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Dr. Amanda Smith and Dr. Eric Pfeiffer. -- Photo by Eric Younghans

Tampa, FL (April 30, 2007) -- Nutritionists have long endorsed fish as part of a heart-healthy diet, and now some studies suggest that omega-3 fatty acids found in the oil of certain fish, algae and human breast milk may also benefit the brain by lowering the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. To test whether docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid, can impact the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers at the Suncoast Alzheimer’s and Gerontology Center at the University of South Florida, supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, will evaluate DHA in a clinical trial, the gold standard for medical research.

The local effort is part of a nationwide consortium of leading Alzheimer’s disease researchers supported by NIA and coordinated by the University of California, San Diego. The trial will take place at 52 sites across the United States. It seeks 400 participants age 50 and older with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Joseph Quinn, M.D., associate professor of neurology at Oregon Health and Science University, is directing the national study. Eric Pfeiffer, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Suncoast Alzheimer’s and Gerontology Center at USF Health, will conduct the study locally.

Researchers will primarily evaluate whether taking DHA over many months slows the progression of both cognitive and functional decline in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. During the 18-month clinical trial, investigators will measure the progress of the disease using standard tests for functional and cognitive change.

“Evidence to date in various research studies that have examined the effect of omega-3 fatty acids on Alzheimer’s disease merits further evaluation in a rigorous clinical trial,” said Dr. Pfeiffer. “Our hope is that we may find out that DHA plays a role in slowing the progression of this destructive disease.”

In recent European studies and the Framingham Heart Study, scientists reported that people with the highest blood levels of DHA were about half as likely to develop dementia as those with lower levels.

“Study volunteers will be critical to helping us find out if DHA can make an impact on the disease process,” said Dr. Pfeiffer.

For the clinical trial the Martek Biosciences Corporation of Columbia, Md., will donate a pure form of DHA made from algae devoid of fish-related contaminants. Participants will receive either two grams of DHA per day or an inactive placebo pill. About 60 percent of participants will receive DHA, and 40 percent will get the placebo. Doctors and nurses at the 52 research clinic sites will monitor the participants in regular visits throughout the trial. To ensure unbiased results, neither the researchers conducting the trial nor the participants will know who is getting DHA and who is receiving the placebo.

In addition to monitoring disease progression through cognitive tests, researchers will also evaluate whether taking DHA supplements has a positive effect on physical and biological markers of Alzheimer’s, such as brain atrophy and proteins in blood and spinal fluid.

“This effort underscores the enhanced emphasis that USF Health has placed on Alzheimer’s disease research. It is a very critical component of our Interdisciplinary Signature Research initiative in Neurosciences and we are poised to make cutting-edge basic, translational, and clinical discoveries in this discipline,” said Abdul S. Rao, MD, MA, DPhil, Senior Associate Vice President for USF Health.

To learn how to participate in the study, contact USF study coordinator Jill Ardila at (813)974-4355, or the NIA’s Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center at 1-800-438-4380, or by email to adear@nia.nih.gov.

The NIA leads the federal effort that supports and conducts research on aging and the medical, social and behavioral issues of older people, including Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline. For more information visit the NIA's Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral Center at www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers, or call 1-800-438-4380. For general information on research and aging, go to www.nia.nih.gov and for information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

- USF Health -

USF Health is a partnership of the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of basic biomedical sciences and physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. It is a partnership dedicated to the promise of creating a new model of health and health care. One of the nation's top 63 public research universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, USF received more than $310 million in research contracts and grants last year. It is ranked by the National Science Foundation as one of the nation's fastest growing universities for federal research and development expenditures.

Story by: Anne DeLotto Baier

Juan Sanchez-Ramos, PhD, MD, is not the kind of person who is easily pegged, pigeonholed, categorized. Whatever you call it, chances are, it’s only part of the story. Dr. Sanchez-Ramos is a physician, yes – but he’s also a scientist, painter, animator and a sculptor too. Truth be told, the renowned researcher in Huntington’s Disease says the MD after his name was not his first choice - being an artist was.

“My decision to become a physician didn’t come until I was 28 years old,” Dr. Sanchez-Ramos said.

