Earlier this month, USF Health's John F. Toney, MD, became the latest "contributing correspondent" to ABCNEWs.com. His May 18th article entitled "Shingles - A 'Pain in the Rash'" serves as a primer to patients nationwide about shingles disease, which is caused by a virus that attacks the nervous system and nerve fibers.

Dr. Toney is a professor of medicine in the USF College of Medicine's Division of Infectious Diseases & International Medicine, led by Dr. John Sinnott. Sinnott and other members of this division have been published by ABCNews.com, serving as the network's experts on a variety of medical issues. Dr. Toney is also the director of infectious diseases clinical research at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, Fla.

See ABCNews.com article below.

Shingles — A 'Pain in the Rash'

"Worse than labor pains."

"Excruciating." "It changed my life." "Burning, stabbing, throbbing, shooting pain."

Reading the above complaints, one may find it hard to believe that all are attributable to a rash.

But if that rash is shingles, you could be in for a world of hurt.

Rashes are common problems for most persons during their lives, and many are brief and uncomplicated. Some, however, cause significant problems and shingles is one of these problem rashes.

What Is Shingles?
Many people are not familiar with shingles, a disease that can occur at any age, but is more common among older people. Shingles, known in medical circles as Herpes Zoster, is a frequently painful disease that is marked by a blistering rash.

The cause of shingles: the varicella-zoster virus is the same virus that causes chickenpox.

Shingles can affect an individual at any time without warning. More than 90 percent of adults in the United States have had chickenpox placing them at risk for shingles with the occurrence and severity of shingles increasing with age.

How Chickenpox Can Lead to Shingles
With the initial infection of chickenpox, some of the virus particles leave the skin blisters and move into the nervous system, traveling back down some of the nerve fibers that were involved with the chickenpox outbreak.

The virus then stays in these nerve fibers, where it is dormant, or "asleep." When the varicella-zoster virus reactivates (or "wakes up"), the virus moves back down these long nerve fibers to the skin, where the virus multiplies, causing the rash and the disease we know as shingles.

The shingles rash usually appears on one side of the face or body and lasts from two to four weeks. Its main symptom is pain, which can be very severe.

Other symptoms associated with shingles outbreaks can include fever, headache, chills and upset stomach.

Rarely, a shingles outbreak can lead to scarring, pain from mild stimuli such as the touch of soft clothing or a light breeze pneumonia, hearing problems, blindness, brain inflammation (encephalitis), or death.

For about one in five persons with shingles, severe pain can continue even after the rash clears. This condition is called postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). In some individuals, this pain may be debilitating and difficult to control, even with potent pain medications.

Common Questions About Shingles

-How common is shingles?

It is estimated that 1 million cases of shingles are diagnosed in the United States each year, 40 percent to 50 percent of which occur in people age 60 and older. It is also more common in people whose immune systems are weakened because of a disease such as cancer, or because of drugs such as steroids or chemotherapy.

-Is shingles contagious?

You can't catch shingles from another person with shingles. However, a person who has never had chickenpox (or chickenpox vaccine) could get chickenpox from someone with shingles, though this is not very common.

-Can shingles be treated?

Shingles can be treated with prescription oral antiviral medications and may require medications for pain management. Ideally, the treatment for shingles should begin within 72 hours of when symptoms begin. If the victim is also suffering from postherpetic neuralgia, treatment can be difficult, often requiring the help of a pain management specialist.

-Can shingles be prevented?

Yes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a vaccine for the prevention of shingles in individuals 60 and older. Those who wish to learn more about the shingles vaccine should talk to their health care provider to determine if the vaccine is right for them.

Dr. John F. Toney is professor of medicine in the division of infectious disease and international medicine at the University of South Florida College of Medicine, and director of infectious diseases clinical research at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, Fla.
Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures

Zachary DeFreitas

Tampa, FL (May 30, 2007) -- Jan and Richard DeFreitas were concerned that their son Zachary was always alone on the playground when his father arrived to pick him up from school. Jan DeFreitas says it “really hurt me as a mother” to see her older son keep to himself while his 4-year-old brother made friends so easily.

