USF SafetyFlorida, a workplace consultation program for Florida’s small businesses, is offering these enterprising teen workers a website dedicated to helping them remain safe on the job. The online workplace safety course, accessed through www.safeteenjobs.com, was developed under the direction of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Through real-life stories and interactive games, teens will learn how to identify and reduce job hazards and know their rights in the workplace. For example, a teen working in a fast-food restaurant will be given techniques for avoiding burns and other kitchen hazards.

“Teens are highly susceptible to occupational injuries,” said Charlene Vespi, program director of USF SafetyFlorida. “They often lack the knowledge of workplace dangers. Safeteenjobs.com is an important resource for teens in understanding potential hazards and empowering them to make smart decisions while working this summer.”

Upon successful completion of the six-lesson course, participants receive a certificate of completion from USF SafetyFlorida. The cost is $39.95, and group rates are available through the American Safety Council, which hosts the website.

For more information, visit www.safeteenjobs.com

About USF SafetyFlorida
USF SafetyFlorida, headquartered in Tampa and with consultants across the state, is a workplace safety consultation program for Florida’s small businesses. It is funded by OSHA and the State of Florida and is operated as a service of the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health. The consultation program offers complimentary, confidential and comprehensive assistance throughout Florida. To help employers profit from a safer workplace, the program identifies workplace hazards, offers solutions for safety and health problems, provides training and education, and assists in creating safety and health management plans. To learn more about the USF SafetyFlorida Consultation Program or to request a confidential consultation, visit its website at www.usfsafetyflorida.com.

Program director Lennox Hoyte, MD, has begun seeing patients monthly at the offices of Physician Care Clinical Research, 1931 South Tuttle Ave, in Sarasota. Patients have access to the latest technology in urodynamics and bowel testing, cystoscopy and ultrasound and MRI imaging, which can help in diagnosing pelvic floor problems. Services include minimally-invasive and traditional surgeries for incontinence and prolapse, InterStim® therapy, an implantable device for difficult-to-treat urinary symptoms, and botox and pelvic floor physical therapy for severe pelvic floor pain syndromes.

Dr. Hoyte is associate professor and medical director of Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery at USF Health. He is an attending obstetrician/gynecologist at Tampa General Hospital and specializes in all types of pelvic floor disorders, including childbirth-related injury and pelvic muscle dysfunction. He is skilled in the use of robotic-assisted, minimally invasive procedures to treat prolapse.

Dr. Hoyte received his MD degree from Stanford Medical School and completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Brigham and Women’s/Massachusetts General Hospital joint training program. He completed a fellowship in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery at Loyola University Medical Center. He is a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist, a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and a member of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons.

For more information, please call (941) 957-1365 or go to www.usfurogyn.com

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

Sandra Cadena, PhD

Tampa, FL (April 13, 2009) -- Sandra J. Cadena, PhD, ARNP, CNE, director of Global Health at the USF College of Nursing, has been appointed by the National League for Nursing to serve as an NLN Ambassador. As a member of this elite corps, Dr. Cadena will help keep USF nursing faculty and administration informed about the NLN’s initiatives, grant opportunities, conferences, publications, workshops, and other benefits available to NLN members.

“We created this selective program to make it as easy as possible for nurse faculty and nursing programs at all levels of academia to understand what the NLN has to offer to enhance professional development and status,” said NLN CEO Dr. Beverly Malone. “At the same time, we expect the Ambassadors to communicate to NLN professional staff and the board what issues and challenges are of greatest concern to nurse educators in the field so that we can maximize the effectiveness of our programming and services. The Ambassadors are, in effect, the NLN’s ‘eyes and ears’ on campus.”

Dr. Cadena has been instrumental in advancing the College of Nursing’s vision throughout her nine-year University career. Before joining USF fulltime, she was an entrepreneur in her field of psychiatric nursing, and in private practice for more than 15 years. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and most recently had a book chapter accepted in the soon to be released NLN book, Giving Through Teaching: How Nurse Educators are Changing the World.

It is anticipated that, as do all NLN Ambassadors, Dr. Cadena will encourage colleagues at USF to participate in NLN professional development programs, apply for research grants, submit abstracts for the annual Education Summit and manuscripts to the NLN's peer-reviewed journal, Nursing Education Perspectives, volunteer for task groups and special committees, run for elected office, nominate colleagues for awards, and complete research surveys.

The NLN Ambassador Program was established in fall 2006 with an initial cadre of 126 members who teach in all types of nursing programs – practical nurse, associate degree, diploma, baccalaureate, master's and doctoral. Today there are more than 700 ambassadors representing schools of nursing in 49 states. New ones are appointed periodically to meet the goal of having at least one NLN Ambassador in every school of nursing.

"We are confident that the insights gained through this valuable relationship will help make the NLN more responsive to the needs of our dedicated nurse educators,” Dr. Malone said.

- USF Health –
USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

- National League for Nursing -
Dedicated to excellence in nursing education, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education offering faculty development, networking opportunities, testing and assessment, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 27,000 individual and over 1100 institutional members.

Sandra Magyar, right, accepts her award from Donna Petersen, ScD, dean of the College of Public Health.

Tampa, FL (April 2, 2009) — Sandra Magyar, executive director of the Florida Public Health Association (FPHA), has been named the Florida Outstanding Woman in Public Health for 2009 by the University of South Florida College of Public Health.

The College bestows the award each year to a woman whose career accomplishments and leadership have contributed significantly to the field of public health in Florida. Magyar was honored at an awards ceremony April 1 at the USF College of Public Health Auditorium in Tampa.

Under Magyar’s leadership, the FPHA has nearly doubled its membership to one of the largest of any state American Public Health Association (APHA) affiliate. Many other organizations in Florida and nationwide have sought to use the model Magyar developed for the FPHA in advancing public health advocacy, education and networking.

Magyar started her career as a health educator at the Duval County Public Health Unit in 1973, rising to the position of Operations and Management Consultant Manager. She became executive director of FPHA in 2002, after serving in a variety of volunteer positions for the organization including annual education conference chair, executive board member, and president. She was instrumental in creating the Florida Public Health Foundation, which was subsequently funded by the Florida Legislature to serve the state’s public health interests.

Magyar has been executive director of the American Association of Public Health Physicians and of the Florida Association of County Health Officers, the state group of county health department executives. She currently chairs the Board of Directors for the State Employees Credit Union. She helped forge a connection between the USF College of Public Health’s Public Health Leadership Institute and FPHA, raising awareness among members interested in career development or pursuing graduate studies in public health.

Magyar has been recognized for her work and scope of leadership with prestigious awards from the FPHA, the Southern Public Health Association and the APHA. She holds a master’s of education degree in health education with an emphasis in administration from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.

The Florida Outstanding Woman in Public Health Award was initiated by USF in 1988, and nominations are solicited from public health practitioners across the state.

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu.

- Photo by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications

Tampa FL (March 13, 2009) -- In Florida, black young adults are hospitalized for stroke at a rate three times higher than their white and Hispanic peers, a new study by University of South Florida researchers reports. The study was presented today at the American Heart Association’s Council on Epidemiology and Prevention Annual Conference and appears in an advance online version of the international journal Neuroepidemiology.

Disparities in stroke outcomes between black and white patients have been widely reported for years. While overall death rates for stroke are down, blacks bear a disproportionate burden of disease, disability and death from strokes, said lead author Elizabeth Barnett Pathak, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology at the USF College of Public Health.

“Our study shows this black-white disparity hasn’t improved. In fact, it’s clear that the gap emerges even at relatively young ages – among adults hospitalized for strokes in their 20s and 30s – and widens with increasing age,” Dr. Pathak said. “It points toward an urgent need for primary prevention of hypertension, obesity, and other stroke risk factors among African Americans to eliminate disparities in stroke.”

While most strokes occur among the elderly, stroke in young adults can lead to chronic illness and disability that places a terrible burden on the victims and their families, said Michael Sloan, MD, professor of neurology and director of the USF Stroke Program at Tampa General Hospital. “If the stroke is severe it can be very debilitating, impacting the ability of young people to work and raise their families.”

And even in young adults strokes can be fatal. The Florida study found 8 to 10 percent of stroke patients died before discharge from the hospital.

The USF researchers examined more than 16,000 stroke cases of young adults hospitalized for stroke in Florida from 2001 through 2006. The study included men and women, ages 25 to 49, from the three largest ethnic groups in Florida: whites, blacks and Hispanics. Among the findings:

• The age-adjusted stroke hospitalization rate for blacks was three times higher than for whites or Hispanics. Stroke hospitalization rates for Hispanics were similar to those for whites.

• The rates at which hospitalized stroke patients died were 15 percent higher for blacks than whites, but this disparity was explained by a greater prevalence of stroke risk factors and complicating illnesses such as diabetes, coronary artery disease and heart failure.

• In contrast, Hispanic stroke patients were 27 percent less likely to die in the hospital than whites after taking risk factors and other illnesses into account. More studies are needed to determine whether Hispanic ethnicity actually confers any sort of protective advantage, the researchers said.

• Black stroke patients were more likely than whites and Hispanics to have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, morbid obesity or drug abuse. White stroke patients were more likely to have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, alcohol abuse or cigarette smoking.

• The majority of black stroke patients (56 percent) where women, while the majority of Hispanic and white patients were men.

• Hispanics were more likely than blacks and whites to suffer a hemorrhagic stroke, triggered by the rupture of a blood vessel in the brain. As with the elderly, the most common type of stroke in younger adults, known as ischemic stroke, was caused by the obstruction of blood flow to the brain.

While the USF study did not find an increase (or decrease) in young adults hospitalized for stroke in Florida, Dr. Sloan is concerned that tough economic times could lead to rise in strokes and other cardiovascular incidents. “If people stop taking their blood pressure pills and other medications because they can no longer afford it, they may have a stroke or heart attack,” he said.

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

The new affiliation was announced by the leadership of USF Health and LVHN at a joint video conference.

(March 5, 2009) -- The University of South Florida’s College of Medicine (USF) and Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) today announced an affiliation that will create a Health Care Leadership Track; a medical education curriculum to train a new generation of 21st century physician leaders. LVHN will serve as the northern instructional medical campus of USF Health. The campus located in Allentown, Pa. will serve third and fourth year medical students of USF Health who will receive all of their clinical medical education at the campus while residing in the Lehigh Valley.

Students from Pennsylvania and the surrounding area will be able to attend USF Health located in Tampa, Fla., for their first two years of medical school, and then return to LVHN for their last two years. Under the affiliation, USF initially will expand the number of available slots in its annual medical school class by 24 students, and eventually by 48 students.

“We are tired of hearing that the health care system is broken. It is time to fix it,” said Stephen Klasko, M.D., M.B.A. Senior Vice President for USF Health and the Dean of the College of Medicine. “We want to transform the fundamentals of medicine, the DNA of the health care system, one medical student at a time.”

“This relationship between the University of South Florida and Lehigh Valley Health Network represents an opportunity to partner with one of the country’s most progressive medical schools which will allow us to create a national leadership track in medical education and to bring more physicians to Pennsylvania,” said Elliot J. Sussman, M.D., LVHN’s President and CEO. “We need to have training that meets the needs of our population in the future,” Sussman said.

