center has access to over 50 medicinal chemists and DMPK/pharmacology techniques at UF Scripps.
The initial investment for the High-Throughput Molecular Screening Center was twin Kalypsys-GNF robotic platforms dedicated to high-throughput screening and compound management. Since then it has been awarded multiple NIH grants in addition to other private sources of funding. In 2008, the NIH awarded an $88MM, 6-year MLPCN grant to fund “probe” discovery efforts, a result of the outstanding work of the UF Scripps Translational Research Institute, of which the High-Throughput Molecular Screening Center is a primary part.
UF Scripps Biomedical Research
UF Scripps is a state-of-the-art biomedical research facility located on 30 acres in Jupiter, Florida (Palm Beach County). An additional 70 acres are available for expansion on the adjacent Briger tract in Palm Beach Gardens. Research operations commenced in 2004.
Using the latest research technology, researchers at Scripps Florida focus on basic biomedical research and drug discovery. Over 350 faculty members and scientific, technical, and administrative staff currently work at the 350,000 ft2 complex. The start-up costs of Scripps Florida—a division of The Scripps Research Institute headquartered in La Jolla, California—were supported by a one-time $310 million appropriation of federal economic development funds by the Florida State Legislature. Palm Beach County provided an economic package that included funding for land and construction of the current permanent facility and related costs.
Much of the work at Scripps Florida is dedicated to basic biomedical research, a vital segment of medical research that seeks to decipher the most fundamental processes of life. Additionally, researchers at Scripps Florida are developing advanced technologies, and applying these tools to the discovery of new therapeutic agents for a variety of devastating human diseases, including HIV/AIDS, cancer, depression, diabetes, hepatitis C, leishmaniasis (a tropical and sub-tropical parasitic disease), obesity, prion disease, Parkinson’s disease, and diseases of learning and memory including Alzheimer’s disease, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism.
Currently, five academic departments of The Scripps Research Institute are headquartered at Scripps Florida – Cancer Biology, Infectology, Metabolism and Aging, Molecular Therapeutics, and Neuroscience, plus the Translational Research Institute, which consists of two primary departments, Advanced Technologies and Drug Discovery.
A number of Scripps Florida faculty have joint appointments in the Translational Research Institute and an academic department. It is anticipated that additional institute departments will be headquartered at Scripps Florida as it continues to build out academic programs in the biological and chemical sciences.