Zachary, 8, was diagnosed in November with Asperger’s Syndrome, a developmental disorder characterized by social isolation and impairments in nonverbal communication. The family was referred to the University of South Florida Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine’s Silver Child Development Center, which offers social skills groups for children with Asperger’s, a milder form of autism, and for those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

This spring Zachary completed the Center’s 3-month program designed to help him learn how to work in a group, to recognize expected and unexpected behaviors, to self monitor, to think of others’ feelings, and to make friends.

“It was like night and day,” Richard DeFreitas said of the program’s impact on his son’s behavior. “The USF program helped give him the tools he needs to socialize with his peers.”

“Zachary has really blossomed,” Jan DeFreitas said. “Now he plays with lots of kids and is frequently with different children each day depending upon which game or activity peaks his interest. Previously, it would never have occurred to him to seek out other kids to engage them in play.”

Brenda Curtwright, PhD, a speech language pathologist at the USF Silver Child Development Center, said the program uses games, role playing, videotaping and feedback from facilitators to teach participants to “think socially.”

Although some, like Zachary, are very bright, children with Asperger’s tend to be obsessed with one or two narrowly focused subjects (to the point of engaging in one-sided conversations without noticing if the listener is still interested). They may speak out of context or interrupt another another’s conversation, and display inappropriate nonverbal communication such as lack of eye contact or awkward body posture. They may also seem clumsy and have difficulty with some fine motor skills. As a result, Dr. Curtwright said, they are often perceived as eccentric or weird by their peers.

“They get teased and bullied and don’t make any friends,” she said. “The saddest part is that by the time they get to be 13 or 14 they may feel like they don’t need friends, and just give up. If you don’t address the lack of social skills early on, it will affect their ability to work with others and function effectively in society.”

The small group sessions provide the opportunity to practice interacting with others in a comfortable setting. For instance, the children practice the art of small talk, creating small files that list common interests they share with others in the group. They practice maintaining a conversation without monopolizing it and interpreting and using appropriate body language, including learning to keep eye contact and avoid fidgeting.

Near the end of the program they tackle more advanced issues like how to respond when being teased.

“The group dynamic is really powerful in helping these kids learn to problem solve,” Dr. Curtwright said. “We try to empower them to take control of their situation and be responsible for their behavior.”

One of few such programs in the Tampa Bay area for children with Asperger’s, the Silver Child Development Center’s social skills group draws families from across West Central Florida. A series of new groups, coordinated by Dr. Curtwright, will begin the week of June 11 -- with 8-week summer sessions for children ages 8 and 9, 10 to 12, and 13 to 16. The cost is $75 per weekly session, or $360 if prepaid in full.

Story by Anne DeLotto Baier
For more information, call (813) 974-8067, e-mail Dr. Curtwright at bcurtwri@health.usf.edu, or visit the USF Silver Child Development Center website at www.health.usf.edu/psych/cdc

Tampa, FL (May 30, 2007) -- Jan and Richard DeFreitas were concerned that their son Zachary was always alone on the playground when his father arrived to pick him up from school. Jan DeFreitas says it "really hurt me as a mother" to see her older son keep to himself while his 4-year-old brother made friends so easily.

Zachary, 8, was diagnosed in November with Asperger’s Syndrome, a developmental disorder characterized by social isolation and impairments in nonverbal communication. The family was referred to the University of South Florida Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine’s Silver Child Development Center, which offers social skills groups for children with Asperger’s, a milder form of autism, and for those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

This spring Zachary completed the Center’s 3-month program designed to help him learn how to work in a group, to recognize expected and unexpected behaviors, to self monitor, to think of others’ feelings, and to make friends.

“It was like night and day,” Richard DeFreitas said of the program’s impact on his son’s behavior. “The USF program helped give him the tools he needs to socialize with his peers.”

“Zachary has really blossomed,” Jan DeFreitas said. “Now he plays with lots of kids and is frequently with different children each day depending upon which game or activity peaks his interest. Previously, it would never have occurred to him to seek out other kids to engage them in play.”

