NEWS
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA. – The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center (HHDC) at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences will gain a new deputy director, Matthew Potthoff, Ph.D., effective January 1. Potthoff will also hold the title of Harold Hamm Endowed Chair in Clinical Diabetes Research and professor of biochemistry and physiology, with a secondary appointment in the division of neurology in the OU School of Medicine.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Potthoff to the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center,” said Jed Friedman, Ph.D., director of HHDC. “As a distinguished neuroscientist, his pioneering work bridges the crucial intersection of brain health and metabolic diseases. His expertise opens exciting new avenues for understanding and treating diabetes, and his leadership will significantly enhance our mission to find a cure and improve lives.”
As deputy director of the HHDC, Potthoff will be responsible for helping guide pilot grants and research events such as the Metabolic Research Conference and the Diabetes Research Symposium, as well as representing the center’s vision, direction and investment opportunities.
Potthoff returns home to Oklahoma and OU, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2003. He then earned his doctorate from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and subsequently performed a Howard Hughes Postdoctoral Fellowship. In 2012, he joined the faculty in the Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology and the F.O.E. Diabetes Research Center at the University of Iowa. His primary research interests are the role of liver-derived hormones, termed hepatokines, in regulating systemic energy and nutrient homeostasis through their actions on the brain. Based on his work, Potthoff was awarded the Distinguished Scholar Award at the University of Iowa and received the Roy J. Carver Professorship in Neuroscience and Pharmacology. In addition to his research, Potthoff served as the Molecular Medicine Graduate Program Director at the University of Iowa.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
Mary Margaret Holt, dean of the University of Oklahoma Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts, has been honored with the Paseo Arts Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her leadership and contributions to Oklahoma’s arts community.
With winter weather already bringing low temperatures to the state, the Oklahoma Poison Center is urging residents to take extra precautions to avoid carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning as they begin heating their homes for the winter season. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can be deadly when inhaled in large quantities, and it poses a heightened risk as people rely on heating devices for warmth during cold weather.
Thanks to support from the Chickasaw Nation, the University of Oklahoma College of Law has announced the continuation and expansion of the Chickasaw Nation – Henry Family Lecture Series. Under the new name, the event will continue to showcase thought-provoking discourse surrounding the rule of law.
