Robert McKenna, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and director of the Center for Structural Biology, studies adeno-associated virus, or AAV, to understand its molecular mechanisms, modulate the virus, and improve targeted gene therapy treatments. McKenna, who has been a faculty member at UF since 1999, is the winner of the 2025 UF College of Medicine Outstanding Research Scientist Award in Basic or Translational Sciences.