Brenda Curtwright, PhD, a speech language pathologist at the USF Silver Child Development Center, said the program uses games, role playing, videotaping and feedback from facilitators to teach participants to “think socially.”

Although some, like Zachary, are very bright, children with Asperger’s tend to be obsessed with one or two narrowly focused subjects (to the point of engaging in one-sided conversations without noticing if the listener is still interested). They may speak out of context or interrupt another another’s conversation, and display inappropriate nonverbal communication such as lack of eye contact or awkward body posture. They may also seem clumsy and have difficulty with some fine motor skills. As a result, Dr. Curtwright said, they are often perceived as eccentric or weird by their peers.

“They get teased and bullied and don’t make any friends,” she said. “The saddest part is that by the time they get to be 13 or 14 they may feel like they don’t need friends, and just give up. If you don’t address the lack of social skills early on, it will affect their ability to work with others and function effectively in society.”

The small group sessions provide the opportunity to practice interacting with others in a comfortable setting. For instance, the children practice the art of small talk, creating small files that list common interests they share with others in the group. They practice maintaining a conversation without monopolizing it and interpreting and using appropriate body language, including learning to keep eye contact and avoid fidgeting.

Near the end of the program they tackle more advanced issues like how to respond when being teased.

“The group dynamic is really powerful in helping these kids learn to problem solve,” Dr. Curtwright said. “We try to empower them to take control of their situation and be responsible for their behavior.”

One of few such programs in the Tampa Bay area for children with Asperger’s, the Silver Child Development Center’s social skills group draws families from across West Central Florida. A series of new groups, coordinated by Dr. Curtwright, will begin the week of June 11 -- with 8-week summer sessions for children ages 8 and 9, 10 to 12, and 13 to 16. The cost is $75 per weekly session, or $360 if prepaid in full.

For more information, call (813) 974-8067, e-mail Dr. Curtwright at bcurtwri@health.usf.edu, or visit the USF Silver Child Development Center website at www.health.usf.edu/psych/cdc

For Media Relations, contact Anne DeLotto Baier & Susanna Martinez at (813) 974-3300.

- 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.

At the May 17th signing, Florida Governor Charlie Crist was accompanied by William R. Gower, PhD, (back row, center) professor in the College of Medicine’s Department of Molecular Medicine and Acting ACOS for Research & Development at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital. The signing of House Bill 96 resulted in more physical education requirements for elementary school students across the Sunshine State.

At the University of South Florida and USF Health in Tampa the build-up continues in the arsenal against obesity. Health experts at the ninth largest university in the country and the second largest in the state continue to push for real treatment and prevention in the battle against obesity. USF Health professors effectively lobbied for passage of a physical education bill that benefits elementary school students across Florida. On June 8th, university leaders will host the “Obesity Action Summit” to develop a community-strong agenda to halt the obesity epidemic.

This is the latest in a series of bold moves by health experts at USF, in their ongoing efforts to address growing concerns that current obesity treatments and initiatives are ineffective at the population level.

Earlier this month, William R. Gower, PhD, a professor in the USF Department of Molecular Medicine, was with Florida Governor Charlie Crist when he signed House Bill 967 – which requires every child from kindergarten through fifth grade to receive 150 minutes of physical education per week. The bill signed into law on May 17th also demands that every school campus have Automated External Defibrillators, better known as “AED’s”.

“Almost 23 percent of children get no physical activity at all during their free time," said Dr. Gower, who is also Acting Associate Chief of Staff for Research & Development at James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and the president of the American Heart Association’s Greater Southeast Affiliate. "These new physical education requirements will ensure that Florida's elementary school students get the activity they need to help them fight obesity and live strong, healthy lives", said Dr. Gower.

