Tossing and turning all night is enough to make you feel tired and cranky the next day – but USF Health researchers say sleep deprivation creates additional problems for your gut, immune, and heart health. Especially when combined with a high-fat diet, lack of sleep may trigger low-grade chronic inflammation that could lead to heart disease.

How’s that for a worry to keep you up at night?

In a new paper published in April in The FASEB Journal, the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. a team of USF Health researchers address not only the relationship between diet and sleep, but the effect on the body’s defense system, including immune health and the microbiome.

The microbiome is made up of the bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms in the gut. Scientists are just beginning to realize that the makeup of the microbiome – whether it contains “good” or “bad” bacteria and other organisms – is greatly influenced by diet and has far broader impacts on human health than previously realized.

“The combination of a high-fat diet and sleep deprivation messes up the immune system,’’ said Ganesh Halade, Ph.D., lead author of the paper and an associate professor at the USF Health Heart Institute. “And when we review the status of the microbiome, then we have a better understanding of the root cause of chronic inflammation that can fuel cardiac failure.’’

Dr. Ganesh Halade

Researchers also studied the lipidome, which is the fats, oils, and their molecules inside the body.

It is well-known that a lipid-dense diet can lead to weight gain and low-grade chronic inflammation. But sleep also is key, being fundamental to heart health and fitness of the immune system. Because more and more people with “sleep fragmentation’’ are facing cardiovascular and cardiometabolic issues including obesity and diabetes, their condition has become a serious medical issue, the researchers report.

“Diet, sleep, and exercise – It’s all related, fundamental, and integrative,’’ Dr. Halade said. “If diet and sleep aren’t in balance, then you invite the array of diseases.  Low-grade chronic inflammation is a by product of imbalanced lifestyle. We know a lot about eating habits, but the real question we need to know more about is the interaction of sleep with diet and effect on immune and heart health.’’

This question has become increasingly important, given that the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home and long hours in front of computer screens have changed the way millions of people sleep. This has led to “a metabolic public health problem’’ due to the disruption of circadian cycles.

Heart disease has been the No. 1 cause of death in the United States every year since 1950.

Other USF Health researchers who worked on this study were: Yusuf Mat, MD, biological scientist; Shalini Jain, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair; Hariom Yadav, PhD, associate professor, Internal Medicine and Neurosurgery and director of the USF Center for Microbiome Research; and Vasundhara Kain, PhD, senior researcher.

In their study, the researchers used male mice in randomized groups, with one group consuming a fat-rich diet and experiencing interrupted sleep patterns. Researchers measured the microbiome and lipidome in obese, sleep-deprived mice and analyzed gut germs and lipids. To determine the importance of sleep in the context of obesity, mice ate types of fat present in ultra-processed food products and then stayed awake before experiencing cardiac episodes.

Previous reports from Dr. Halade’s lab confirmed that omega-3 fats (fish oil-derived molecules) helped repair the heart in healthy mice after heart attack injuries, with the immune cells of the spleen, molecules called resolution mediators, making the repairs.  However, production of these molecules failed in the spleens of obese and sleep-deprived mice, and heart repair thus failed.  Furthermore, the researchers noted, omega-6 fats present in processed and packaged food products deplete omega-3 fatty acids in plasma and the heart, which causes low-grade chronic inflammation.

Dr. Halade and the team concluded that obesity and poor sleep patterns can lead to immune suppression and limits the body’s ability to repair a heart under stress or injury because prolonged chronic inflammation interferes with immune host defenses.

Dr. Halade is a cardiovascular research scientist working to better understand how inflammation and immune responsive metabolic dysregulation contributes to ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure. At the USF Health Heart Institute, he collaborates with other researchers, including Drs. Siddabasave Gowda B. Gowda and Shu-Ping Hui from Hokkaido University in Japan, on therapies and potential cures for people with heart problems.

— Story by Kurt Loft for USF Health News 

Countless people in the United States suffer from a condition called “leaky gut,’’ where the lining of the intestines becomes porous enough to allow toxins to seep through it and into the bloodstream.