“We are jointly designing a new medical education curriculum that will prepare physicians for the new paradigm of health care delivery. This emphasis includes cost management, physician leadership development, and emphasizes high quality and safe care for patients. Teaching hospitals like LVHN must be committed to developing new and innovative ways to train doctors so they can help with the health care reform everyone believes we so desperately need in this country.”

“We want to transform... the DNA of the health care system, one medical student at a time,” said Stephen Klasko, MD, USF Health CEO and medical school dean.

In fact, in October of 2008, 35 national leaders in medical education met for a conference sponsored by the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation of New York to address complex issues concerning the medical school of the future. Much of the discussion of the conference focused on the contemporary realities that are not yet reflected in the preparation of future physicians. Some notable examples include the accelerating pace of scientific discovery, more public accountability, the unsustainable rise in health care costs, the well-documented shortfalls in healthcare quality, the unconscionable racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care and the inexorable increase in the burden of chronic illness and disease.

The conferees were led by Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., President Emeritus of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and currently Professor of Medicine and Public Health at George Washington University. “The overarching theme that coursed through the discussions was the urgent desire to bring medical education into better alignment with societal needs and expectations”, Dr. Cohen said. “The new affiliation between USF and LVHN offers great promise in making a concrete difference in the medical school educational mission, just when we need it most.”

Sussman also said increasing the pool of highly qualified physicians is extremely important because the population is both aging and increasing. In fact, Florida and Pennsylvania lead in the nation in the proportion of the total population that is 65 and older. While the number of physicians is inadequate to serve the population’s needs in the future, experts are predicting a major physician shortage of between 100,000 and 200,000 physicians by the year 2020. As a result, in 2006, the AAMC recommended a 30 percent increase in U.S. medical school enrollment by 2015. This would add 4,900 students to the medical school pool.

On average Lehigh Valley Health Network recruits 70 new physicians to the area each year. With the continued population growth in the area, this number is expected to rise in order to meet the increased demand. Some of the most successful recruits are those that grew up in the area or went to medical school within 150 miles of the Lehigh Valley. In addition, Pennsylvania retains more of its medical students than other states. In fact, 43 percent of physicians practicing in Pennsylvania went to medical school here. The national average is 32 percent.

Stephen Klasko, M.D., said …"by offering new slots at USF Health to students
from Pennsylvania and the surrounding area, the school will be able to attract diverse students from that part of the country. Most importantly, these students will benefit because the new affiliation offers the opportunity to receive a unique medical school education aimed entirely at educating physicians who will become leaders in understanding and changing health care. This is an opportunity to cross state boundaries to make a difference nationally.”

A request to establish a regional (branch) medical campus is being submitted to the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the nationally recognized accrediting authority for medical education programs leading to the M.D. degree in U.S. and Canadian medical schools. The LCME is sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the American Medical Association (AMA).

The goal is for the first students from USF Health to arrive at LVHN regional medical campus by the summer of 2013.

University of South Florida: USF Health -
The University of South Florida is the 9th largest public university in the country based on enrollment of more than 46,000 students. It is one of Florida's top three research universities and was awarded more than $360 million in research contracts and grants last year. The University offers 219 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, specialist and doctoral levels, including the Doctor of Medicine.

Lehigh Valley Health Network
Lehigh Valley Health Network includes three hospital facilities - two in Allentown and one in Bethlehem, Pa.; eight health centers caring for communities in four counties; numerous primary and specialty care physician practices throughout the region; pharmacy, imaging and lab services; and preferred provider services through Valley Preferred. Specialty care includes trauma care at the region’s busiest, most-experienced trauma center treating adults and children, burn care at the regional Burn Center, kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer, and neurology and complex neurosurgery capabilities including national certification as a Primary Stroke Center. Lehigh Valley Health Network has been recognized by US News& World Report for 13 consecutive years as one of America’s Best Hospitals, is a national Magnet hospital for excellence in nursing, enjoys the highest survival rates in the nation for heart attacks and has been honored seven straight years among the top integrated health networks in the U.S. Additional information is available at www.lvh.org.

http://www.health.usf.edu/nocms/publicaffairs/now/FLV/Simulation_Center.flv

See video above. Click here for Photo Gallery.

Tampa, FL (March 2, 2009) – The University of South Florida this week held the grand opening of its comprehensive USF Health Simulation Center at Tampa General Hospital – the only one of its kind in the Southeast, university officials say. The new $1.5-million, 2,800-square-foot facility is expected to draw physicians and other health professionals from across the state and nationally to learn and practice advanced techniques for a wide range of medical procedures and to hone critical clinical decision-making skills – all in a realistic environment without risk to patients.

USF-TGH physicians and nurses and community physicians and healthcare leaders were invited March 2 to 4 to tour the new center and try out the simulators.

The new advanced clinical training center houses more than a half-dozen simulators that mimic the look and feel of minimally-invasive surgical procedures.

The center houses more than $600,000 worth of virtual-reality simulators that mimic the look and feel of actual endovascular and surgical procedures such as cardiac catheterizations, laparoscopic hernia repairs, laparoscopic hysterectomies or colonoscopies. The apprenticeship model of “see one, do one, teach one,” has been stretched by advances in surgical technology and the development of minimally-invasive techniques that spare patients major surgery and shorten recoveries. Computer-based simulation complements traditional training by helping health professionals gain hands-on experience before performing complex procedures or using new devices on real patients in operating rooms and other clinical settings.

“With this new center, USF Health is truly at the forefront of the evolution in clinical and surgical training,” said Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, CEO for USF Health and dean of the College of Medicine. “In partnership with Tampa General Hospital and several of the world’s leading innovators of advanced simulation technology, we have created a center that emphasizes patient safety, reducing medical errors and improving efficiency. All this is directed toward achieving our ultimate goal – better patient care.”

“This collaborative partnership will bring increased prominence to Tampa as one of the major medical centers in the United States committed to the improvement of patient health in a safe clinical environment,” said Ron Hytoff, CEO of Tampa General Hospital.

The USF Health Simulation Center at TGH, available to all healthcare facilities and professionals in Florida, is positioned to have a major impact on the quality of care in the state, said Deborah Sutherland, PhD, associate vice president for Continuing Professional Development at USF Health.

“What makes this center unique in the Southeast is the comprehensive variety of high-end surgical and interventional simulators that can be used by students, residents and practicing healthcare professionals,” Dr. Sutherland said. “This allows for individual training in complex, high-risk procedures and team training for managing challenging patient cases in areas like the cardiac catheterization lab, operating room, critical care and emergency department.”

A growing body of evidence indicates that simulation shortens the learning curve for mastering technical skills and is valuable in measuring how well surgical teams solve problems when confronted with complications such as abnormal bleeding, heart attacks or strokes, or anatomical obstacles. Boards that certify physician specialists have expressed increased interest in using simulation to help assess and maintain the clinical competence of their members.

The Simulation Center also houses a Surgical Skills Laboratory with five fully-equipped stations, where physicians can practice minimally-invasive procedures. In the coming months, the Center plans to open a 4-D Ultrasound Center where physicians can learn the latest real-time imaging technology for diagnosing and assessing pelvic floor disorders such as urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, and vaginal, uterine or bladder prolapse.

USF is working with the following companies in developing the USF Health Simulation Center at Tampa General Hospital: GE Medical Systems, Laerdal, Olympus, Simulab Corp., SimSuite Medical Simulation Corporation, Stryker, Simbionix and VirtaMed.

- About USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

-About Tampa General Hospital -

Tampa General is a 958-bed acute care hospital on the west coast of Florida that serves as the region’s only center for level I trauma care, comprehensive burn care and adult solid organ transplants. It is the primary teaching hospital for the University of South Florida College of Medicine. TGH is also one of only 10 comprehensive stroke centers in Florida and is a state-certified spinal cord and head injury rehabilitation center.

Related stories:

St. Petersburg Times, March 5, 2009, "New USF life-like simulators respond like patients in surgery"

USF Magazine, Winter 2009, "Clinical Practice"

Kevin Sneed (center), PharmD, clinical director and assistant dean of the Division of Clinical Pharmacy, heads the USF Doctor of Pharmacy Program.

Tampa, FL (Jan. 29, 2009) -- The Florida Board of Governors today unanimously approved a proposal to establish a four-year Doctor of Pharmacy Degree (PharmD) Program at the University of South Florida.

The approval means that USF Health can begin planning the four-year professional degree program, housed under the auspices of the USF College of Medicine. The university expects to apply to the Florida Legislature for program funding by 2011, so that its first PharmD class could be admitted later that year.

“The Board was insightful in recognizing the long-term, critical healthcare need for more pharmacists to serve the citizens of Florida,” said Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, CEO for USF Health and dean of the College of Medicine. “As with everything we do at USF Health, this program will be designed as a critical hub in the future of health care, especially for the citizens of our region.”

Florida is positioned at the high end of the 20-percent national shortage of pharmacists, said Kevin Sneed, PharmD, clinical director and assistant dean of the USF Division of Clinical Pharmacy.

“Beginning in 2011, the first wave of baby boomers will begin enrolling in Medicare. Many will require medication therapy as part of their health care, and the state’s demand for pharmacists is expected to grow substantially,” said Dr. Sneed, an associate professor in the USF Department of Family Medicine. “We are building a rigorous, patient-centered program that will focus on the needs of this aging population while preparing pharmacists to be innovative healthcare leaders.”

Since pharmaceuticals touch on virtually all aspects of health care, the full-service pharmacy program will emphasize interdisciplinary collaborations that will draw on faculty and other resources from USF Health’s colleges of Medicine, Nursing and Public Health and provide opportunities for collaborative teaching and research. Pharmacy students will receive their clinical training at USF-affiliated teaching hospitals across the Tampa Bay region, most of which have pharmacy residency programs, and at outpatient sites, including the Centers for Advanced Healthcare on USF Health’s north and south campuses.

The program will emphasize clinical research between the PharmD program and other USF doctoral and master’s programs.

Dr. Sneed said he expects the USF Doctor of Pharmacy Program to enroll as many as 50 students in its first class if funding is approved. The accreditation application process would begin in summer 2010, he said.

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

“For four years we’ve envisioned a successful entrepreneurial practice of academic medicine, and this is the perfect example of that vision in action,” said Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, CEO of USF Health and Dean of the College of Medicine. “It will raise the bar for health care in this community by creating an academic base for advanced health care. Our patients deserve the best, and they’ll get the best.”

In addition, the new academic affiliation will strengthen the existing clinical agreement, where Radiology Associates will continue as the radiologists for the USF physicians practicing at Tampa General Hospital and USF’s outpatient Centers for Advanced Healthcare.

“We’ve had a very strong and long standing relationship with USF and we’re happy to solidify our partnership now and for many years to come,” said Raul R. Otero, MD, USF Clinical Associate Professor in Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiolgy.

The result is an entrepreneurial, but academic, model of learning and patient care, which breaks down the town-gown wall between university and private physicians.

