USF-Moffitt study reports certain settings and racial/ethnic parity strengthen beneficial effect Tampa, FL (June 23, 2011) – Education, referrals, support and other interventions by community health workers improve rates of screening mammography in the United States – especially in medical and urban settings and among women whose race and ethnicity is similar to that of the  community health workers serving them. Researchers at the University of South Florida, Moffitt Cancer Center, and Georgia Southern University reported these findings earlier this month in an online first issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers […]

Tampa, FL (June 20, 2011) – The University of South Florida Department of Pediatrics is conducting an innovative study for youth, ages 13 to 24, who may be HIV infected but are undiagnosed and not showing symptoms. Researchers will target Latino men who have sex with men and heterosexual Latina women to receive HIV testing and recruit others who are at-risk for HIV. The program is unique because it employs social networks of friends, family members, and intimate partners to recruit additional study participants and send HIV risk reduction messages. […]

Vaccine and IL-2 improve response, survival in patients with advanced melanoma Tampa, FL (June 2, 2011) — A vaccine for advanced melanoma, supplemented by the immunotherapy drug interleukin-2, has shown promise in one of the most comprehensive studies of the skin cancer vaccine’s effectiveness to date. The University of South Florida was among the 21 centers nationwide participating in the phase 3 clinical trial involving 185 patients. Results of the randomized trial, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, are reported today in the New England Journal of Medicine. USF Health […]

The USF College of Public Health will bring together international experts from various disciplines to focus on the global water crisis Tampa, FL (May 27, 2011) – The challenges and opportunities of sustaining a safe global water supply will be the focus of an upcoming University of South Florida College of Public Health conference bringing together international experts from academia, government, the military, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. Registration is open for the free event, “Security and Stability Partnerships for Water: Their Impact on Health,” to be held June […]

TAMPA, FL (May 13, 2011) — The Hearing the Ovarian Cancer Whisper (H.O.W) organization announced today that they have awarded a $100,000 fellowship grant to a team of researchers at USF Health and Moffitt Cancer Center. Doctors Mitchel Hoffman, Nadim Bou Zgheib and Johnathan Lancaster will study a genetic pathway that causes ovarian cancer cells to stop responding to chemotherapy. “Ovarian cancer is the most deadly gynecologic cancer,” said Dr. Hoffman, USF professor, director of Gynecologic Oncology, and associate vice president for Cancer Services. “Patients lose their battle with the […]

Tips to Reduce Wandering in People with Alzheimer’s Disease… Tampa, FL (May 9, 2011) – The University of South Florida Memory Disorder Clinic will host two sessions Friday, May 13, to inform the public, senior service providers and local law enforcement officials about the Florida Silver Alert program.  Enacted by former Gov. Charlie Crist in 2008, Silver Alert is a statewide coordinated messaging system that uses roadside signs and media notifications to help find people 60 or older with dementia who disappear in a vehicle. The same session will be […]

Tampa, Fla. (April 29, 2011) –  Dr. Paul Sanberg, Distinguished University Professor and senior associate vice president for research and innovation at the University of South Florida, received the Everfront Award at the 4th Pan Pacific Symposium on Stem Cell and Cancer Research held earlier this month in Taichung, Taiwan. The Everfront Award honors outstanding research contributions in stem cell and cancer research, including pre-clinical, clinical and translational work, and is presented to a researcher at the forefront of his or her field. Dr. Sanberg, who also serves as executive […]

VA-USF study finds cotinine reduces the brain plaques associated with dementia Tampa, FL (For immediate release) — Cotinine, a compound derived from tobacco, reduced plaques associated with dementia and prevented memory loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, a study led by researchers at Bay Pines VA Healthcare System and the University of South Florida found. The findings are reported online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in advance of print publication. “We found a compound that protects neurons, prevents the progression of Alzheimer’s disease pathology, enhances memory and […]

Tampa, FL (April 20, 2011) — USF Health physicians from the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery will offer free first-come, first-serve skin cancer screenings to the public from 5 to 7 p.m. on Monday, May 2, at the University of South Florida Medical Clinic, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL  33612. The American Academy of Dermatology designates the first Monday in May as Melanoma Monday, which kicks off Skin Cancer Awareness Month.  The purpose is to raise awareness about melanoma as a potentially deadly skin cancer and to […]

USF-led study shows that non-Hispanic black and Hispanic  infants with specific types of heart defects have poorer survival rates in the first five years of life than non-Hispanic white infants Tampa, FL (April 18, 2011) — Non-Hispanic black infants born with heart defects are more likely to die within the first five years of life than their non-Hispanic white and Hispanic peers.  For certain types of congenital heart abnormalities, Hispanic children as well as non-Hispanic black children fare worse than non-Hispanic white children. These findings, detailed in a new study by […]