Generous scholarships available to exceptional students

 SARASOTA, Fla. (April 26, 2018) — The USF Health College of Nursing is partnering with the College of Science and Mathematics at USF Sarasota-Manatee to offer a new nursing program at the Sarasota-Manatee campus beginning in fall 2018.

“We are very pleased to partner with USF Health to offer a new nursing program here at USF Sarasota-Manatee,” said Dr. Karen Holbrook, USFSM regional chancellor. “It has been a priority in our community to meet a critical need for well-trained, highly-skilled nurses. Our regional health care providers have been asking us to help address this need.”

The new program will be rolled out in two phases. USFSM will initially offer a pre-nursing curriculum during the first two years of the program, leading to an associate of arts certificate.  Following the establishment of an upper division baccalaureate program major in nursing at the USFSM campus, targeted to launch in the fall 2020, participants in the pre-nursing program will have the opportunity to be interviewed for admission to the nursing major and complete baccalaureate program requirements either at USFSM or USF Health.

Students who meet general USFSM freshmen admissions criteria are eligible to join the first cohort of students this fall, and those who have an exceptional high school academic record may apply to receive a scholarship of up to $2,500 each year, or up to $10,000 over a four-year period.

The demand for nurses in the Sarasota region has been well documented:

Karen Holbrook, PhD

• According to the 2018 Regional Job Market Assessment, the health care and social assistance industry accounted for the greatest demand for jobs in Sarasota in the past 12 months, accounting for one third (33 percent) of vacant positions.
• The Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition (SNAC) reports that just 31 percent of nurses in the four-county region have BSNs; the goal is to increase that figure to 80 percent.
• Sarasota Magazine reported recently in an article, titled “What does the future hold for Sarasota,” that the nursing profession in Sarasota-Manatee will play a strategic role in meeting the health demands of a growing and aging population, as well as public health needs. During the next 30 years, the fastest growing demographic in Sarasota County will be people 80 and older; their numbers will double and one in five residents will be 80 or older.

The partnership between the USF Health College of Nursing and USFSM embodies how USF System resources can best be used to offer academic programs that create enhanced opportunities for the entire Tampa Bay region.

“The USF Health College of Nursing is a leader in preparing 21^st century nurses to promote health and wellness in our community and around the world,” said Victoria L. Rich, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of the USF Health College of Nursing. “USF Health offers excellent and innovative nursing education programs, and our College of Nursing ranks first in the state for research funding by the National Institutes of Health. Many of our outstanding graduates remain in Florida, including Sarasota-Manatee communities, to pursue their careers.”

Victoria Rich, PhD

“It is exciting to collaborate with the USF Health College of Nursing to expand opportunities for students to ultimately obtain a bachelor’s degree in nursing at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus,” said Dr. Paul Kirchman, dean of the USFSM College of Science and Mathematics.  “Our community has been asking for this, and I am thankful that our regional chancellor, Dr. Holbrook, and nursing dean, Dr. Rich, supported the development of a pathway to make this happen.”

USFSM will develop a basic clinical skills laboratory on campus this summer, and students also will receive clinical training through the Sarasota Memorial Health Care system’s network of facilities and at Manatee Memorial Hospital.   New faculty will be recruited during the next 12 to 18 months to teach upper level courses as well.

“This is a perfect example of the benefits of reunification, and how we can meet the needs of our students and the community,” Holbrook added. “We are very appreciative of the generous donors who helped make the scholarships possible, and we look forward to welcoming our first cohort of students in the fall.”

To apply for the new nursing program at USF Sarasota-Manatee and be considered for scholarships, please visit www.usfsm.edu/apply, or call 941-359-4331.  Be sure to designate “pre-nursing” in the application.

–Story by Shawn Ahearn, USFSM Communications & Marketing

Dr. Karen Holbrook (left), regional chancellor of USF Sarasota-Manatee and Melanie Michael, vice dean of academic programs at USF Health College of Nursing, at the signing ceremony for  the new nursing program at the Sarasota-Manatee campus beginning fall 2018. — Photo by Krista Lee, USFSM Communications & Marketing

From left: Dr. Holbrook, Dr. Michael, and Dr. Paul Kirchman, dean of the USFSM College of Science & Mathematics — Photo by Krista Lee, USFSM Communications & Marketing

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USF Health highlighted the innovative work of its faculty and students as international leaders and stewards Oct. 18 at its first Showcase of Global USF Health.

The event, held in the USF Health College of Nursing Rotunda, was presented by the International Working Group of USF Health.  It featured more than 50 poster presentations on international research, education and training, and health service projects, including a range of partnerships across the world.

Members of the Latino Medical Student Association attending the showcase included, l to r, Valerie Devanney, Cesar Taborda, Conrad Vinalon and Rachel Appelbaum. Devanney presented a poster on the association’s interdisciplinary approach to global health.

Donna Petersen, ScD, dean of the USF College of Public Health and advisor to USF Health’s International Working Group, said the showcase is an outgrowth of the working group’s efforts bringing together USF faculty and university leaders to collaborate, coordinate and optimize scholarly endeavors in global health. 

Dr. Donna Petersen, dean of the College of Public Health and advisor to USF Health’s International Working Group, helped kick off the first Showcase of Global USF Health.

“It’s terrific.  This showcase highlights people at USF Health involved in critical international work to promote and improve the health of communities around the globe,” Dr. Petersen said. “This year focused primarily on faculty projects… Next year we’d like to open it up to more students, because they too are conducting more research and field work in other parts of the world.”