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Tampa, FL (Jan. 26, 2009) – There is hope that the drug rasagiline can do what no other medication for Parkinson’s disease now does -- slow the progression of a devastating degenerative brain disease that eventually robs people of their ability to move and function.

Now a new study looking at the long-term effects of rasagiline (Azilect) on newly diagnosed patients indicates that people who began the drug earlier continued to do better than those for whom treatment was delayed six months. The study “Long-term Outcome of Early Versus Delayed Rasagiline Treatment in Early Parkinson’s Disease” was recently published in the early online version of the journal Movement Disorders.

“Patients who received rasagiline right from the beginning rather than after a six-month delay experienced less progression of the clinical signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease that interfere with activities of daily living such as eating, walking and dressing,” said the study’s lead author Robert A. Hauser, MD, director of the University of South Florida Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center. “This is potentially consistent with a slowing of underlying disease progression, although other possible mechanisms also need to be considered.”

The study, sponsored by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Israel), Teva Neuroscience, Inc. (USA) and H. Lundbeck A/S (Denmark), was a long-term open label extension of the multisite trial “TVP-1012 (rasagiline) in Early Monotherapy for Parkinson’s Disease Outpatients” study, known as TEMPO. In TEMPO, more than 400 untreated patients with early Parkinson’s disease were randomly assigned to rasagiline for a year (1 mg daily or 2 mg daily) or to placebo for six months followed by rasagiline for six months (2 mg daily). At the end of a year, patients receiving rasagiline from the start fared better as measured by the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale. They experienced less worsening of motor symptoms, such as rigidity and tremor, and had fewer problems with activities of daily living than patients who began rasagiline six months later.

The open-label extension study followed more than 300 patients from the TEMPO study for up to 6.5 years. In this extension study, all patients continued on rasagiline (1 mg. daily) and could take other Parkinson’s disease medications as needed. The researchers found those who started rasagiline right from the beginning of the TEMPO study continued to fare better than patients in the delayed-start group. Over the course of the entire study, the early-start group had 16 percent less progression of the signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and this greater clinical benefit was observed even as patients received conventional Parkinson’s disease medications in addition to rasagiline. Rasagiline appeared to be well tolerated in this long-term study.

If the clinical outcomes from the TEMPO and extension study hold up under further scrutiny, it may indicate that early initiation of rasagiline confers a protective effect against disease progression, Dr. Hauser said. “If this is the case, it reinforces the importance of individuals being diagnosed and treated as soon as possible.”

The study authors point out that early initiation of any drug to relieve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease may lead to a better clinical outcome compared to delayed administration -- something that will be elucidated as more delayed-start studies are performed with other Parkinson’s medications.

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

Beaverton, OR (Jan. 16, 2009) -- Click Commerce, an ITW company (NYSE: ITW), announced today that the University of South Florida (USF) will use Click Commerce’s eResearch Portal to fully automate Institutional Review Board (IRB) processes for human participant research. As a research-extensive university with an academic health science center, USF will streamline and strengthen IRB processes across the institution’s multiple research communities in the first of a series of research automation initiatives to be rolled out over the next two and a half years. The goal is to deliver a seamless e-research administration environment encompassing a wide range of research funding and compliance processes by 2011. USF’s human research protection program was recently fully accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Program (AAHRPP) – the only university in Florida to have achieved this distinction.

IRBs monitor the safe and ethical conduct of medical and behavioral research involving human participants. Click Commerce eResearch Portal allows USF to automate all IRB workflow processes, shorten turnaround times, eliminate routine errors and omissions, ensure secure collaboration, and alert researchers of approaching deadlines — all while using USF’s own forms and pre-review steps. Click’s configurable, web-based submissions system for IRB applications distributes data instantly among research teams throughout the institution regardless of location.

“Our primary goal is to better serve our researchers by helping expedite the valuable work they do. This automated system not only meets our immediate need to streamline and enhance our IRB processes, but would also be capable of expansion over time,” said Karen Holbrook, PhD, vice president for Research and Innovation at USF.

“We envision a comprehensive e-research environment enabling secure collaboration, compliance readiness, and administrative visibility across the research enterprise, including areas such as clinical trials participant tracking, bio- and radiation safety oversight, and animal studies. Strategically integrating USF’s processes in all these areas with a centralized automation platform and a common interface will simplify the business of research and give us the flexibility of adding new functions going forward.”

“Click Commerce will provide us with the tools and practices necessary to grow and enhance our processes continuously while bridging seamlessly to administrative business systems,” said Abdul Rao, MD, MA, DPhil, senior associate vice president for USF Health and vice dean for research and graduate studies for College of Medicine. “Having a solution that can match the speed with which we want to change as an organization is vital and Click Commerce provides us the partner necessary for this goal. This is important not only for USF but also for investigators at many of our affiliate sites who rely on our state-of-the-art, compliance-related services.”

“We are pleased to see the commitment from a leader in social and biomedical research such as the University of South Florida to pursue the full potential of our eResearch Portal platform,” said Nick Stier, senior vice president in charge of Click Commerce’s Research and Healthcare division. “We look forward to this deepened collaboration with USF that will provide the research community another successful example of a comprehensive strategy addressing long-term institutional needs.”

The University of South Florida and many other leading healthcare research institutions use Click Commerce’s browser-based, secure eResearch Portal to automate a wide range of administrative processes, including those associated with Grants, IRBs, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC), Conflict of Interest (COI), and Clinical Trials Participant Tracking and Billing, among others.

About Click Commerce Research and Healthcare
Click Commerce Research and Healthcare is a leading provider of automated research administration and compliance systems to leading academic medical centers and research institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, Duke University and the University of Pittsburgh. More information can be found at research.clickcommerce.com.

About the University of South Florida
The University of South Florida is among the nation's top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community engaged public universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. It is one of Florida's top three research universities. USF was awarded more than $360 million in research contracts and grants last year. The university offers 219 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, specialist and doctoral levels, including the doctor of medicine. The university has a $1.8 billion annual budget, an annual economic impact of $3.2 billion, and serves more than 45,000 students on campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and Lakeland. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.

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Click Commerce is a registered trademark of Click Commerce, Inc., and its subsidiaries. All other company and product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Tampa, FL (Dec. 19, 2008) -- MRI scans that detect shrinkage in specific regions of the mid-brain attacked by Alzheimer’s disease accurately diagnose the neurodegenerative disease, even before symptoms interfere with daily function, a study by the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) in Miami and Tampa found.

The study, reported earlier this month in the journal Neurology, adds to a growing body of evidence indicating MRI brain scans provide valuable diagnostic information about Alzheimer’s disease.

The findings are important in light of many new disease-modifying drugs in trials -- treatments that may prevent mild memory loss from advancing to full-blown dementia if administered early enough.

"We advocate, based on these findings, that the criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease should include MRI scans,” said the study’s lead author Ranjan Duara, MD, medical director of the Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders at Mount Sinai Medical Center who is affiliated with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and University of South Florida College of Medicine. "By incorporating MRIs into the assessment of patients with memory problems, early diagnosis can be standardized and done far more accurately."

"This study demonstrates that MRI brain scans are accurate enough to be clinically useful, both in diagnosing Alzheimer's disease itself at an early stage and in identifying people at risk of developing Alzheimer's," said Florida ADRC Director Huntington Potter, PhD, a neuroscientist at the Byrd Alzheimer’s Center and Research Institute, University of South Florida.

The normal MRI brain scan above, showing no atrophy, depicts the three areas of interest in the brain's medial temporal lobe: hippocampus (outlined in red); entorhinal cortex (blue) and perirhinal cortex (green). MRI scan below shows severe atrophy indicative of Alzheimer's pathology in all areas, except the right perirhinal cortex, which has moderate atrophy.

Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia, is characterized by memory loss, disorientation, difficulty with reasoning and the decline of language and thinking skills. Alzheimer’s is diagnosed by a process of elimination since many other diseases and related disorders can mimic its symptoms, and autopsy is currently the only definitive way a diagnosis can be confirmed. The diagnosis often includes a medical history, mental status tests, neurological evaluations and blood tests. Physicians typically use brain scans only to exclude conditions that can also cause memory deficits, such as strokes and brain tumors.

The Florida researchers used a new visual rating system to evaluate the severity of shrinkage, or atrophy, in the brain's medial temporal lobe – specifically in three structures essential for the conscious memory of facts and events. They compared the MRI brain scans of 260 people -- a group with probable Alzheimer’s disease, two groups with varying degrees of mild cognitive impairment (mild memory problems), and a control group of normal elderly with no discernable memory loss. They found that scores generated by this MRI-facilitated test accurately distinguished each group from the other and correlated with the types of memory problems most frequently caused by Alzheimer's disease. The more extensive the brain atrophy, the more advanced the clinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease.

Ranjan Duara, MD

The researchers even found brain atrophy in some people without memory complaints at the study's onset who demonstrated memory decline when assessed a year or two later. This suggests MRIs could predict who will get the disease well before signs of dementia become apparent by other diagnostic methods as well as rule out an Alzheimer's diagnosis in people experiencing memory problems, Dr. Duara said.

“If you don’t have changes in these three particular areas of the brain, then you don’t have Alzheimer’s, Dr. Duara said.

Huntington Potter, PhD

Researchers at centers like Miami's Wien Center and USF's Byrd Institute are developing new Alzheimer's drugs that attack mechanisms leading to the death of nerve cells and their connections. The emergence of these disease-modifying treatments has made an earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s increasingly important, Dr. Duara said. "Having an accurate diagnosis will allow us to start using drugs earlier. The earlier treatment begins, the more likely you are to stop disease progression and benefit the patient."

Most participants in the MRI study were enrolled in the clinical arm of the Florida ADRC, which is supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging.

The Florida ADRC, the first statewide, multi-center ADRC in the United States, was critical for the successful implementation of the study, said Dr. Potter, the study's senior author. "To validate any new diagnostic test or treatment, you need a large number of diverse volunteers for good comparisons. Alzheimer's research is a partnership between the scientific community and study volunteers; we need both to solve the complexities of Alzheimer’s disease."

- USF Health -
USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida's colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With $360 million in research funding last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of Florida’s top three research universities.

Robert Deschenes, PhD, will chair Molecular Medicine and hold the Fred Wright Endowed Chair in Cancer Biology at USF Health.

Tampa, FL (Nov. 17, 2008) -- Following a national search for a top-level researcher to lead its Department of Molecular Medicine, USF Health has recruited Robert Deschenes, PhD, the Joseph F. Heil Jr. Professor and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry at Medical College of Wisconsin to fill the position. Dr. Deschenes will also hold the Fred Wright Endowed Chair in Cancer Biology and an appointment as Associate Dean for the USF/Moffitt Research Partnership. He joins USF Health on Jan. 5, 2009.

The appointment of Dr. Deschenes is the latest in a series of strategic and high-caliber recruitments made by Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, CEO for USF Health and Dean of the College of Medicine, to build a leading academic medical center committed to new discovery and innovation.