“It’s a complicated story. My father was a physician. His two brothers were physicians. My older brother was a physician. So everyone assumed that I was going to do that.”

Instead of helping his father with patients in the clinic, Sanchez-Ramos spent summer breaks in Venezuela peering into his dad’s microscopes, drawing the parasites and specimens staring back from the petri dish.

It’s a side of Dr. Sanchez-Ramos usually reserved for family and close friends. This weekend that will change. The artist–scientist, who goes by the pen name “Zeno,” will auction two sets of unique prints to benefit the Huntington’s Disease Society of America Center of Excellence at USF. The prints to be auctioned are two sets of six drawings – each one a dramatic 33” x 24” in size. With titles like Neuron Face, Molecules of Mood and Rock Concert, the collection is expected to raise the most funds for the April 29 H.D. benefit concert at USF’s Botanical Gardens.

“I’ve been painting since I was 4,” he said.

“I remember that, as a kid, my parents would pacify me by giving me a pen. I didn’t like regular pens, though. I liked the ones that I could fill up with ink. I would play with the plunger and make a mess! I’d watch the ink pour onto the paper and watch how it spread and was absorbed. I was fascinated by the ink.”

And it’s a fascination he never outgrew. Over the years, the ink blots on the paper have become gentle ripples in shallow water; brain molecules round and plump, inviting a squeeze; intricate neurons delicate enough for flight.

Ask which one will be most hard to part with and he says “Oh God. Which one of your three children do you like best?! I can’t say. Each one is unique. I can’t pick one over the other! There’s no way.” – his arms wave in surrender. But, the twinkle in his eyes gives it away. The whimsical air of Florida Dreaming and sharp contrasts in Molecules of Mood are special.

Click here to listen to artist interview on Florida Dreaming.

On Florida Dreaming:
“The sharply defined fish are casting a shadow through the shallow water, and a face is discernible in the sand underneath the water. The fish symbolize ‘good luck.’ That’s what my Chinese colleagues say. I hadn’t thought of it that way. What’s striking is that the fish are right over the eyes. Instead of having eyes looking at you – as in a portrait – I like to have things coming out of the eyes, like spirits, thoughts, images. It reminds me of the comic books I read as a kid. Plenty of times you’d see little daggers coming out of the eyes in the drawing. Here we have fish floating across the eyes. “

On Molecules of Mood:
“People in psychiatry like this one a lot. It kind of summarizes, in a graphic image, the relationship between neuro-chemicals and mood. Happiness or sadness might be reflected in the levels of certain molecules in the brain. The faces are reminiscent of the classic tragedy and comedy masks. The balanced one is in between the other two, this one with just the right amount of molecules. Too little or too much is not right.”

Backrow:Molecules of Mood, Dr. Sanchez-Ramos and Neuron Face. Frontrow: Rock Concert

For Sanchez-Ramos’ teenaged daughter, the top pick is likely Rock Concert. She provided the genesis for it, after all.

“My daughter came to me one day and said ‘Why do you always do these faces…why don’t you do this?!’ and she showed me a picture in a newspaper of a rock concert,” he said.

“I thought it was so fascinating because it was lit up from the stage. I made a big painting, 5 feet x 3 feet, then had it digitized and made into a print. I included some of my family in the crowd. That’s my daughter there (on the right), that’s my wife there (on far left) and that’s me”, he said, pointing to the background. He added, “What you see depends on who’s looking. People see what they want. I just saw it as kids getting wild at these rock concerts.”

Asked what happens next and this modern-day Renaisance man stays close to home in his response.

“I would love to work with the master printers at USF’s Graphicstudio to create a series of large scale prints depicting the workings of the mind,” he said.

Anything is possible in the world of Dr. Sanchez-Ramos. His – an amazing journey from medicine to art and back. The son who resisted following in his family’s footsteps to med school, would spend 3 ½ years as a freelance artist in France, Spain and Denmark before returning home – poor in assets, but rich in spirit.

“I was the proverbial prodigal son”, he said.