USF Health's Dr. William Gower with Gov. Charlie Crist

USF surgeon Dr. Michel Murr oversees one of the nation’s busiest academic bariatric surgery centers. He is convinced that reducing the rates of obesity requires a coordinated and supportive community effort, as well as a robust personal commitment from a patient. At least 850,000 Floridians suffer from what’s called “clinically severe obesity” -- where the patient is overweight by 100 pounds or more. More Floridians die from obesity than the dreaded diseases of breast and colon cancer. Obesity’s annual death toll is an estimated 20,000 statewide.

Even at the high school level, the data is grim. Twenty-five per cent of all high school students in Florida are clinically overweight or at risk for obesity. “More than 80 percent of these adolescents will grow into obese adults, therefore compounding the effects of the epidemic," said Dr. Murr as he prepared for the summit. “We really need to work hard and fast to halt this silent epidemic. At USF Health, we are taking a leadership role against obesity, and we call on everyone to come to the table with ideas, resources and without prejudice.”

With at least $4 billion spent each year on obesity in Florida and no notable progress being made at the population level, USF Health experts are creating a new framework for solutions. During the June 8th summit in Tampa, USF Health scientists, employers, educators and legislators will forge new partnerships to produce results that could be considered “radical," large scale intervention-prevention. The summit’s keynote address will be delivered by Arkansas former Governor, Mike Huckabee, whose personal battle with obesity has made him an “icon” of personal health. Mr. Huckabee lost 110 pounds through diet and exercise to cure his diabetes. Florida’s Governor, Charlie Crist, has also been invited to attend the summit. Topics will run the gambit: from the treatment and prevention of obesity, workplace wellness and obesity prevention, and how, as a community, we make a healthy choice the easy choice.

Scientists at USF Health are also laser focused on obesity. Teams of researchers are examining the root causes of the obesity epidemic and its related diseases.

“Fundamental questions such as genetic predispositions, metabolic disorders, environmental and societal influences, etc. are some of the areas of research that our investigators are currently pursuing”, said Abdul S. Rao, MD, MA, DPhil, senior associate vice president for USF Health and vice dean for research and graduate affairs at the College of Medicine. “The program in obesity at USF Health is extremely innovative because of its high level of interdisciplinary work. We’re teaming up physicians, scientists, public health workers, nurses and members of the allied health professions to work together as a team to transform the behavior of children, adults and caregivers in the community. It’s undeniable - for us to succeed as a society to prevent or treat obesity and its related diseases, we must continue to acquire new knowledge through such research and innovation. “

-- Story by Lissette Campos

Tampa, FL (May 24, 2007) -- USF Health is expanding to create a Division of Clinical Pharmacy and leading the new efforts in pharmaceutical education and service will be Kevin Sneed, PharmD. Dr. Sneed began his role as clinical director and assistant dean of the Division of Clinical Pharmacy on May 1st. The new division is housed in the USF Department of Family Medicine.

For USF Health, it is the first ever clinical pharmacy division . “I am very excited to join USF Health. It presents an outstanding opportunity to integrate the pharmacy profession with the overall missions of USF Health-patient care, education and research”, said Dr. Sneed who is no stranger to USF Health. He has been a visiting professor at USF since 1999 and is an 8 year veteran of Florida A&M University (FAMU).

The newly created division of clinical pharmacy has several missions. Under Dr. Sneed’s leadership, it will expand service lines throughout the various clinical departments of the USF College of Medicine, including the two Centers for Advanced Healthcare under construction on the campus of Tampa General Hospital near Downtown Tampa and the university’s main campus in North Tampa.

Other areas of concentration for Dr. Sneed and his team will be translational clinical research and strengthening the interdisciplinary educational programs currently available for medical and nursing students. “I think it’s important to make USF Health as truly interdisciplinary as it can be in regards to pharmaceutical education and services”, said Dr. Sneed. He will join the core group of professors engaged in teaching the innovative, interdisciplinary curriculum.

“Kevin Sneed exudes professionalism”, “He is the most astute PharmD clinician I have ever met” – just some of the ways Dr. Sneed is described by USF Health leaders.