“The recruitment of Dr. Deschenes is a huge shot in the arm for research at USF. He brings to USF Health the leadership, skills and vision needed to build a nationally prominent basic and translational research program,” Dr. Klasko said. “He will be an excellent catalyst for promoting collaborations and synergies with Moffitt Cancer Center, the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute and our other academic partners, while working to fully integrate the Molecular Medicine Department with our missions of research, education and clinical care.”

Dr. Deschenes is one of the country’s leading researchers in the genetic and biochemical mechanisms of cell growth regulation in yeast – a critical field in the development of drug therapies for cancer and other diseases. He is a strong advocate of interdisciplinary research and the use of model systems in medical research. His own work takes advantage of the model eukaryote yeast to understand signaling pathways related to cancer. The work has uncovered new targets for the rational design of new cancer chemotherapeutic agents.

“Because it combines the strengths of microbiology, immunology and biochemistry, the Department of Molecular Medicine is uniquely positioned to contribute to the understanding of diseases in areas as diverse as cancer, neurobiology, diabetes and infectious diseases,” Dr. Deschenes said.

“In the last five years, USF has done a remarkable job developing a strong core research infrastructure, which I plan to build upon to help create a stronger, more competitive basic and translational science program. My goal is to develop an integrated Department of Molecular Medicine and a highly collaborative research environment that goes from molecules to medicine.”

In the last several years, Dr. Klasko has begun transforming research at USF Health through several key initiatives. These accomplishments have included creating a new School of Basic Biomedical Sciences, recruiting more National Institutes of Health-funded investigators in various basic science and clinical departments, establishing state-of-the-art core facilities and several key signature research programs at the College of Medicine, and enhancing the quality of graduate programs.

“The leadership of USF Health continues to follow through on the vision to transform the culture of this institution by instilling excellence in all our core missions,” said Abdul Rao, MD, MA, DPhil, senior associate vice president for USF Health and vice dean for research and graduate studies for the College of Medicine. “It is this transformation that allowed us to recruit a scientist of such distinguished academic caliber as Dr. Deschenes.

"This is the most important event in recent years in redefining the future of basic and translational sciences at this medical school.”

Dr. Deschenes will recruit several new faculty members to the Department of Molecular Medicine over the next few years, including several neurobiologists who will work out of the Byrd Alzheimer’s Center & Research Institute at USF.

In his Associate Dean role, he will serve as the principal liaison between researchers at USF and Moffitt, developing new opportunities for team grants and joint training grants.

Dr. Deschenes will work with Said Sebti, PhD, leader of the Drug Discovery Program at Moffitt, to establish and co-direct a Structural Biology Consortium that will include faculty and resources from Molecular Medicine, Moffitt and the Florida Center of Excellence for Biomolecular Identification and Targeted Therapeutics. In addition, he will oversee the creation of a High-Throughput Protein Production facility for determining protein structure and function.

Dr. Deschenes is currently the Chair of Biochemistry and the Joseph F. Heil Jr. Professor of Molecular Oncogenesis at Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI, where he also directs research for the college’s cancer center. A NIH-funded principal investigator, he studies eukaryotic signal transduction pathways involved in cancer and cell stress.

Dr. Deschenes received a master’s of science degree in Biochemistry from Tufts University, and his doctorate degree in Biochemistry from Purdue University. He conducted postdoctoral training in the Molecular Biology Department at Princeton University where he initiated studies on the post-translational regulation of Ras oncogene proteins in the model organism yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Before joining the Medical College of Wisconsin, Dr. Deschenes was vice chair of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Iowa and director of the Genetics PhD program.

- USF Health -
USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu.

- Photo by Eric Younghans/USF Health Communications

L to R: Study authors Christopher Rogers, Min You (senior author) and Xiaomei Liang are researchers in the USF Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology.

BETHESDA, Md. (Oct. 14, 2008) − The accumulation of fat in the liver as a result of chronic alcohol consumption could be prevented by a compound called resveratrol, according to a new study with mice conducted at the University of South Florida. The research found that resveratrol reduced the amount of fat produced in the liver of mice fed alcohol and also increased the rate at which fat within the liver is broken down.

Resveratrol is present in grapes, peanuts, berries and in red wine.

Chronic alcohol consumption causes fat to accumulate and can lead to liver diseases, including cirrhosis and fibrosis of the liver. It can also result in liver failure.

The study points to resveratrol as a possible treatment for alcoholic fatty liver disease, and as a way to prevent the disease in those who are at risk, but have not developed it.

Other research with mice has suggested resveratrol may have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. There is also evidence that it has cardiovascular benefits. However, these findings have not been extended to humans.

The study, "Resveratrol alleviates alcoholic fatty liver in mice," was conducted by Joanne M. Ajmo, Xiaomei Liang, Christopher Q. Rogers, Brandi Pennock and Min You, all of the USF Health’s Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology. The study appears in the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, published by The American Physiological Society.

Activates cell signalers
The study builds on previous research, which suggests that alcohol inhibits two molecules that play a role in cell signaling and the breakdown of fats in the liver: AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1). When alcohol inactivates AMPK and SIRT1, it allows fat to accumulate. Resveratrol does the opposite -- activating AMPK and SIRT1, and helping to clear out fat.

In this study, the authors wanted to find out more about how this happens, at the molecular level. They divided mice into groups and fed all of them a low-fat diet. Some mice had resveratrol in their diet, some had resveratrol plus ethanol (alcohol), some had ethanol alone and some had neither ethanol nor resveratrol. The researchers used two different dose levels of resveratrol. At the end of the experiment, they examined the livers of the mice.

The researchers found, as they had expected, that resveratrol treatment increased the expression of SIRT1 and stimulated the activity of AMPK in the livers of mice fed alcohol. They further found that the increased expression of SIRT1 and AMPK led to:

• Reduction of sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP-1)
• Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma co-activator alpha (PGC-1α)
• Elevation of circulating adiponectin, a hormone produced by fat cells, which helps control obesity
• Enhanced expression of adiponectin receptors in the liver, which increases the effectiveness of the circulating adiponectin.

The findings suggest that resveratrol prevents alcoholic fatty liver by coordinating molecules that control fat metabolism. This prevents accumulation of fat in the mouse liver by both reducing the production of fat and burning off the fat that is there.

“Interestingly, the combination of alcohol with resveratrol appears to enhance the positive effects of resveratrol,” said Dr. You, the study’s senior author. "Our study suggests that resveratrol may serve as a promising agent for preventing or treating human alcoholic fatty liver disease.”

The study was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse.

- About USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

- About the American Physiological Society -

Physiology is the study of how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function to create health or disease. The American Physiological Society (www.The-APS.org/press) has been an integral part of this scientific discovery process since it was established in 1887.

- Photo by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications

John Adams, PhD, is a member of the USF Global Health Infectious Disease Research team.

Tampa, FL (Oct. 13, 2008) -- University of South Florida global health professor John Adams, PhD, contributed to a major international research initiative comparing the genome of the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax with other sequenced Plasmodium genomes. Comparing similarities and differences between parasites’ genomes can help determine genetic targets for new drugs and vaccine development.

The comparative analysis of P. vivax by Dr. Adams and malaria research teams from 25 other institutions worldwide was published as the Oct. 9 cover story in the prestigious journal Nature.

While seldom as deadly as Plasmodium falciparum -- the most lethal strain of malaria -- P. vivax is the major cause of malaria outside Africa. Endemic in the tropical regions of Asia and Central and South America, it causes recurring bouts of severe and incapacitating illness, most often among poor people in developing countries. Furthermore, drug resistance to this form of malaria appears to be spreading, hindering clinical management of the disease.

“If our goal is to eradicate malaria worldwide, we can’t do that without getting rid of P. vivax,” said Dr. Adams, a professor in the USF College of Public Health. “This species poses a greater threat to people living in Europe and North America, regions with temperate climates not tolerated by P. falciparum.”

In the Nature paper, the scientists compare the genetic description of P. vivax with the genomes of P. yoelii yoelii (a rodent parasite) and P. knowlesi (a primate parasite) as well as the more virulent P. falciparum. While resembling the other malaria parasites in gene content and metabolic potential, P. vivax includes new gene families and alternative pathways of invasion, the researchers found.

"The biggest surprise was that the biological structure of P. vivax was more complex than we originally thought, which means vaccine development will be more complicated,” Dr. Adams said.

The researchers noted two major differences in the biological features of P vivax, compared to P. falciparum, which challenge global efforts to eliminate malaria. The infectious stage of P. vivax can lay dormant in a person’s liver for years before resurfacing as full-blown malaria, Dr. Adams said. In addition, he said, the malaria parasite is transmitted from human hosts back to the mosquitoes that bite them very soon after humans are infected, extending opportunities for the spread of P. vivax.

“Understanding the genetic makeup of the major causes of malaria will help coordinate efforts for new therapies to prevent or cure both types of infections,” Dr. Adams said.

“Since genetic information is the common language of modern science, the completed genome allows researchers from other disciplines to analyze the parasite in ways not previously possible," he said. "For example, metabolic pathways can be scrutinized for potential drug targets and these targets can be studied in many laboratories.”

Malaria parasite infecting a human red blood cell. Many vaccines in development are designed to block this critical phase of parasite development.

Dr. Adams, a member of USF’s Global Health Infectious Diseases Research team, studies protein ligands that help malaria parasites bind to a person’s red blood cell wall. His team uses advanced analytic technologies to pursue effective vaccine and mosquito-based therapies to prevent malaria caused by P. vivax and P. falciparum, the most common types of malaria.

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

- Women, the elderly and weekend admissions less likely to get same-day treatment in Florida -

Tampa, FL (Oct. 8, 2008) – Women, the elderly, and patients admitted to the emergency department on weekends are all less likely to receive same-day coronary angioplasty for a life-threatening heart attack in Florida, University of South Florida researchers found. Their study was published this month in the American Journal of Cardiology.

Angioplasty, also known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), uses a catheter-guided balloon to open a blocked artery and restore blood and oxygen to the heart. A stent is usually placed to hold open the artery. The procedure is the recommended treatment for the most serious and deadly of heart attacks known as ST-elevation myocardial infarctions or STEMIs, according to guidelines published by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. Studies show that rapid access to PCI can reduce heart muscle damage, hasten recovery, improve survival and prevent long-term disability better than clot-busting drugs alone.

Elizabeth Pathak, PhD, and Joel Strom, MD, both of USF, examined same-day PCI rates in over 58,000 acute heart attack patients who were admitted to emergency rooms in more than 200 Florida hospitals from 2001 to 2005.

The study included men and women ages 18 and older from the three largest ethnic groups in Florida: whites, blacks, and Hispanics. The researchers found that the use of same-day PCI for heart attack patients more than doubled -- from 20 percent to 40 percent -- during the study period.

Despite this increased use of the clinically proven procedure, statewide most patients admitted to emergency rooms still did not receive same-day PCI by the end of 2005.

The researchers identified several barriers to treatment, including:

• Some patients were admitted to hospitals that do not perform PCI.

