David Fuller, Ph.D.

David Fuller, Ph.D., is the Associate Dean for Research at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions. In this role, he actively promotes the college’s research mission, in particular, supporting PHHP faculty with development of research grants. He manages college resources, such as the PHHP Research Innovation Fund and PHHP Grant Feedback Portal, and leads “PHHP Days,” a two-day showcase of college research. Dr. Fuller is currently the co-Chair of the UF Council of Research Associated Deans (CORAD).

Dr. Fuller directs a research laboratory in the UF McKnight Brain Institute that is funded by the National Institutes of Health. His current areas of emphasis include 1) therapeutic uses of oxygen in acute to sub-acute spinal cord injury, and 2) developing and testing novel therapeutic approaches for neuromuscular disorders with emphasis on Pompe disease.

He serves as principal investigator of an NIH T32 Training Grant in Neuromuscular Plasticity that has been continually funded for 20 years and provides interdisciplinary training of clinicians and basic scientists in neuromuscular plasticity and rehabilitation science.

Lastly, he is the Associate Director of the Breathing Research and Therapeutics Center (BREATHE). BREATHE brings researchers together from throughout the UF campus in a collaborative effort to advance the understanding and treatment of neuromuscular disorders that compromise breathing.

The focus of my research is respiratory neuromuscular control and rehabilitation. Current areas of emphasis include 1) developing gene therapy approaches for respiratory neuromuscular disorders, 2) electrical, pharmacological, and chemogenetic stimulation of respiratory neurons to promote respiratory motor recovery after spinal cord injury, and 3) therapeutic uses of oxygen following spinal cord injury.