H. James Brownlee, Jr.,MD, Chair of the USF Department of Family Medicine said “As a FAMU faculty he helped several of my USF faculty with publications. I told him within a year of seeing him ‘someday you will be Dean of a college of pharmacy!’ I think he is clearly a lot closer to that position, maturing as an outstanding clinician and researcher here at USF."

At FAMU’s College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Sneed was an Associate Professor. He shall remain as adjunct Ambulatory/Primary Care Pharmacy Preceptor for the Tampa Division of FAMU’s College of Pharmacy. "I would like to congratulate Dr. Sneed in his new position to lead the new Division of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of South Florida" said Dr. Donald Palm of FAMU's College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences. "His natural ability to motivate our students to excel academically in the Professional Program is irreplaceable. Dr. Sneed's numerous scholarly contributions and dedication to the profession of Pharmacy and the College of Pharmacy at Florida A&M University are forever appreciated."

Dr. Sneed’s links to Tampa predate his time at the USF College of Medicine. He completed an Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice Specialty Residency at Bay Pines Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, where he was involved with initiating a Home-Based Warfarin Monitoring program for patients enrolled in the Hospital-Based Primary Care program. As a practicing clinical pharmacist in the Department of Family Medicine, he initiated clinical pharmacy services in the department long before the new division of clinical pharmacy was created - including an Anticoagulation Clinic, a Metabolic Disorders Clinic, and a Medication Management Clinic. He also assisted with the initiation of the USF Pre-Diabetes Clinic, and also participated in a Cardiomyopathy Clinic, which is managed by the Cardiology Group.

Dr. Sneed has research interests in the pharmacological treatment of patients with Cardiac Metabolic Disorders, Statin-Induced Myalgias, and is active in community healthcare initiatives. Further research endeavors include examining Health Care Disparities in the treatment of cardiovascular and cancer-related disorders. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, and has participated in several grant projects and clinical trials.

Story by: Lissette Campos
To contact Dr. Kevin Sneed at USF Health: (813) 974-5699

View Dr. Litman's Nature Immunology commentary.

Tampa, FL (May 23, 2007) – University of South Florida geneticist Gary Litman, PhD, is co-author of the commentary “Why Study the Evolution of Immunity?” appearing in the June 2007 issue of the journal Nature Immunology.

Dr. Litman, a Distinguished University professor and the Hines Professor of Pediatrics at USF Health, has earned international respect in the field of immunogenetics. He wrote the commentary with colleague Max Cooper, MD, an immunologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.

Investigations of immune recognition in nonmammalian species – everything from fruit flies and sea urchins to chickens and sharks – have provided new insights into the evolution of immunity and the inner workings of the mammalian immune system, the authors contend.

The evolutionary struggle for survival of the fittest led to the refinement of intricate immune systems, including the adaptive immune system. Innate immunity, preformed and directly inherited, is the first line of defense against disease. Adaptive immunity, which is not necessarily inherited and was not seen until the emergence of vertebrates, produces a complex arsenal of antibodies and T-cell receptors to fend off diverse pathogens and prevent repeated attacks.

Comparing the immune approaches of different species provides information about the ways that innate and adaptive immunity are interwoven and affect the constantly evolving relationships among humans, commensal organisms (those living in the body that cause no harm), and microbial pathogens, the authors write.

“There are major lessons to be learned about the immune systems and its complex interconnections that reside in species occupying distant evolutionary relationships to humans,” Dr. Litman said. “Information gathered to date is already causing us to rethink how the body deals with the early stages of infection.”

Dr. Litman directs the molecular genetics research program at the St. Petersburg-based USF Children’s Research Institute and is a member of the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. He is the only USF researcher whose research group has received the 10-year Merit Award from the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Litman’s research using fish – a good, smaller-scale model for human immunity – has led to the discovery of many novel genes that offer insight into how the immune system develops in children. Dr. Litman was a member of the team to first sequence all the gene receptors that appear to play a critical role in the innate immune protection of zebrafish. His papers have appeared in such distinguished journals as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Immunology and Science.