• At PCI-providing hospitals, patients ages 55 to 64, were on average about twice as likely to receive same-day PCI as patients 75-years-old or older.

• Men were more likely to receive same-day PCI than women throughout the study period.

• While black patients were less likely to receive same-day PCI than whites in early 2001, the racial disparity disappeared by the end of the study.

• Even by late 2005, patients admitted on weekends were 25 percent less likely to receive same-day PCI than those admitted on week days.

Hospital PCI volume was also a significant factor in receiving same-day procedures. Patients admitted to medium to high-volume hospitals that performed at least 200 PCIs a year were five times more likely to receive same-day PCI than those at low-volume hospitals performing fewer than 200 procedures a year.

“The trend is positive, but the state still has a long way to go before all heart attack patients receive the optimal level of care,” said lead investigator Dr. Pathak, an associate professor of epidemiology at the USF College of Public Health. “Many leading hospitals in Florida and across the nation are putting into place new policies and protocols that are eliminating the ‘weekend problem.’ However, the reasons behind the apparent age and gender disparities shown in our study and others are likely more complex and require further focused research.

“As a woman, if I had a heart attack I would want to be treated just as aggressively as a male patient. But I don’t think this is a matter of simple discrimination – the answer is going to be more complex,” Dr. Pathak said.

“Future research will need to examine more detailed medical data to evaluate whether some patients were excluded from PCI for legitimate clinical reasons such as certain risk factors or complications.”

Supported by a new grant from the American Heart Association, Dr. Pathak will be examining the feasibility of a statewide system for routing STEMI patients to high-volume PCI hospitals. She will examine hospital, geographic (rural) and financial barriers limiting patient access to PCI, continue to track PCI use, and investigate patient outcomes.

The study has implications for shaping future state and national policies related to heart attack care.

"Today national standards recommend that patients with STEMIs should be identified and treated by balloon angioplasty within 90 minutes of first contact with medical personnel, ideally an EMS paramedic,” said Dr. Strom, professor of medicine and chemical and biomedical engineering at USF.

Dr. Strom serves as cardiology co-chair for the AHA’s state-level STEMI task force and co-chairs a local committee, including representatives from all hospitals and EMS services in Hillsborough County, which established the county’s STEMI triage and care program.

“Florida needs to develop a regional network for STEMI care that integrates Emergency Medical Services and PCI-capable hospitals, similar to the current statewide systems governing stroke and trauma care,” Dr. Strom said.

“It’s extremely critical to act quickly in delivering treatment to patients suffering life-threatening heart attacks because time is heart muscle. Within two hours of the onset of a heart attack, you’ve lost 50 percent of the affected heart muscle and by six hours it’s gone altogether.”

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Perinatal epidemiologists Wendy Nembhard, PhD, (left) and Kathleen O'Rourke, PhD, supported by faculty across the USF College of Public Health, worked behind the scenes for four years to ensure USF had a major role in the NIH's historic Children's Health Study.

Tampa, FL (Oct. 3, 2008) – The University of South Florida has been awarded $28.8 million to participate in the National Institute of Health’s comprehensive study on the interaction of genes and the environment on children’s health.

NIH officials today named 36 new and existing National Children’s Health study centers that will recruit study volunteers from a total of 72 locations across the United States. The University of Miami, Miller School Medicine was awarded $54 million as the Study Center hub for the National Children’s Study in Florida, a consortium of universities and their community partners across the state.

USF was awarded $28.8 million to oversee the NIH-sponsored research contract in Hillsborough and Orange counties – two of three Florida study sites coordinated by UM -- for the first five years of the study.

The other Florida site participating in the National Children’s Study is Baker County; the University of Florida will oversee work there. If funded, Miami-Dade County would be the fourth and final study site in Florida and would start next year under the direct supervision of UM.

In collaboration with the UM Study Center, USF will recruit participants from Hillsborough and Orange counties, collecting genetic, biological and environmental samples, and compiling information for study analyses investigating how genetic and environmental factors influence childhood health and disease.

Study volunteers -- women who are pregnant or likely to have a child in the near future -- will be recruited from rural, urban, and suburban areas, from all income and educational levels, and from all racial groups.

The National Children’s Study will span more than 20 years. The study is expected to follow 100,000 children, from before birth to age 21, at more than 100 study locations nationwide. In Florida, researchers will follow 3,600 children -- including 1,000 each in Hillsborough and Orange counties. They will begin enrolling study participants in about two years.

“This is a phenomenal opportunity to help shape child health policy and interventions for generations to come,” Kathleen O’Rourke, PhD, professor of epidemiology at the USF College of Public Health. “The results of this long-term study will be very powerful because it involves a nationally representative sample with large numbers of children. It will answer important questions about children’s health for children in Florida, the nation and the world.”

Dr. O’Rourke will lead the NCS study in Hillsborough County with co-leader Lewis Rubin, MD, professor and Muma Endowed Chair in Neonatology at the USF Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine. She will lead the Orange County study with co-leader David Keefe, MD, professor and chair of USF Obstetrics and Gynecology. Wendy Nembhard, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology at the USF College of Public Health, will also have a lead role in both counties and will assist in oversight of the research projects and administrative activities.

“The fact that USF is playing a critical role in this landmark study is a credit to how far we’ve advanced as a research university and recognition of our expertise and strong community outreach initiatives in maternal and child health,” Dr. Nembhard said. “We spent a tremendous amount of time and energy working on this project, securing USF’s role in this historic study. If we can improve the life of just one child or help improve the quality of life for one family with children it will be worth all of our hard work and sacrifice.”

USF will work with many community organizations, such as the Hillsborough and Orange County Health Departments, Healthy Start, Florida Birth Defects Registry and Children’s Medical Services, to ensure diverse constituencies have a voice in the study.

In Orange County, USF will also partner with the University of Central Florida to recruit study participants and collect data. The University of Florida will provide expertise in environmental exposure and management of laboratory specimens. The Battelle Memorial Institute will assist with screening and enrolling study participants in all counties.

The study will investigate physical, genetic, biological, chemical, psychosocial, geographic and other environmental factors influencing the development of such conditions as autism, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, birth defects, diabetes, asthma, and obesity.

Throughout its 25-year span, the study is expected to shed light on factors that impact health and development before birth and as infants grow into young adults.

Researchers will address such questions as:
• Can very early exposure to some allergens actually help children remain asthma-free?
• Do household pesticides have adverse effects on brain development?
• How do neighborhood factors contribute to the risk of injury?
• How do genes and the environment interact to promote or prevent violent behavior in teenagers?

"The National Children’s Study will be to child and maternal health what the Framingham Heart Study has been to cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Rubin, a neonatologist. “Over the last several decades the Framingham Study has revolutionized our understanding of the risks, causes and preventive strategies for heart disease.

"The National Children’s Study will provide a similarly rich database for testing hypotheses about what is beneficial and what is damaging to children’s growth and development,” Dr. Rubin said. “For the pediatrics community, it has enormous potential for clarifying the causes of childhood diseases – both before and after birth – which may ultimately lead to new preventions, treatments and cures.”

Within just a few years, the study will provide information on disorders of pregnancy and birth. Since women would be recruited before they give birth, and in some instances even before they become pregnant, the study will offer insight into the causes and contributors of preterm birth. More than 500,000 premature infants are born each year in the United States. Infants born prematurely are at risk for early death and a variety of health problems, such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and learning disabilities. Health care costs for preterm infants total $26 billion a year.

Other USF College of Public Health and Chiles Center faculty involved in the Hillsborough and/or Orange County projects include Dr. Julie Baldwin, Dee Jeffers (community engagement activities), Dr. Hamisu Salihu (secondary data analysis), and Dr. Linda Detman (study coordinator). Other College of Medicine faculty participating in the projects include Dr. Rubin Quintero, Dr. Douglas Holt, Dr. Karen Bruder and Dr. Jennifer Takagishi. The population-based study will rely heavily on community partnerships, and USF will work closely with the Hillsborough County Health Department, directed by Dr. Holt, and the Orange County Health Department, directed by Dr. Kevin Sherrin.

“I am so appreciative of everyone coming together in such a tremendous effort not only to assure that we could be a part of this landmark study but to make certain that the issues specific to Florida families would be represented in this national study," said Donna Petersen, ScD, dean of the USF College of Public Health.

Authorized by Congress in the Children’s Health Act of 2000, the National Children’s Study is being conducted by a consortium of federal agencies. This includes two NIH institutes, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

More information about the National Children’s Study is available from www.nationalchildrensstudy.gov.

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- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $360 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information,visit www.health.usf.edu

Tampa, FL (Aug. 22, 2008) -- The Johnnie B. Byrd Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute’s Board of Directors today unanimously approved a new CEO -- Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, dean of the University of South Florida College of Medicine and senior vice president for USF Health.

Dr. Klasko’s was named CEO immediately following the Board’s approval of the affiliation agreement intended to help the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute and USF move together in advancing Alzheimer’s research and treatment. The day before, Aug. 21, the same affiliation agreement was signed by USF President Judy Genshaft and affirmed by the USF Board of Trustees executive committee.

“Collaboration has been the key for the Byrd Institute and we will continue to move forward under that model. Synergy is a remarkable force, and I am eager for us to accelerate that process,” Dr. Klasko said.

Huntington Potter, PhD, the center’s first CEO, has signed an offer from USF to remain as a senior scientist at the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute and tenured professor in the USF Department of Molecular Medicine. Dr. Potter is also the Pfeiffer Endowed Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease Research at USF and principal investigator for the prestigious Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) grant obtained from the National Institute on Aging. “Dr. Potter is definitely very important to continuing the great work begun by the Byrd Institute,” Dr. Klasko said.

Dr. Stephen Klasko

Dr. Klasko will meet with all Byrd Institute staff on Aug. 25 and introduce the team that will provide transition support for the Institute. At a combined meeting of the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute Board of Directors and its Joint Affiliation Board in October, Dr. Klasko will present a blueprint for strategic action intended to consolidate resources and services and leverage the talent of both institutions.

“We will look at every opportunity to generate revenue by attracting more NIH research support and tapping into entrepreneurial funding,” Dr. Klakso said. “At the same time, we’ll work to reduce administrative expenses, because every expense takes dollars way from what we can spend on Alzheimer’s research, patient care and education.”

“My role as CEO is to assess our joint potential, address the realities and lead so we can achieve our goals,” Dr. Klasko said. “I am truly committed to helping the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute become one of the best in the world for outstanding research with the goal of discovering a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. I believe we can successfully do that together.”

- About the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute -

The mission of the Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr. Byrd Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute is to collaborate with researchers throughout the State of Florida and the wider global research community to develop treatments to cure and prevent Alzheimer's disease. The Institute provides a physical location—the world's largest freestanding research center dedicated to Alzheimer's research—that conducts state-of-the-art research, in addition to serving as the site for coordinating and facilitating Florida's various efforts to diagnose, treat and prevent the disease.

- About USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With $308 million in research funding last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of Florida’s top three research universities.