Today he stands as an award-winning researcher in Huntington’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and movement disorders, the holder of the Helen E. Ellis Endowed Chair for Neurology and Parkinson’s Disease research at USF; director of the HD Clinic at USF and noted artist. His hologram titled Crystal Dreams won the 1991 “Prix de la Qualite de la Realisation Technique” award in Paris, France. His animated film titled Dancing DNA, was awarded by the University of Chicago Materials Research Center in 2004. The music accompanying the dancing helix - also a Dr. Sanchez-Ramos original.

“I will speak to college students who have fixed ideas of what it means to become a neuroscientist or a physician and I tell them, ‘It doesn’t have to be a straight path like a railroad track. What’s most important is to follow your instincts. Develop your talent. I never, even when I was a graduate student and had to give up my fantasy of being a professional artist, abandoned my art.’ Just to keep myself happy, I volunteered to be a graphics editor of the Chicago Review, so I could keep my hand in art. The message is that if you’re interested in music and you’re also interested in medicine, don’t give up completely on the music. Keep your hand in it because that’s going to be helpful to you. One way or another, it will be good for you – good for your soul, good for what you do later in life. “

Dr. Sanchez-Ramos did. His HD patients at the clinic are reaping the benefits.

“Dr. Sanchez-Ramos is a consummate physician-scientist with an artistic flair,” said Abdul Rao, MD, MA, DPhil, senior associate vice president for USF Health and vice dean for research and graduate affairs at the College of Medicine.

“He is emblematic of the diversity of the outstanding faculty who call USF Health their professional home.”

Huntington’s Disease is a genetic disease, passed down from one generation to another. In 1993, scientists identified the gene that causes HD – which results in movement disorders, psychiatric difficulties and cognitive changes usually beginning in late 20’s to early 40’s. Currently there is no cure. The HD Center of Excellence at USF is the only one in the state, and one of only 21 in the nation. View Videoclip.

Story by Lissette Campos
Photography by Eric Younghans, USF Health Media Center

Tampa, FL (April 26, 2007) -- U.S. Preventive Medicine® today announced that USF Health will be the first academic medical institution to join the U.S. Prevention Network™, a national network of prestigious health systems that recognize the importance of prevention. As the exclusive member of the Network in the Tampa Bay area, USF Health will open several Centers for Preventive Medicine® dedicated to helping individuals detect and treat health risks at the earliest stages, thereby preventing them from becoming life-threatening or chronic diseases. In addition, USF Health will introduce The Prevention Plan™, a ground-breaking benefit that will make preventive health services available to thousands of area employees through their employers.

In becoming a member of the U.S. Prevention Network, USF Health joins with U.S. Preventive Medicine, a healthcare company dedicated entirely to prevention. U.S. Preventive Medicine is currently forming partnerships with health systems across the country to establish a culture of prevention in America by heightening awareness among consumers and healthcare providers. Additional health system partners around the country will be announced in the coming weeks.

“We are committed to providing consumers and employers with the best, most comprehensive suite of prevention services available in the Tampa Bay area,” said Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, Vice President of USF Health and Dean of the College of Medicine. “We believe that focusing on prevention and very early treatment – even before symptoms appear – can be extremely beneficial in helping individuals stay healthier for longer.”

Through the Centers for Preventive Medicine and The Prevention Plan, USF Health will offer extensive preventive services, including an in-depth health risk assessment, clinically appropriate diagnostics, counseling and medical intervention. These services are expected to be available in spring 2008.

“Our goal in joining with USF Health and other prestigious health systems across the country in establishing the U.S. Prevention Network is to create a culture of prevention as the first priority in healthcare, enabling individuals to enjoy more good years and to provide society with a healthier, more productive population,” said Christopher T. Fey, founder and CEO of U.S. Preventive Medicine. “We believe that USF Health’s commitment to prevention will encourage other health systems and physician groups based on the West coast of Florida to join our network. We firmly believe that prevention is the solution to America’s healthcare challenges.”

The Centers for Preventive Medicine at USF Health will integrate existing medical resources into an efficient new system of personalized, preventive care that goes far beyond a typical annual physical. The specific tests selected for an individual will be based on such factors as the person’s age, gender and health risk assessment. Particular emphasis will focus on preventive cardiology and cardiovascular risk evaluation, cancer screening, hearing, vision and pulmonary function evaluations and women’s health screening. To engage Tampa Bay area consumers in a prevention movement, USF Health – in partnership with U.S. Preventive Medicine – will also develop and disseminate innovative media properties using entertainment and education strategies.