“As an active member of the Interdisciplinary Signature Program in Allergy, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Litman and his colleagues are engaged in cutting-edge research that challenges the existing paradigm and redefines our understanding of the evolution of immunity,” said Abdul S. Rao, MD, MA, DPhil, senior associate vice president for USF Health and vice dean for research and graduate affairs at the College of Medicine.

- 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.

Media contacts: USF Health Public Affairs
Susanna Martinez, (813) 974-2776 or smartin1@health.usf.edu
Anne DeLotto Baier, (813) 974-3300 or abaier@health.usf.edu

USF College of Public Health Partners with
Stetson University Law School to Create New Degree

Tampa, FL (May 14, 2007) – 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 this exciting opportunity for students,” said Karen Liller, PhD, associate dean for academic affairs at the COPH.

Students will gain a foundation in law and public health to meet the legal health-related challenges of today. 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.

In addition, 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 possibilities for integrating the disciplines of law and public health are limitless. Students will be able discover, and sometimes create, new career opportunities”, said Michael S. Finch, Senior Professor of Law at Stetson University, College of Law. “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.”

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.

- 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.

USF Molecular Biologist Gloria Ferreira, PhD, recently received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to further her research of critical blood enzymes.

The 4-year grant is for $918,286 and titled “Ferrochelatase: Does Porphyrin Distortion Control Metal Ion Specificity?” Ferrochelatase catalyzes the last step in the heme biosynthetic pathway, which is required for a wide array of important proteins, including hemoglobin and cytochromes.

Dr. Ferreira, a professor in the USF Department of Molecular Medicine, also has an additional NIH grant that ends in 2008 that focuses on the first step of the heme biosynthetic pathway, “5-Aminolevulinate Synthase and Heme Biosynthesis.” Heme is an essential component of a wide range of proteins, such as hemoglobin, the major oxygen carrier protein in the body. Much of Dr. Ferreira’s work has examined the first enzyme of the heme biosynthetic pathway, called aminolevulinate synthase (thought to be the key regulatory factor for the entire pathway). Deficiencies of the enzymes have been associated with a group of disorders called porphyrias and sideroblastic anemia.

“Her work has important implications in understanding the molecular basis of a number of erythropoietic disorders at the molecular level, which will permit a rational approach for prevention, diagnosis and therapy,” said Larry Solomonson, chair of the Department of Molecular Medicine.

“Dr. Ferreira is widely recognized at the international level as a leading authority on the heme biosynthetic pathway and related processes.”

“USF Health College of Medicine is strategically committed to continue to increase NIH awards to our faculty, staff, and students,” said Abdul S. Rao, MD, MA, DPhil, senior associate vice president for USF Health and vice dean for research and graduate affairs at the College of Medicine.

“This commitment is in consonance with the University’s plan to gain membership of the prestigious Association of American Universities in which, USF Health will play a very critical role. Dr. Ferreira’s continued success in obtaining NIH funding is a reflection of the outstanding quality of her research and that of her collaborators at this University.”

Dr. Ferreira joined USF in 1991 from Johns Hopkins University, where she conducted her post-doctoral training and earned a fellowship for cancer research.

By Sarah Worth

May 22, 2007 Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, dean of the College of Medicine and vice president for USF Health, hosted a continuation ceremony for eighth-graders graduating from Carl Sagan Academy in the USF Health Auditorium. Dr. Klasko encouraged the students make their dreams a reality -- "I'm expecting you to do the impossible." As 13 students filed across the stage to receive their certificates, photos of them appeared on an overhead screen with their future career goals...pediatrician..lawyer...computer engineer...artist. The ceremony's attendees members of the COM Class of 2010, who initiated an ongoing community service intiative at the charter school this year.

Tampa, FL (May 21, 2007) -- The Carl Sagan Academy students line two sides of the modest cafeteria, where tables and chairs have been pushed to the edges to make room for a dance floor. Girls on one side, boys on the other.

