Michael Uhler, PhD, retires from active faculty status

Congratulations and best wishes to Mike Uhler, who has been named Professor Emeritus of Biological Chemistry and Research Professor Emeritus, Michigan Neuroscience Institute. His retirement memoir, adopted by the Regents of the University of Michigan at their June 2024 meeting, is reprinted below.

Retirement Memoir of Michael D. Uhler, PhD

Michael D. Uhler, PhD, Professor of Biological Chemistry and Research Professor in the Michigan Neuroscience Institute, retired from active faculty status on June 30, 2024.

Professor Uhler received his BS degree from Seattle University in 1977 and his PhD degree in biochemistry from the University of Oregon in 1982. After postdoctoral studies at Stanford University and the University of Washington, he joined the faculty at the University of Michigan as assistant professor of biological chemistry and assistant research scientist in the Mental Health Research Institute (current Michigan Neuroscience Institute) in 1988. He was promoted to associate professor of biological chemistry and associate research scientist in the Mental Health Research Institute in 1993 and then to senior associate research scientist in the Mental Health Research Institute in 1997. Professor Uhler was promoted to professor of biological chemistry and research professor at the Michigan Neuroscience Institute in 2002.

Professor Uhler’s research interests have centered on the signaling mechanisms controlling gene expression in cells of the central nervous system, with a major focus on cyclic AMP-protein kinase A signaling. He developed pluripotent stem cells as a model for human neurological disorders and this research resulted in many multi-year research grants from the NIH and private foundations such as the March of Dimes and the Pritzker Neuropsychiatric Disorders Research Consortium. Dr. Uhler has over 100 peer-reviewed publications, chapters in books, and presentations at national and international meetings. He served on multiple NIH study sections and was a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Biological Chemistry for ten years. He received the Research Scientist Recognition Award in 1999. Professor Uhler has had a deep interest in teaching undergraduate, graduate, medical and dental students and received the EBS Teaching Award in 2013 and again in 2014 for these efforts. His interests in graduate education led him to become director of the Neuroscience Graduate Program from 1995–1998 and associate director of the Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Program from 2001–2003. Within his own laboratory, Professor Uhler mentored 39 undergraduate students, seven master’s students, ten PhD students and seven postdoctoral fellows. Professor Uhler gratefully acknowledges the support and encouragement of his fellow faculty, staff and students here at the University of Michigan during his career.

The Regents now salute this distinguished faculty member by naming Michael D. Uhler, Professor Emeritus of Biological Chemistry and Research Professor Emeritus, Michigan Neuroscience Institute.