Friday, January 30, 2026
The College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences at UNT Health Fort Worth has appointed Dr. Nathalie Sumien as chair for the Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience. Sumien assumes the new role after serving as interim chair of the department since 2023.
Sumien, who is also a professor of pharmacology and neuroscience, has held various faculty positions in the department since 2005 and served as discipline advisor since 2010.
“The Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience is doing critical work to discover
and develop new treatments for conditions like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, substance
use disorders, glaucoma, traumatic brain injury, and stroke, while training the next
generations of high-quality scientists in these areas,” Sumien said.
“I am honored and excited to step into this leadership role permanently and energized by the opportunity to build on our momentum with our outstanding team of faculty, staff and trainees.”
In addition to her experience as lead administrator for the department, Sumien has played a key role in managing and maintaining continuous funding for the Institutional T32 Training Grant in the Neurobiology of Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health.
The program has a strong track record of success, evidenced by numerous high-impact publications, prestigious awards, and placement of trainees into competitive academic and research-focused careers. Supporting around 30 trainees per cycle with up to two years of funding, the program fosters a highly productive and research-intensive training environment contributing to the field of aging and that of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Sumien is an established biogerontologist engaged in longitudinal and sequential studies examining interventions to reverse cognitive and motor declines associated with aging and neurodegenerative conditions. Her work has been supported by NIH/NIA, Alzheimer’s Association, Owens Medical Foundation, BvB Foundation, Feddersen Foundation and the Lowdon Foundation. She also serves on the Executive Board of the American Aging Association and has received multiple university-wide achievement awards. She is currently a fellow of the Texas Academic Leadership Academy.
An advocate for trainee development, Sumien has built a strong record of mentorship training dozens of graduate and undergraduate students and post-doctoral fellows. In addition to direct mentorship, Sumien has contributed broadly to graduate education at the college, serving on over 30 student committees across disciplines.
“Dr. Sumien has a proven track record as a leader, mentor and scientist. As she takes over the permanent role, I am confident she will bring continued leadership and success to the department and CBTS,” said Dr. David Keller, dean of the College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences.
The Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience is home to 19 faculty who maintain active research programs in areas including aging and Alzheimer’s disease, drug discovery, glaucoma and ocular pharmacology, stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease and more.
The department’s research is supported with funding from federal grants as well as foundations and supported by a state-of-the-art preclinical behavioral facility. The department also provides high-quality graduate training for graduate students in the Pharmacology and Neuroscience and Visual Sciences research disciplines.
From UNT Health Newsroom - Research: by Matt Havlik