Rate My Professor Debra Ann Fadool

Debra Ann Fadool serves as Distinguished Research Professor holding appointments in the Department of Biological Science, the Program in Neuroscience, and the Institute of Molecular Biophysics at Florida State University. She is the Nancy Marcus Professor of Biological Science and Director of the NIH Chemical Senses Training Grant Program. Since 2015, she has been Associate Dean and Director for Postdoctoral Affairs in the Graduate School. Fadool joined FSU in 1999 as Assistant Professor after serving in the same capacity at Auburn University from 1997 to 1999. Her academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Zoology with a focus on Neurobiology from the University of Florida's C.V. Whitney Laboratory in 1993, an M.Sc. in Zoology and Chemistry from the University of Rhode Island in 1987, and a B.A. in Biology and English summa cum laude from Albion College in 1985. She completed postdoctoral research at Brandeis University from 1994 to 1996.

Fadool's research investigates olfactory signal transduction and the neuromodulation of ion channels by hormones and neurotrophins such as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), insulin, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Her lab explores the olfactory system's role as a metabolic sensor, examining diet-induced obesity's effects on olfactory circuits, nanoparticle-based drug delivery to the olfactory bulb, serotonergic modulation, exercise interventions, neuroinflammation, and neurogenesis in relation to metabolic disorders. Techniques employed include electrophysiology, optogenetics, CRISPR gene editing, and metabolic phenotyping. In 2023, she was awarded a $2.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study connections between diet, metabolism, and the brain. As a leader in postdoctoral training, she chairs the Postdoctoral Advisory Board and Awards Committee. She has served on numerous university committees, including multiple terms on Promotion and Tenure Procedures and Neuroscience Search Committees, and founded the TriBeta National Honor Society chapter at FSU. Her contributions extend to visiting lectureships at University College London and the University of Utah.