PHOTOS BY DAVE TITENSOR
Scott Summers, PhD

With the support of an endowed chair, Scott Summers is driving breakthroughs in diabetes treatment

BY AUDREY MAYNARD

Scott Summers, PhD, the William J. Rutter, PhD, Presidential Endowed Chair in Biochemistry, has been searching for a cure for diabetes since he was 14.

Finding a cure for diabetes has been a lifelong pursuit for Scott Summers, PhD—one that began at the age of 14, when his father was diagnosed with the condition. His father’s diagnosis sparked within him a personal quest to understand the biological mechanisms that contribute to not just the disease but also the complications that can accompany it.

Today, Dr. Summers is a distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology in the College of Health. He’s also co-director of the Utah Diabetes and Metabolism Research Center. In 2021, he was appointed the inaugural William J. Rutter, PhD, Presidential Endowed Chair in Biochemistry, established by the pioneering American biochemist and biotechnology entrepreneur William “Bill” Rutter, MS ʼ50.

“When I was recruited to the university in 2016, I was at the point in my career where leadership opportunities were of interest to me, and I was in a place where I felt I could make a big impact,” Dr. Summers said.“To then be appointed to the Rutter Chair was a huge honor, not only giving me professional recognition but extra resources to test new ideas and go out on a limb a little bit.”

Dr. Summers’s research is advancing the idea that fat molecules called ceramides are key drivers of diabetes and heart disease. In 2007, he published a groundbreaking study showing, for the first time, how lowering ceramides in mice improved all metabolic factors that contribute to diabetes. This discovery led Dr. Summers to co-found Centaurus Therapeutics, a biotechnology company working to bring ceramide-lowering medications to the marketplace.

“It was Bill Rutter who was actually a huge help here,” Dr. Summers said. “As a biotech entrepreneur himself, he connected me to the right people—investors and drug development experts—who helped us get this enterprise off the ground.”

Dr. Summers and his team at Centaurus developed a ceramide-lowering drug that will soon enter a phase 1 clinical trial, and they anticipate it could become available for compassionate use for seriously ill patients within a few years.

“What better legacy could a person leave than enabling important research on pathways that may significantly affect the aging process?”

“This drug has the potential to be truly transformative,” Dr. Summers said. “I think we’ll eventually see clinicians measuring ceramides like they do cholesterol. To then be able to prescribe a drug that could lower people’s risk for diabetes and heart disease—it could save a lot of lives.”

As a private philanthropist, Dr. Rutter is grateful to have the opportunity to support basic research that has the potential PROFILE to improve the health and well- being of people throughout the world.

Scott Summers mentors students at the lab

“What better legacy could a person leave than enabling important research on pathways that may significantly affect the aging process?” Dr. Rutter said. “That’s what attracted me to the work of Dr. Scott Summers on ceramides. He has become one of the world’s experts on this class of compounds, and his work may lead to therapeutics with multiple indications beneficial to human health and longevity.”

When Dr. Summers reflects on his legacy at the U and within the field of biochemistry, he can’t help but feel humbled by the company he keeps, particularly his benefactor, mentor, and friend.

“Bill Rutter is a remarkable person who has accomplished so much in his life,” Dr. Summers said. “I can only dream of having a career as impactful as his has been. So, out of all the chairs, to have one with his name on it is pretty amazing.” ❤️