- Lower educational achievement may be early sign -

Tampa, FL (August 11, 2008) — Scientists from the University of South Florida and the University of Kentucky report that people who develop Alzheimer’s disease may show signs of the neurodegenerative illness many decades earlier in life -- including compromised educational achievement. Their research is published online this month in the journal Alzheimer's Disease and Associated Disorders.

Participants in the Nun Study were studied to identify those who became demented before death or had characteristic brain changes of Alzheimer’s disease at autopsy. Among nuns who became demented or had evidence of Alzheimer’s disease at autopsy, those with small head sizes had significantly lower educational achievement in earlier adult life. In those dying without a dementia diagnosis or autopsy evidence of Alzheimer’s disease, head size had no relationship with education.

Adult head size can be used to estimate the size of the fully-developed brain. Previous studies have found that clinical expression of Alzheimer’s disease is related to head size, with people having smaller heads more likely to show the characteristic symptoms of this illness. Larger brains provide reserve against Alzheimer’s, allowing people to function normally despite having considerable Alzheimer pathology in their brains.

“If brain damage related to Alzheimer’s disease begins earlier in adult life, then having less reserve due to a smaller brain could compromise intellectual ability in those destined to get Alzheimer’s and lead to them getting less education,” said lead author James Mortimer, PhD, professor of epidemiology at USF.

“Although it has been known for many years that individuals with lower education have a greater risk of getting Alzheimer’s, this is the first report showing that reduced educational attainment may actually be an early sign of the underlying disease.”

The study findings add to others showing that individuals who will eventually develop Alzheimer’s differ from those who don’t many decades before. In 1996, the Nun Study found that Alzheimer’s disease with onset in old age could be predicted accurately from characteristics of autobiographical essays written at an average age of 22. Other studies have shown that those who develop Alzheimer’s have specific deficits on tests of memory and thinking decades before the disease is diagnosed. The fact that subtle signs of Alzheimer’s appear many years before symptoms appear may be useful for predicting who is at risk of the illness and identifying individuals earlier in life who could benefit from preventive therapies.

The Nun Study, begun in 1992, is a study of 678 Catholic sisters, initially 75 to 102 years of age, who were evaluated annually for dementia and who agreed to brain donation at the time of their deaths. The study is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging.

- USF Health-

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With $308 million in research funding last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of Florida’s top three research universities.

Virtually every major center conducting type 1 diabetes research is now linked to the USF Pediatric Epidemiology Center led by Jeffrey Krischer, PhD

Tampa, FL (July 31, 2008) -- The National Institutes of Health has awarded $127.7 million to the University of South Florida research team led by Jeffrey Krischer, PhD, to coordinate worldwide studies on the prevention and treatment of juvenile diabetes. This latest funding, a seven-year award, supports Dr. Krischer’s coordination of the NIH network of clinical research centers known as TrialNet.

The award adds to the $169 million received last year by Dr. Krischer, a professor of pediatrics, to coordinate studies examining the causes of juvenile diabetes. That previously funded 10-year NIH study, known as TEDDY (The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young), is seeking to explain why the incidence of diabetes in the very young has doubled since the 1980s. The $169-million contract was the largest in USF’s history.

“Dr. Krischer’s new TrialNet award will catapult USF to the top 50 for NIH funding to medical schools,” said Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the College of Medicine. “Almost every major effort worldwide to eliminate type 1 diabetes for the next generation comes through here.”

"Jeff sees connections other people don't see. He uses tools in new ways to solve very complex problems," said Karen Holbrook, PhD, Vice President for Research at USF. "It's an extraordinary program that is doing as much as any program today for people around the globe. It is innovative, and it is important."

“Jeff’s efforts continue to enhance our excellence in research in the area of diabetes and related diseases”, said Abdul S. Rao, MD. MA. DPhil, Senior Associate Vice President, USF Health. “This current grant goes a long way in establishing USF’s dominance in this field and the recognition by the NIH of the extraordinary scientific strides that have been made by Jeff and his colleagues”.

Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, is one of the most common and serious long-term diseases in children and adolescents. It is a disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the cells that make insulin – a hormone that keeps blood sugar levels stable. Its treatment requires a life-long commitment to daily insulin injections and significant lifestyle changes.

TrialNet will screen more than 150,000 children and adults, identifying those with early signs of diabetes to investigate new therapies that may arrest disease progression. Other studies include treatments of newly diagnosed patients to prevent continued loss of insulin production capability. These treatments, if proven successful, may be tested to determine if they can yield new prevention strategies. In addition to heading the data coordinating and technology center for TrialNet, Dr. Krischer chairs one of the major prevention studies within the consortium – a clinical trial investigating whether oral insulin can prevent or delay diabetes in a specific group of people at risk for type 1 diabetes.

TEDDY is screening more than 300,000 newborns and following 8,000 for up to 15 years to investigate the role that diet, infections, and other environmental factors may play in the disease process. Dr. Krischer chairs the study itself as well as directing TEDDY’s data coordinating center.

Both TrialNet and TEDDY are being carried out on an international stage through clinical sites in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand

The two projects complement each other, with virtually every major university and medical center conducting type 1 diabetes research now linked to Dr. Krischer’s Pediatric Epidemiology Center at USF. The center is pooling the clinical consortiums’ efforts to understand the triggers of diabetes and to develop strategies to prevent or improve treatment. Data describing the everyday lives of study participants, results from research laboratories across the globe, and the clinical course of the disease in affected individuals flow into USF on a continual basis.

All that data is analyzed at USF and shared with scientists, clinicians and investigators worldwide with the goal of putting an end to type 1 diabetes, Dr. Krischer said. “This team effort would not be possible without the outstanding group of 50-plus researchers at USF working on these studies. They are recognized world experts in developing new technologies and informatics applied to medicine,” he said. “The research in diabetes complements our other projects in rare diseases, many of which are also autoimmune diseases and share a common etiological pathway. The hope is that our efforts can lead to improvements for all those affected.”

Dr. Krischer, an epidemiologist, has attracted more than $389 million in research funding to USF.

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With $308 million in research funding last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of Florida’s top three research universities.

Read full news release...

Tampa, FL (July 18, 2008) -- The University of South Florida and Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer’s Center & Research Institute today approved an affiliation agreement intended to help them move together in advancing Alzheimer’s research and treatment. The agreement, unanimously approved July 18 at the first meeting of the seven-member Joint Affiliation Board, must still be voted on by the full boards of both institutitons.

The agreement will be considered at the next regularly scheduled meetings of the USF Board of Trustees on Aug. 21, and of the Byrd Alzheimer's Institute Board of Directors on Aug. 22.

In other action:

- Sherrill Tomasino was elected chair of the Joint Affiliation Board. Tomasino is a member of both the USF Board of Trustees and the Byrd Alzheimer's Institute Board of Directors.

- Members approved a motion to add a member of the Florida Board of Governors to the Joint Affiliation Board as an ex officio member.

The partnership will help consolidate resources and services and leverage the talent of both institutions. John Ekarius, chief administrative liaison to Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, vice president for USF Health and dean of the College of Medicine, told board members that Dr. Klasko would work with Huntington Potter, PhD, CEO and scientific director of the Byrd Alzheimer's Institute, to map out the research and clinical resources of both institutions by mid-August.

The Joint Affiliation Board is comprised of three board members appointed by the Byrd Alzheimer's Institute and four members appointed by USF. The three board members appointed by Pamela Vergara, PhD, PE, chair of the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute Board of Directors, are:

• Johnnie B. Byrd, Jr, JD, member and former chair of the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute Board of Directors, former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, attorney in private practice.

• Kathy Harris, MA, JD, vice-chair of the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute Board of Directors, General Counsel and Chief of Staff for the Supervisor of Elections

• Pamela Vergara, PhD, PE, chairman of the Board of Directors, president of Skyshadow Ventures, Inc. and faculty member at Hillsborough Community College

The four board members appointed by Rhea Law, JD, chair of the USF Board of Trustees, are:

• Wayne Goodman, MD, director of Division of Adult Translational Research and Treatment Development, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD.

• Karen Holbrook, PhD, vice president for Research and Innovation at USF and member of the Washington Advisory Group

• Frank L. Morsani, trustee of the Frank and Carol Morsani Foundation, Inc., and member of the USF Foundation Board of Trustees

• Sherrill M. Tomasino, president of Sherwood Forest of Temple Terrace, Inc. and member of the USF Board of Trustees

The Joint Affiliation Board was created to develop the USF-Byrd partnership as an academic research and patient care initiative to find treatments for Alzheimer's disease. The existing Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute Board of Directors would take on an advisory and advocacy role, maintaining focus on the institute’s statewide mission.

Related Links:

Read biosketches of Joint Affiliation Board members.

Read Tampa Tribune story...

About the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute
The mission of the Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr. Byrd Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute is to collaborate with researchers throughout the State of Florida and the wider global research community to develop treatments to cure and prevent Alzheimer's disease. The Institute provides a physical location—the world's largest freestanding research center dedicated to Alzheimer's research—that conducts state-of-the-art research, in addition to serving as the site for coordinating and facilitating Florida's various efforts to diagnose, treat and prevent the disease.

About USF Health
USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With $308 million in research funding last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of Florida’s top three research universities.

- Photo by Eric Younghans/USF Health Media Center

Tampa, FL (July 14, 2008) -- Once again USF Health’s hospital partners have been ranked among the nation’s top 50 hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. The rankings are on newsstands this week in the America’s Best Hospitals 2008 edition of the magazine. Tampa General Hospital and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute – two primary teaching affiliates of the USF College of Medicine – were among only 170 hospitals that met the rigorous standards for excellence in one or more specialties.

USF Health faculty head up five of the seven specialties at TGH that made this year's Top 50 chart -- Ear, Nose and Throat, Endocrinology, Gynecology, Kidney Disease, and Urology.

“USF is proud that the rest of the nation is finding out what we already know –- that with the work that USF and TGH are doing in recruiting world-class clinical and academic leaders and faculty, the hospital and medical school are getting the recognition they deserve,” said Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the College of Medicine.

“I especially want to recognize the terrific performance of our colleagues in Urology, which jumped from #41 to #27 in the specialty rankings. Congratulations also to our Department of Nephrology at TGH which climbed from #41 to #34,” Dr. Klasko said. “In addition, Moffitt Cancer Center, where we continue to have a strong scholarly presence, ranked #16 on the list of America’s Best Hospitals for Cancer.”

These rankings don’t include the department rankings at Moffitt, which currently include Oncology and ENT.

Tampa General achieved the magazine’s Top 50 recognition for its highest number of specialties ever. For the first time, the categories of Endocrinology (39th) and Heart and Heart Surgery (42nd) made the grade. The other five medical services -- Ear, Nose and Throat (37th ), Gynecology (27th), Kidney Disease, also known as Nephrology (39th ), Orthopedics (25th ) and Urology (27th) -- were also included in the 2007 edition of America’s Best Hospitals.

USF faculty physicians are the division chiefs for the following services at TGH: Nephrology - Stephen Rifkin, MD, associate professor of medicine; ENT – Paul K. Boyev, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology; Gynecology – James Mayer, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology; Urology - Jorge Lockhart, MD, professor of urology. In addition, Mark Rumbak, MD, USF professor of medicine, leads the internal medicine service at TGH, the division that includes endocrinology.