Students in the swing dance class at Carl Sagan Academy practice a step demonstrated by USF medical student Meaghan Dominy. View Flash Photo Gallery

First-year USF medical students Jeila Alai and Meaghan Dominy take turns demonstrating the steps the preteens and teens need to master at this week’s class. “We’re going to be practicing Lollies (a basic swing dance move) a few times so you’ll get to know how it feels,” says Alai, tapping her high-heeled foot back and forth. “So, it’s 1-2 step, 3-4 step, 5-6 step ….One more time.”

Since early April, Alai and Dominy have been teaching Jitterbug-style swing dancing to more than a dozen students. The medical students are helped by several volunteers from Zendah Grotto Hall where they dance on Sunday nights.

By the second half of the class the students, paired into couples, are laughing and chattering as they spin around the dance floor, arms twisting and untwisting, feet tapping and pivoting. Frank Sinatra’s Ain’t That a Kick in the Head blares from the CD player and sunlight streams through open doors. Meanwhile, Alai and Dominy rotate from couple to couple, repositioning arms and feet and occasionally cutting in to demonstrate a move.

Sixth-grader Elizabeth Martinez, 11, admits she’s never heard of swing or Frank Sinatra and says she tends to favor hip hop and rhythm and blues – but she likes learning something new. “The dancing is fun and energizing. I really hope they come back next year!”

Medical student Jeila Alai pairs up dance partners Jankandre Dyal and Shenita Lawton

Tapping Into Their Potential
Alai and Dominy are just two of the 80 first-year medical students who have shared their time and talent this year at Carl Sagan Academy – a charter middle school in one of the most economically depressed areas of Tampa. The College of Medicine’s Class of 2010 adopted the school as an ongoing community outreach project – one they plan to continue next year and pass along to incoming medical students. They call the project USF STARS – USF Students Tutoring and Role Modeling Students.

In addition to tutoring students for two hours each week, the medical student volunteers have organized a book drive, served as chaperones for field trips, helped update the school’s website, led tours to USF to expose the students to a college campus, and sponsored a health fair for students and their parents with the assistance of the Department of Pediatrics Ronald McDonald Care Mobile.

An elective empowerment course for girls, called Kaleidoscope, helps those who have survived sexual abuse or other trauma. The program emphasizes a healthy body image, etiquette and team building – “tools these young women can use to tap into their potential and build the foundation for a positive future,” said medical student Soha Patel, who teaches the course.

This summer the medical students will seek donations to begin a gardening and school beautification project in the fall, including a mural contest for the Academy’s students.

From Tutors to Mentors
At Carl Sagan Academy, most students struggle academically. Many live in poverty and come from single parent households. Some have fathers in prison or families with violent histories, said Principal Kelly Browning, PhD, who credits STARS with helping raise the school’s academic standing.

“What the medical students have done here is absolutely amazing,” said Browning, a USF criminal justice graduate who wrote a grant to help start the charter school. “I really believe the reason our eighth-graders scored 4.2 on the recent FCAT -- above the overall statewide average -- is because the USF medical students worked one-on-one with them, starting at whatever level needed to improve their math, reading and science skills.”

Nishit Patel, who serves as co-president of the Class of 2010, said the first-year students decided to collectively volunteer for one community service project instead of diffusing their efforts over several projects. Maria Khambaty and Catherine Hough serve as community service co-chairs for the class.

“We’re trying to hone in on all our classmates’ special talents and enthusiasm to make this project a success and have an identifiable long-term impact in the community,” Khambaty said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to make some meaningful changes through our weekly presence at the school.”

Browning is convinced they already have – not only through tutoring but by exposing her students to opportunities they might not otherwise experience, like swing dancing.

“What started as a tutoring program has evolved into a mentorship in which the kids have bonded with the USF students and really want to please them,” Browning said. “These kids crave attention, and when you give them attention it helps bring their grades up.”

During tutoring breaks it’s not unusual to see the medical students engaged in conversations with their young students. “We’ll go outside, sit on a bench and ask questions about how they’re doing,” said Danish Ahmad, class co-president. “I feel like I can help be a role model.”

Carl Sagan Academy scholar Jasmine Woods (left) with her tutor, USF medical student Nina Paidas.