Despite $2.2 trillion dollars in annual healthcare spending, Americans are experiencing high levels of obesity and serious illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and cancer. The lion’s share of healthcare spending is currently devoted to treating people after they become sick – when costs are highest and achieving positive outcomes is most difficult – rather than on prevention and treatment at much earlier stages.

About USF Health
USF Health is a partnership of the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of basic biomedical sciences and physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. It is a partnership dedicated to the promise of creating a new model of health and health care. One of the nation's top 63 public research universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, USF received more than $310 million in research contracts and grants last year. It is ranked by the National Science Foundation as one of the nation's fastest growing universities for federal research and development expenditures. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu.

About U.S. Preventive Medicine®
U.S. Preventive Medicine®, a privately owned company, is organizing and commercializing the market for proactive preventive health services in partnership with established hospitals and physician groups. The Company licenses its proprietary methodology, technology and branding assets to a health provider, which operates a local point-of-care – The Center for Preventive Medicine® – in a geographic territory on an exclusive basis. Individually, The Center for Preventive Medicine delivers a consistent suite of prevention services; collectively, Centers across the country form the U.S. Prevention Network™. For more information, please visit www.USPreventiveMedicine.com.

U.S. Preventive Medicine® and/or The Center for Preventive Medicine® do not themselves provide physician or professional services. All physician services are provided by independent practitioners exercising independent professional medical judgment. In addition, U.S. Preventive Medicine and/or The Center for Preventive Medicine do not interfere with or regulate the private physician-patient relationship. This document neither offers for sale nor solicits offers to purchase a franchise or investment unit in a Center for Preventive Medicine® or any other security.

Tampa, FL (April 26, 2007) – May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The University of South Florida Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine will offer a free community lecture series on a variety of mental health topics throughout May.

All presentations by USF faculty will be Wednesday evenings, 6 to 8 p.m., at the USF Psychiatry Center, 2nd floor conference room, 3515 E. Fletcher Ave. in Tampa. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP at 813-974-6967.

• May 2 -- “How to Evaluate Autism Assessment and Intervention Programs,” by Danielle Sutton, PhD, coordinator of Silver Child Development Center Autism Spectrum Assessment and Treatment Clinic, and Janis Kempa, Med, BCBA, behavior analyst.

• May 9 – “Aggressive and Violent Behavior in Children and Adolescents,” by school psychologist Berney Wilkinson, PhD, assistant professor.

• May 16 – “Understanding Memory Complaint,” by Maguerite Poreda, MD, assistant professor.

• May 23 – “Treatment of Insomnia,” by Carlos Santana, MD, associate professor

• May 30 – “When Mind and Brain Clash: Depression Complicating Traumatic Brain Injury,” by Francisco Fernandez, MD, professor and chair.

- USF Health -

USF Health is a partnership of the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of basic biomedical sciences and physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. It is a partnership dedicated to the promise of creating a new model of health and health care. One of the nation's top 63 public research universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, USF received more than $310 million in research contracts and grants last year. It is ranked by the National Science Foundation as one of the nation's fastest growing universities for federal research and development expenditures.

It was a day to be wowed.

More than a dozen national and international companies displayed their wares to more than 350 faculty and staff members, demonstrating to them the types of technology they might use in USF Health’s soon-to-be-opened Centers for Advanced Healthcare.

Visitors came and went throughout the day-long showcase, getting a glimpse of some of the new technology and taking the opportunity to “live” the new patient experience firsthand.

Taking advantage of the USF Bull Runner bus chartered for the day, nearly the entire staff from the Department of Pediatrics came from their Davis Islands office, Tampa General Hospital and All Children’s Hospital to visit the showcase.

"We are so spread out, geographically, it was important for me to try and get everyone together from all our pediatric sites and experience this as a group,” said Robert Nelson, MD, chair of the Department of Pediatrics.

“It helps foster more identity with the USF Health brand and build more of a sense of community. My team had a great time."