U.S. News & World Report evaluated 5,453 medical centers nationwide (excluding veteran and military hospitals) for its 2008 Best Hospitals in America report. Of those, only 170 hospitals made the final overall ranking based on factors such as reputation, death rate, and care-related factors like nursing, advanced technology and credentialing by professional organizations. The hospitals were ranked in 16 specialty areas.

For more information, visit the U.S. News & World Report America's Best Hospitals website.

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With $308 million in research funding last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of Florida’s top three research universities.

USF neuroscientist Svitlana Garbuzova-Davis and colleagues showed that a moderate dose of HUBC cells proved most effective.

Tampa, FL (June 25, 2008) -- A study at the University of South Florida has shown that transplants of mononuclear human umbilical cord blood (MNChUCB) cells may help patients suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease. A disease in which the motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain degenerate, ALS leaves its victims with progressive muscle weakness, paralysis and, finally, respiratory failure three to five years after diagnosis.

In this study, USF researchers transplanted human umbilical cord blood (hUCB) cells into mouse models with ALS. Cells were transplanted at three different dose strength levels -- low, moderate and high -- to determine the degree to which dose levels of transplanted cells might delay disease symptom progression and increase lifespan.

In results published today online at PloS ONE (Public Library of Science), researchers determined that the moderate-strength dose of HUCB cells was most effective in increasing lifespan and reducing disease progression.

“Our results demonstrate that treatment for ALS with an appropriate dose of MNC hUBC cells may provide a neuroprotective effect for motor neurons through active involvement of these cells in modulating the host immune inflammatory system response,” said the study's lead author Svitlana Garbuzova-Davis, PhD, DSc, of the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair at USF.

According to the research team, modulating immune and inflammatory effectors with HUCB cells could have a protective effect on dying motor neurons. The team had previously shown that hUBC cell transplants reduced inflammation and provided neuroprotection in models of stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.

“This pre-clinical study indicates that MNC hUBC cells may protect motor neurons by inhibiting an immune inflammatory response by decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokines, signaling proteins in the brain and spinal cord that play a role in immune response,” Garbuzova-Davis and colleagues wrote. “Proinflammatory cytokines may be indirect mediators for glial cells’ contribution to motoneuron death and the decrease in these cytokines might be due to a reduction of activated microglia, the cells that form active immune defense in the central nervous system.”

The research team noted, however, that the mechanism underlying the beneficial effect of hUBC cells for repairing diseased motor neurons in ALS still needs more clarification.

Suggesting that ‘more is not better,’ it was the moderate, not the high, dose of hUBC cells that proved most effective. Researchers speculated that the high dose may have been less effective because it induced an immunological conflict within the mouse model.

“Future studies should look at multiple injections of smaller doses over time, in order to help translate this research to clinical trials,” according to co-author Paul R. Sanberg, PhD, DSc, director of the center.

“Developing an effective treatment for ALS is complicated by the diffuse nature of motor neuron death,” concluded Garbuzova-Davis. “However, cell therapy may offer a promising new treatment.”

The study was supported by a National Institutes of Health STTR Phase 1 grant. The other co-authors were Cyndy Davis Sanberg and Nicole Kuzmin-Nichols from Saneron CCELL Therapeutics, Inc., and Alison E. Willing, Carmelina Gemma, Paula C. Bickford, Christina Miller, and Robert Rossi from USF.

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With $308 million in research funding last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of Florida’s top three research universities.

News release by Randy Fillmore

Tampa, FL (June 19, 2008) -- The Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs Inc, (AAHRPP) has granted full accreditation to the University of South Florida -- the only university in Florida to achieve this milestone.

The AAHRPP is a non-profit organization that works with universities, hospitals, independent review boards, research institute and contract research organizations to raise the level of protection of research study participants and to promote ethically sound clinical research. AAHRPP accreditation is considered the “gold standard” for protection of human subjects involved in clinical research, demonstrating that its member institutions meet safeguards that surpass the threshold of state and federal requirements.

Currently, seeking accreditation by AAHRPP is voluntary. Since AAHRPP was established in 2001, only 129 organizations representing more than 550 entities have earned the credential. The latest accreditation of 22 new members, including USF, was nationally announced on June 19 in Washington, DC.

“USF sought AAHRPP accreditation because it is the right thing to do,” said USF President Judy Genshaft. “Many people volunteer their valuable time to be part of studies that ultimately could improve the health and quality of life of future generations. Their trust and confidence are very important to us, so we’ve taken the lead in putting their safety first and voluntarily embracing standards that are higher than those required by law.”

“USF now joins an elite group of academic institutions in the United States that have successfully obtained full AAHRPP accreditation, including Harvard, Johns Hopkins, University of California San Francisco, the University of Pittsburgh, University of Pennsylvania and Stanford, to name a few,” said Abdul Rao, MD, MA, DPhil, Senior Associate Vice President, USF Health and Medical Director, Tampa General Hospital. “It is a testament to the quality of our Human Research Protections Program that serves not only the patients and investigators at USF/USF Health but also at Tampa General Hospital, Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, James Haley VA Hospital, Shriners Hospital and our other affiliate sites.” Dr. Rao oversees this program at USF.

“This monumental achievement is the culmination of much hard work by our university research community, which met all the challenges of a long and rigorous accreditation process,” said Caroline Fultz-Carver, PhD, MHA, interim director of the USF Division of Research Integrity and Compliance. “We have unequivocally demonstrated -- and the AAHRPP has independently confirmed – our unwavering dedication to the protection of human research participants and our belief in ensuring the integrity and excellence of research.”

USF has approximately 3,600 active research studies involving thousands of human participants. Cutting-edge research is conducted in the areas of medicine, nursing, public health, biomedical, and social and behavioral sciences.

Every project involving human subjects is monitored by one of six Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) established at USF and supported by the voluntary time and effort of faculty, staff, students and community members.

Applicants for AAHRPP accreditation must demonstrate that they have built extensive safeguards into every level of their research operation and adhere to the highest standards of translational and clinical research. AAHRPP’s standards exceed federal regulations by requiring organizations to address conflict of interest, provide community outreach and education, and apply the same stringent protections to all research involving human participants. Under federal regulations, such protections are mandated only for federally-sponsored or regulated studies.

Since last summer, staff of USF’s Human Research Protections Program and its IRBs spent countless hours establishing five major accreditation domains covering organization, research review, investigators, research sponsors and participant outreach.

This painstaking work included ensuring a formal process to evaluate and continually improve research involving human participants; educating researchers and staff about their ethical responsibilities; addressing requirements of the USF’s Human Subject Research Protection Program with sponsors that fund the research studies; providing mechanisms to respond directly to concerns of study participants; to ensure the independence of ethical review and oversight; and to determine and improve the competence of investigators.

Members of USF’s AAHRPP Accreditation Task Force, which was led by Dr. Rao, included John Arnaldi, PhD, coordinator of education; Barry Bercu, MD, chair of Biomedical IRBs; Norma Epley, assistant director for IRB Administration; Dr. Fultz-Carver, Camille McWhirter, JD, director of Research Compliance, USF Health; Lesley Spencer, document control; Paul Stiles, PhD, chair of Social & Behavioral Sciences IRB; Vinita Witanachchi, JD, assistant director, HIPAA and Conflict of Interest, Research Integrity and Compliance; and Henry Zych, IRB coordinator.

AAHRPP accreditation is valid for three years, and accredited organizations submit yearly reports on the status of their human research protection programs. The federal Office of Human Research Protections, Food and Drug Administration, and the Association of American Medical Colleges, among other organizations, support this accreditation process.

For more information about AAHRPP, visit www.aahrpp.org.

- USF -

The University of South Florida is among the nation's top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community engaged public universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. It is one of Florida's top three research universities. USF was awarded more than $300 million in research contracts and grants last year. The University offers 219 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, specialist and doctoral levels, including the doctor of medicine. The University has a $1.8 billion annual budget, an annual economic impact of $3.2 billion, and serves more than 45,000 students on campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and Lakeland. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.

Tampa, FL (June 10, 2008) -- A study led by the University of South Florida sheds new light on obesity’s role in the black-white gap in infant mortality. While maternal obesity appears to have no impact on the early survival of infants born to white women, the situation is different for black women, researchers report in the June 2008 issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Infants of obese black mothers had a higher risk of death in the first 27 days following birth than newborns of obese white mothers, the researchers found. Furthermore, this black disadvantage in neonatal infant mortality widened with an increase in the body mass index (BMI).

“Even if the infant of an obese black woman survives pregnancy, labor and delivery, that baby is at greater risk of dying than a baby born to an obese white woman,” said the study’s lead author Hamisu Salihu, MD, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology at the USF College of Public Health.

The researchers analyzed more than 1.4 million births recorded from Missouri’s vital records database, covering the period 1978 through 1997. The database linked black and white mother-infant pairs. Among all women, the likelihood of neonatal death (up to 27 days following death) and early neonatal death (up to six days following death) was 20 percent greater than for nonobese women, the researcher found.

Further analysis revealed that the higher risk of neonatal deaths among newborns of obese mothers was confined to blacks only. The rate of neonatal deaths increased significantly with rising BMIs of black women (ranging from 50 to 100-percent increments). However, the offspring of obese white mothers, regardless of the severity of maternal obesity, had no greater risk of neonatal death than the newborns of nonobese women.

The black-white disparity in infant mortality persisted even when the researchers adjusted for certain obesity-associated medical complications more prevalent in black women -- high blood pressure, diabetes and preeclampsia.

“This further confirms our findings that high BMI is an independent risk factor for neonatal mortality among blacks but not whites,” Dr. Salihu said.

The researchers also controlled for the amount of prenatal care received since another possible explanation for the black-white disparity may be that obese white women have better access to prenatal care than black women. Their results suggested otherwise, but Dr. Salihu cautions that more study is needed. “We cannot dismiss access to care as a factor because the quantity of prenatal care does not take into account the quality of care received,” he said.

Dr. Salihu suggests that differences in the way fat is distributed in white and black women may play a role in their newborns’ survival. Studies have shown that fat tucked deep inside the waistline may be worse for adults’ health than fat padding the rest of the body. “If we can understand more about the potential association between fat distribution in mothers and likelihood of death in their babies, we might have an avenue for prevention and narrowing the persistent black-white gap in infant mortality,” he said.

The latest study builds on another published last year by Dr. Salihu and colleagues, which reported that the risk for obesity-associated stillbirth was 50 percent greater among blacks than whites.

Dr. Salihu is director of the Center for Research and Evaluation at the Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies at USF. The study was supported by a young clinical scientist award to Dr. Salihu by the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute. Researchers from UMDNJ School of Public Health in New Jersey and the University of Alabama in Birmingham were coauthors of the study.

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With $308 million in research funding last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of Florida’s top three research universities.

John Adams, PhD, and his team study the complex life cycle of the malaria parasite (on computer screen) to try to find ways to block transmission of the deadly infection.