As Simple As a Pencil and a Willingness to Help
Browning is clearly impressed by students like Ahmad and Nina Paidas, who Browning says she would recruit as a teacher if she wasn’t going to be a doctor. Paidas is quick to emphasize that the medical student volunteers receive as much as they give.

“As medical students, we have the privilege of being role models by default,” Paidas said. “These kids give you a light heart. They bring you back to earth and teach you about a whole other side of life that involves the bare essentials… At this school, which lacks books and supplies, it can be as simple as a pencil and people willing to help you.”

“The best way to touch their lives is to relate to them in a way they can understand… which is something we’ll need to do to help our patients as well.”

Back at the swing class on this sunny April afternoon, boys and girls separate into their respective sides of the room during a break. Alai and Dominy continue to demonstrate dance steps to some interested students. When we visited, they had just two weeks left before the school’s first end-of-the-year dance, where the class would perform a popular new-age swing number, Zoot Suit Riot, for an audience of teachers, parents and fellow students. That night the cafeteria would be transformed into “Club Graffiti” with a “bouncer” at the entrance, a D.J, special lighting and the stark white walls covered with the spray-painted butcher paper decorated by students.

The dance, held on May 11, was by all accounts a rousing success.

“The kids did a fantastic job. I was very proud of them, and hope to be able to take them swing dancing at the Grotto to show off their newfound skills,” Alai said. “It’s difficult to command the focus of a large group of teenagers, but it’s worth it when they finally put together all the little parts we’ve been teaching them … I hope these kids take away a love of swing dancing, or dancing in general. But, most of all, I hope they’ve learned that if they put their minds toward accomplishing something, they can do it!”

The College of Medicine Class of 2010 seeks donations for community outreach projects at Carl Sagan Academy. Your contributions will help fund after-school enrichment classes, health fairs and field trips as well as school supplies and books to augment the library. For more information, please contact one of the community service co-chairs, Maria Khambaty at mkhambat@health.usf.edu or (727) 946-0004, or Catherine Hough at chough@health.usf.edu or (813) 610-0797.

View a clip of USF medical student Danish Ahmad's interview with a Carl Sagan Academy eighth-grade scholar Jasmine Burney.

- Story by Anne DeLotto Baier
- Photos by Eric Younghans

Tampa, FL (May 15, 2007) -- Francisco Fernandez, MD, professor and chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at USF Health, has been selected to receive the American Psychiatric Association’s Simon Bolivar Lecture Award. Dr. Fernandez will present the Simon Bolivar Lecture titled “Hispanics and AIDS” when he receives the award May 19 at the APA’s annual meeting in San Diego, CA.

The award honors prominent Hispanic statesmen or spokespersons and is intended to sensitize APA members to the problems and goals of Hispanics.

While Hispanics represent approximately 12 percent of the U.S. population, they represent about 18 percent of all AIDS cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Latino men and women are experiencing an alarming increase in AIDS cases, a trend that could wipe out whole segments of our population if action isn't taken to address prevention efforts in our minority communities,” said Dr. Fernandez, a faculty member in the USF Florida Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center. “We sometimes focus on the HIV virus itself and the epidemiology of the disease, but the issues we face are about human beings -- families and communities -- entire groups of people from different cultures that are facing a disastrous potential if we close our eyes to it."

Dr. Fernandez consults on neurobehavioral disorders, psychiatric complications of cancer and AIDS, psychological factors affecting medical illness and end-of-life decision making, psychopharmacology, pain management, somatoform disorders, attention deficit disorder, memory dysfunction, Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive disorders. His main clinical and research focus has been to assess effective treatment strategies for HIV-related cognitive-motor disorder and HIV-associated dementia.

Dr. Fernandez is committed to educating mental health professionals about the psychiatric complications of HIV infection. He is chair of the APA Committee on AIDS and serves on the Steering Committee of the APA’s AIDS Education Project, funded by the Center for Mental Health Services. He is a member of the Board of Regents for the American College of Psychiatrists.

Simon Bolivar award winners are chosen by the APA Committee of Hispanic Psychiatrists.

- 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.