USF Health partnered with more than a dozen companies to make the showcase a reality. They included General Electric, Allscripts, Steris, Stryker, SweetBay Supermarkets, Amarark and AlfonsoArchitects.

"We gave people something tangible that ties to the vision,” said Kerryanne Timmins, a GE Healthcare representative.

“It's connecting the infrastructure, the people and the solutions, then showing people how the pieces fit in."

Fifteen GE reps flew in from different states to participate in the Centers Showcase. They showed faculty and staff online portals and self-service kiosks that will help patients do everything from scheduling their next doctor's appointment to viewing their lab/tests results.

Some of the highlights of the demonstrations include:

General Electric
* GE Ubiquitous ultrasound - miniature ultrasound products possible replacing the stethoscope - 3 ultrasound units, big logic 9 and future hand held device
* GE Patient Kiosk solution as well as Patient Online and Referring Practice Online.

GE Health and Wellness Trailers
* 53-feet in length with full demo kitchen and screenings areas
* Bone density screenings heart health screenings
* Mammography information
* Cooking demonstrations by SweetBay Supermarket (pharmacy partner)
* Presentations from USF’s SMART Institute on outdoor stage

STRYKER
* Full integration routing system showing surgeons how to rout video in the operating room

STERIS
* Working demo of the Instrument Tracking System and display graphics of the planned equipment, show computer cad designs from a small projector

ALLSCRIPTS
* Demonstration of TouchWorks v10, the version USF is currently using.

ALFONSO ARCHITECHTS
* Model of the Carol and Frank Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare

About the USF Health Pavilion South
• Seven-story structure with 126,000 square feet
• Located next to Tampa General Hospital on Davis Islands
• Will initially house diagnostic imaging (fully digital), MRI, CT, women’s diagnostics with mammography and ultrasound, fluoroscopy, basic X-ray, nuclear medicine.
• Outpatient facilities, including 90 clinic exam rooms.
• Expected clinical space includes: pediatrics, brain health (including neurosurgery, neurology and psychiatry), cardiology, general surgery, vascular surgery, digestive disorders, internal medicine, ob/gyn.

About the Carol and Frank Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare
• Six-story structure with 194,400 square feet.
• Located on the northwest corner of West Holly and Magnolia, the primary gateway to the USF Health quadrant of the USF Tampa Campus.
• Will initially house diagnostic imaging (fully digital) MRI, CT, women’s diagnostics with mammography, ultrasound and bone densitometry, fluoroscopy, basic X-ray, nuclear medicine.
• Ambulatory surgery/procedure center, including eight operating rooms and five endoscopy suites.
• Outpatient facilities, including 60 clinic exam rooms.
• Expected clinical space includes: brain health (including neurosurgery, neurology, and psychiatry), digestive disorders, ENT, Heart Health, Sports Medicine, and Women’s Health.

Visit www.myhealthcare.usf.edu to learn more about the USF Centers for Advanced Healthcare.

Story by: Sarah Worth

Tampa, FL (April 19, 2007) -- A graduate student at the College of Public Health will be among the charter faculty members for the Indian Institute of Public Health when it opens its doors next year.

“They are breaking ground as we speak!” said Anitha Thippaiah, MD, a physician from India and a Master of Public Health student at USF. Dr. Thippaiah was clearly beaming, knowing that she is a vital part of a new initiative to improve public health across India, one of the world’s most populous nations confronting huge burdens of disease.

The foundation stone for the first Indian Institute of Public Health, aimed at improving public health services by training public health professionals, was laid in Hyderabad, India on April 7 (World Health Day). The Institute is expected to open its first school doors July 2008.

Dr. Anitha Thippaiah

Selected from more than 200 applicants through a rigorous process by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Dr. Thippaiah was one of 13 physicians and medical professionals sent last year to study public health in the United States and United Kingdom. After graduating from the USF College of Public Health this summer with a concentration in community and family health, she will return to India to serve as a faculty member for the new Institute.

PHFI, headed by prominent cardiologist Dr. K. Srinath Reddy is a public-private partnership launched a year ago by the Government of India. The Foundation is creating a series of six schools, or institutes, of public health across the country. Historically, India had no formal tradition of independent schools of public health, and the Indian Institute of Public Health is expected to go a long way toward strengthening workforce capacity in all areas of public health and attracting specialists in health administration. The Institute will initially train 1,000-plus professionals a year, with the goal of eventually producing as many as 10,000 graduates annually.