Karen Holbrook, PhD, senior vice president for Global Affairs & International Research, spoke on behalf of USF World about the university’s expanding research, innovation and engagement abroad.   More than 900 USF faculty members are tackling global challenges in such areas as health, environmental sustainability, energy and business, she said.  And more than 2,100 international students — the most in USF’s history – come from countries ranging from China and India to Peru and Vietnam.

Speakers included, l to r, Dr. Karen Holbrook, USF senior vice president for Global Affairs and International Research; Dr. Dianne Morrison-Beedy, dean of the College of Nursing; Dr. William S. Quillen, associate dean and director of the School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences, and Dr. Shufeng Zhou, associate vice president of global health development at the College of Pharmacy.

Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, dean of the College of Nursing, says the college considers global interests an important factor when recruiting new faculty, and about half of USF nursing students obtain some of their community health training in Panama.

“Faculty and students who travel abroad bring that global perspective back to USF Health and help all of us to think differently,” Dr. Morrison-Beedy said. 

Dr. Stephen Klasko, CEO of USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, checks out some of the posters featuring USF’s global health innovation and engagement.

The showcase featured international research, education and service projects and partnerships across the spectrum of health.

USF continues to strengthen its global health reach to provide opportunties for faculty and students.

 Photos by Eric Younghans, and video by Danielle Barta, USF Health Communications

The Department of Defense grant may lead to better treatments, readjustment skills for veterans

Tampa, FL (Jan. 31, 2012) – The University of South Florida has received a $1.57 million U.S. Department of Defense grant to conduct translational research on traumatic brain injury and other battlefield related injuries and diseases. The studies, many in collaboration with James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, are intended to improve the quality of life for military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is known as the signature injury of soldiers returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. Blast forces sustained in combat often cause damage to parts of the brain critical to high-level functions influencing memory, attention, decision-making and motor skills. Many veterans developing symptoms after TBI also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

U.S. soldiers conduct combat patrol in Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Department of Defense.

“Working with the VA, the Department of Defense and private research entities, we will develop novel studies – everything from drug discovery and preclinical work to clinical, social and behavioral trials,” said principal investigator Dr. Paul R. Sanberg, USF senior associate vice president for research and innovation and director of the USF Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair. “Our multidisciplinary work will provide critical knowledge about TBI and its complications that could lead to more effective diagnosis and treatments for soldiers and veterans, as well as skills to improve their physical and psychological adjustment into civilian life.”

“This new federal award is a tremendous boost to USF’s efforts to build a research infrastructure to support our veterans reintegration strategy,” said Karen Holbrook, PhD, USF senior vice president for research, innovation and global affairs.

The two-year, DOD-funded grant joins faculty from across colleges and disciplines. Among USF faculty members leading studies are Cesar Borlongan, PhD; Juan Sanchez-Ramos, MD, PhD, and Michael Schoenberg, PhD; all from the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine; Theresa Chisolm, PhD, William Kearns, PhD, and Larry Schonfeld, PhD, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences; David Diamond, PhD, College of Arts and Sciences; William S. Quillen, PT, DPT, PhD, and Larry Mengelkoch, PhD; School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and Larry Braue, USF Office of Veterans Services.

Dr. Paul Sanberg, USF senior associate vice president for research and innovation, is overseeing the DOD-funded projects.

The grant involves four major projects:

• Researchers will assess in animal models how granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF), a growth factor that mobilizes the body’s own stem cells, may help treat traumatic brain injury.

• A clinical trial will test whether GCSF reduces neurological damage and improves recovery of memory, decision-making and other cognitive functions in soldiers and veterans with TBI, even when administered a month or two after the initial injury. Patients will be recruited from the polytrauma rehabilitation and blast injury programs at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital.

• In an attempt to identify better diagnostic measures for mild TBI, a frequently underdiagnosed condition, a study will compare the balance, gait, hearing and vestibular functions of otherwise healthy USF student veterans with and without self-reported TBI to those of non-veteran students. Evaluations will be conducted at the USF School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences Human Functional Performance Laboratory.

• Using advanced technology researchers will monitor changes in patterns of everyday movement and the cognitive function of TBI patients undergoing smart house-based rehabilitation at the Tampa VA hospital’s Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program. The study will evaluate whether scientific analysis of movements, tracked by devices like radiofrequency identification and global positioning systems, can help assess therapeutic improvement. A second arm of the study will investigate whether variability in walking patterns is greater for USF student veterans reporting mild TBI than for those without this diagnosis.

The new DOD award adds momentum to USF’s plans to work with the VA and DOD to build a first-of-its kind Center for Rehabilitation, Science, Engineering and Medicine, an interdisciplinary research, education and treatment facility. Over the last three years, the university’s Veterans Reintegration Strategy program has joined researchers across colleges and disciplines to work on studies in areas including TBI, PTSD, robotics and prosthetics, gait and balance, and aging-related disorders.

“This award reflects USF’s collaborative efforts to leverage our research and academic expertise to enhance the quality of life of our men and women in uniform, and their families, who have so selflessly served this country,” said Lt. Gen. Martin Steele (USMC retired), executive director of USF Military Partnerships. “It builds, not only upon interdisciplinary research within the university, but also strengthens our longstanding ties with Tampa Bay’s military community through two major VA hospitals, MacDill Air Force Base, U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command.”

Earlier this month at a news conference announcing an initiative of the country’s top medical schools, including the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, to ensure care for veterans and their families, First Lady Michelle Obama recognized USF as an example of universities stepping up to meet veterans’ unique health care needs.

– USF –

The University of South Florida is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF is classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in the top tier of research universities, a distinction attained by only 2.2 percent of all universities. It is ranked 44th in total research expenditures and 34th in federal research expenditures for public universities by the National Science Foundation. The USF System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion, an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion, and serves 47,000 students in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and Lakeland.