Tampa, FL (May 28, 2008) -- The protein MAEBL is critical for completing the life cycle of malaria parasites in mosquitoes, allowing the insects to transmit the potentially deadly infection to humans, a University of South Florida study has shown. The research may ultimately help provide a way to better control malaria by blocking development of the malaria parasite in the mosquito.

Researchers with the USF Global Health Infectious Diseases Research team found that the transmembrane protein MAEBL is required for the infective stage of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum to invade the mosquito’s salivary glands. Their findings were published May 28 in the online journal PLoS ONE.

“The mosquito is the messenger of death,” said the study’s principal investigator John Adams, PhD, professor of global health at the USF College of Public Health. “If we could eliminate the parasite from the mosquito, people wouldn’t become infected.”

Plasmodium falciparum causes three-quarters of all malaria cases in Africa, and 95 percent of malaria deaths worldwide. It is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito, which injects the worm-like, one-celled malaria parasites from its salivary glands into the person’s bloodstream.

Dr. Adams, center, with his team including, l to r, Steven Maher, Fabian Saenz, PhD, lead author of the PLoS ONE paper, and Sandra Kennedy.

The study was done by genetically modifying the malaria parasites and feeding them in a blood meal to uninfected mosquitoes. Parasites in which MAEBL was deleted were not harbored in the salivary glands of mosquitoes, even though an earlier form of these parasites was observed in the gut of the mosquitoes. The researchers concluded that the transmembrane form of MAEBL is essential for the parasite to enter the mosquito’s salivary glands.

While more studies are needed, lead author Fabian Saenz, PhD, said the finding suggests that silencing the receptor for MAEBL in the mosquito salivary gland might block passage of the parasite through the mosquito, thereby preventing human infection through mosquito bites.

“Our study shows that MAEBL is a weak link in the parasite’s biology,” Dr. Adams said. “This could provide a potential way to block transmission in the mosquito, before the parasite ever has a chance to infect a new person. It is better to prevent the malaria infection from occurring in the first place than having to kill the parasite already inside humans with vaccines or drugs.”

The study was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Other study authors were Dr. Bharath Balu, Jonah Smith and Sarita Mendonca.

Microscopic view of an Anopeheles mosquito infected with malaria parasites.

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With $308 million in research funding last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of Florida’s top three research universities.

Dr. Alicia Monroe

Tampa, FL (May 19, 2008) -- Following a nationwide search, the University of South Florida College of Medicine has tapped Alicia D.H. Monroe, MD, an Associate Dean for Diversity at Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School, to be the college's next Vice Dean for Educational Affairs.

Dr. Monroe will join USF Health's leadership team to oversee medical education July 1. A professor of family medicine, she is well known for her publications and innovations in physician-patient communication, cross-cultural communication, and mentoring students and faculty.

Dr. Monroe will take over for Bryan Bognar, MD, associate professor of medicine and associate dean for undergraduate medical education at USF, who has served as interim vice dean since May 2007. The national search for a permanent vice dean was led by Donna Petersen, ScD, dean of the College of Public Health. Several candidates visited USF this winter to present their visions for medical education.

"It's very exciting to be able to recruit Alicia Monroe to USF. She's one of the nation's leaders in teaching new models of physician communication, and is perfect for building on the model of physician education we've created at USF," said Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, dean of the USF College of Medicine and senior vice president for USF Health.

"I want to thank Dr. Bryan Bognar for a year as interim vice dean. Building on our stellar accreditation review last year, Dr. Bognar has been a 'students' dean,' an advocate for everything related to students."

"I am thrilled to be joining the team at USF Health and the College of Medicine,” Dr. Monroe said. “I was attracted by the many strengths of USF and the College of Medicine including strong visionary leadership, a strategic commitment to innovation and excellence, and the opportunity to continue building an already nationally recognized education program. I am excited by the opportunity to collaborate with an extraordinary group of students, faculty, administrators and staff to strengthen current programs and to launch new initiatives that will enhance health professions education, patient care and the health of the greater Tampa community."

Dr. Monroe is an expert in creating educational programs and courses to support the professional development of students, residents and junior faculty. She has taught physician-patient communication and counseling skills to medical students and residents for more than 20 years. At Brown, she designed and helped lead a new two-year required course, "Doctoring," for first and second-year medical students. The course combines traditional aspects of medical education with contemporary content such as the impact of culture on medicine, patient safety and "health care civics" – the social, bureaucratic and economic aspects of the health care system. She was also the principal investigator for an initiative to train faculty leaders how to redesign health care delivery to improve quality and access to diverse patient populations.

Dr. Monroe earned her MD degree from Indiana University School of Medicine, and completed an internship in psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC, and a residency in family medicine at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. She recently completed the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program (ELAM), as well as the Macy Mentorship Program in Health Communication. ELAM is a core program of the Institute for Women's Health and Leadership at Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.

She has received numerous teaching awards. Dr. Monroe was a three-timer winner of Brown Medical School's Faculty Teaching Award and received the Faculty Teaching Award for Excellence in Multicultural Education 10 times. Other awards included Outstanding Faculty Mentor from Brown University/Women & Infants Hospital, the NBI Healthcare Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award, and Residency Teacher of the Year.

Dr. Monroe has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, books and other media such as DVDs. She is a member and past president of the Association for the Behavioral Sciences and Medical Education, a national organization of medical educators dedicated to creatively and innovatively applying social and behavioral science knowledge to medical education.

- USF Health -

USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With $308 million in research funding last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of Florida’s top three research universities.

Lynn Moscinski, MD

Tampa, FL (May 5, 2008) -- Pathologist Lynn Moscinski, MD, has been named chair of the new Department of Oncologic Sciences at USF Health, a department that provides the academic home for faculty physicians and scientists who work at Moffitt Cancer Center. Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, dean of the College of Medicine and vice president for USF Health, made the appointment with William S. Dalton, MD, PhD, President, CEO and Center Director for Moffitt.

The new appointment came as Moffitt and USF signed a new partnership agreement for their affiliation. Moffitt's home campus is located at USF in Tampa.

Dr. Moscinski is a 20-year faculty member and division chief of Hematopathology and Laboratory Medicine. She takes over July 1 for Cliff Schold, MD, who headed the former Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology (DIO) and retired this year.

“This is an exciting and wide open chapter in USF’s relationship with Moffitt Cancer Center,” Dr. Klasko said. “We have a new partnership agreement. We have planning for new ventures together. And now we have a new chair and a new department that will be the core of our missions of learning and discovery as it relates to cancer.

“I’d like to thank Dr. Schold for his service as chair of the DIO, and welcome Dr. Moscinski as the founding chair of Oncologics Science.”

“Dr. Moscinski has a longstanding relationship with USF and Moffitt, and will be an outstanding chair of the DOS, representing the academic interests of the Department faculty,” Dr. Dalton said.

L to R: USF President Judy Genshaft, USF Health's Dr. Stephen Klasko, Dr. Lynn Moscinski, chair of new Oncologic Sciences Department, and Moffitt's Dr. William Dalton at the signing of new Moffitt/USF partnership agreement.

"As the head of the newly developed Department of Oncologic Sciences, Dr. Moscinski will play a key role in academic faculty development and in fostering educational and research collaborations between the Moffitt Cancer Center and the University,” said Santo Nicosia, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology.

“Her firm leadership and previous experience as a senior core faculty of the Department of Pathology, past president of the College of Medicine Faculty Council and advisor to the Dean on LCME accreditation will serve well in the challenging tasks ahead. Outstanding and sustained performances as committed educator, diagnostician, clinical researcher and administrator provide Lynn with the level of credibility required by a multifaceted department and faculty," Dr. Nicosia said.

“On behalf of the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, I congratulate her and look enthusiastically ahead to mutually beneficial collaboration.”

Dr. Moscinski will work with faculty and students to strengthen the educational partnerships between Moffitt and the university, including fellowships, residency and graduate education programs. “The Department of Oncologic Sciences will build upon the continued academic affiliation of Moffitt with USF in ways that are mutually productive for both,” she said. “I truly believe the faculty at Moffitt, through their ties to the university and its medical school, have a significant academic role to play in fostering cancer-related education and research.”

And, “there are real opportunities here to translate what happens in cancer science to other areas like Alzheimer’s disease research and vice versa,” Dr. Moscinski said. “There may be molecular pathways that apply to more than one disease process.”

Dr. Moscinski holds an MD degree from Medical College of Wisconsin, and completed a residency in pathology at the University of Colorado. She joined USF as an assistant professor of pathology in 1988, after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in Molecular Immunology and a fellowship in hematopathology at the University of Pennsylvania. She soon took on leadership roles at the fledgling and fast-growing Moffitt Cancer Center, now an NCI designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. She previously directed Clinical Chemistry, Molecular Pathology, and Hematopathology at Moffitt, and was division chief of the Pathology Program from 2001 to 2005. She served as the DIO’s associate chair for academic affairs since 2006.

As chair of the DIO Promotion and Tenure Committee, she was instrumental in helping develop a mid-tenure review process for faculty. As chair of the new DOS, Dr. Moscinski plans to develop mentoring programs for junior faculty that leverage the leadership development of senior faculty.

Dr. Moscinski’s research and clinical interests have focused on bone marrow cancers. She has studied how the cancerous cells interact with other bone marrow cells, with the aim of creating new therapies to overcome drug resistance and interrupt tumor growth.

One of Dr. Moscinski’s great loves is teaching – she teaches medical students, graduate students residents and fellows, with several nominations for teacher of the year.

“I try to encourage students to think through a complicated diagnosis rather than automatically look things up in the literature,” Dr. Moscinski said. “At first they look at you with blank stares, but I love how they rise to the challenge and after a few weeks they’re quizzing me… My goal is for all of them to leave smarter than the teacher.”

Kaaron Benson, MD, associate professor of oncologic sciences and associate member of Moffitt, said students rave about Dr. Moscinski in their evaluations. “She’s a terrific teacher,” said Benson, a long-time colleague of Dr. Moscinski’s. “She’s very well organized, speaks clearly and watches her audience to make sure they understand. She’s quick to challenge students to gauge how well they grasp the material… She is also able to find humor in challenging situations.”

Describing herself as someone who likes to “think outside the box,” Dr. Moscinski values the perspectives of other disciplines in coming up with solutions. For instance, she has drawn on pharmaceutical company and business approaches to help create a more effective pathology practice -- “like how to make sure we obtain the highest quality diagnosis in the shortest period of time.”

Dr. Moscinski belongs to the Tampa Bay Tango Club, where she dances the Argentinean tango, and also practices ballroom dancing at Librero’s on Davis Islands. “Dancing is great exercise and stress relief, and I love the melodrama and feeling of being connected to your partner,” she said.

Her other hobby is mountain climbing, and she doesn’t let the absence of mountains in Florida stand in her way. She has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and hiked to the base camp of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain. “Most of my friends find it amusing that I live in Florida, since I’m not a golfer or beach person, and definitely prefer cooler weather!” she said.

- About USF Health -
USF Health (www.health.usf.edu) is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With $308 million in research funding last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of Florida’s top three research universities.