Ann DeBaldo, PhD, associate vice president for International Programs at USF Health, was among the Association of Schools of Public Health consultants whose technical assistance led to the formation of PHFI.

“The Public Health Foundation of India and through its agency, the new Public Health Institutes, was created to provide advocacy, research and academic initiatives to promote the health of the country’s population,” Dr. DeBaldo said. “In India, public health has not been a recognized discipline apart from medicine and this, probably more than any other factor, has contributed to problems as diverse as the rapid spread of AIDS, the high infant mortality rate, and environmental degradation. We look forward to a new era of good health in India as a result of this important initiative.”

Before coming to USF, Dr. Thippaiah trained, supervised and monitored health care providers in sydromic case management to help prevent HIV transmission in India. She managed the surveillance of sexually transmitted infections in Karnataka as part of the India AIDS Prevention initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She holds a postgraduate degree in hospital and health care management from Indira Ghandi National Open University in New Delhi.

Dr. Thippaiah plans to focus on improving women’s health at the new Institute. “I’ve seen my own young, newly married cousins succumb to childbirth, and this is why I’m so committed with the desire to give back to my community and country.” She said her three areas of emphasis are “education of women, employment of women and empowerment of women.” She acknowledges that public health will be a challenge in India, given the country’s 15 official languages and many more dialects, and a literacy rate of 61 percent.

U.S institutions, including USF, are committed to helping the Institute develop curriculum, build library collections, and provide support for health conferences. Dr. Thippaiah plans to continue her association with the USF College of Public Health to bring the lessons learned from her courses, such as social marketing, to the new Indian Institute of Public Health.

“My hope is that our faculty and students will take advantage of new friends and partnerships being forged now in India to identify partners for collaborative research and education,” Dr. DeBaldo added.

- USF Health -

USF Health is a partnership of the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of basic biomedical sciences and physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. It is a partnership dedicated to the promise of creating a new model of health and health care. One of the nation's top 63 public research universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, USF received more than $310 million in research contracts and grants last year. It is ranked by the National Science Foundation as one of the nation's fastest growing universities for federal research and development expenditures.

Innovative educational opportunities continue at USF Health as its College of Public Health partners with Stetson University College of Law to offer a MPH/JD dual degree.

“We are excited that our college and Stetson College of Law could pave the way for these exciting endeavors,” said Karen Liller, PhD, associate dean for academic affairs at the COPH.

In addition to giving students a sound foundation in both law and public health to better meet the legal health-related challenges of today, the new MPH/JD degree will encourage faculty from both institutions to jointly teach courses and pursue collaborative research.

The MPH/JD program is among several dual degrees offered at USF Health.

The College of Public Health also offers an MPH with degrees from anthropology (MA or PhD), biochemistry and molecular biology (PhD), social work (MSW), and adult nursing (MS).

The College of Medicine offers and MD-PhD Program in Biomedical Sciences, the MD-PhD Program in Biomedical Engineering, the MD-MBA Program with the College of Business, and the MD-MPH Program with the College of Public Health. The School of Physical Therapy offers DPT-MPH degree.

The goals for students include solving public health problems using legal tools; understanding the scientific implications of legal problems touching upon public health and private health care provision; understanding how public health policies are expressed in laws and regulations; analyzing the legal environment and carrying out public health programs and activities in compliance with law; understanding the legal ramifications of proposals for health care and social welfare reform; and developing skills to advocate changes in health care policy.

Students must meet the entrance requirements for both degree programs and can graduate within five years. The first class of students will be admitted in fall 2007.

"The possibilities for integrating the disciplines of law and public health are limitless. Students will be able discover, and sometimes create, new career opportunities. Faculty will enrich their teaching and scholarship by working directly with experts from other disciplines. And ultimately our community should benefit as we generate more sophisticated solutions to public health problems. What a wonderful idea to integrate two schools with outstanding reputations", said Michael S. Finch, Senior Professor of Law at Stetson University, College of Law.

Story by Sarah Worth