Many are unaware of their condition, or that it can lead to serious health problems, such as chronic inflammation, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia and even some types of cancer. The condition also can cause a variety of unpleasant gastrointestinal syndromes, such as indigestion, gas, bloating, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

In a new paper published in Gut, a leading high-impact international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, USF Health researchers describe how the right balance of bacteria can deter leaky gut – and how the wrong mix can threaten a person’s health.

The study addresses how leaky gut can accelerate the progression of diabetes in overweight people, and how selective probiotics work to reduce that risk.

People with meat-rich diets are especially vulnerable, said Hariom Yadav, Ph.D., senior author of the study and director of the USF Center for Microbiome Research, Microbiomes Institute, and associate professor of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair.

Hariom Yadav, PhD

“We describe the unique role of the microbiome as a garbage cleaner of our body and our diet’s byproducts, such as how a meat-enriched diet increases the garbage in our gut that changes the microbiome,’’ he said. “This creates leaky gut and inflammation that ultimately induces diabetes.’’

The microbiome is the collection of microbes − bacteria, fungi, and viruses − that naturally live on our bodies. The balance of these tiny organisms can enhance or impair the body’s metabolic and immune functions.

Because everyone’s gastrointestinal tract is selectively porous, many of these organisms – along with nutrients − travel into the bloodstream. However, a person with increased intestinal permeability has too much “leakage,” allowing larger molecules into the bloodstream, creating inflammation. This inflammation impacts many organs in the body, potentially changing their normal functions if exposed for long periods of time and increasing the risk for developing such diseases as diabetes.

“These toxins keep circulating back and forth in our bodies and cause serious health problems,’’ Dr. Yadav added. “We wanted to know how these microbes work in the cleaning process, how they serve as garbage cleaners to remove toxins.’’

The new study discovered that leaky gut in both overweight people and mice diminished the microbiome’s capacity to metabolize a chemical called ethanolamine, a chemical found in beef and other animal food products. High levels of ethanolamine lead to increased permeability of the gut wall, and as a result, more proinflammatory molecules are released into the bloodstream.

Because ethanolamine is found in bovine muscle, people with diets heavy in beef ingest higher-than-normal levels of the chemical than people who eat meat less frequently.

“It’s an intrinsic part of animal meat,’’ Dr. Yadav said of ethanolamine. “So, eating a heavy meat diet contributes more of this chemical, and if the (probiotic) bacteria that metabolizes ethanolamine isn’t there to fight it, those people will be more likely to have leaky gut.’’

If ethanolamine-metabolizing bacteria are low or absent, then the accumulated ethanolamine acts on epithelial cells to cause leakiness. To counter this, the researchers suggest a novel probiotic therapy that would reverse elevated gut permeability, inflammation and dysfunction of glucose metabolism.

“What’s important is to know what kind of bacteria is in our gut and whether it can clear ethanolamine,’’ Dr. Yadav said. “Normally, people talk about what the microbiome produces, but in this study, we talk about what the microbiome utilizes or eats, and how it clears up all these toxins which either comes from our body or from diet. The therapy is where we put back these helpful bacteria in gut, and we can do this with oral probiotics therapy.’’

Dr. Yadav hopes this original research will benefit medical practitioners and policy makers in making better decisions on dietary guidelines.

Dr. Yadav has several ongoing research projects focused on the microbiome. Last year, he received a grant from the National Institute on Aging to help determine if a common medication can restore microbiome diversity in older patients who have a form of heart failure. Results of his three-year study could help prevent the subsequent problems that tend keep these patients inactive and cause their conditions to worsen. He also is working on another study funded by Florida Department of Health, called the Microbiome in Aging Gut and Brain (MiaGB) study, which focuses on how the microbiome impacts brain health, and teaches what to eat and avoid to keep the brain healthy during aging.

Armed with more knowledge about how the microbiome affects inflammation, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular complications, dementia and even cancer, USF Health researchers hope to identify high-risk patient populations that could benefit from next-generation therapies. Rather than a general treatment, these people might receive more personalized care based on their microbiome and a leaky gut.

— Story by Kurt Loft for USF Health News; photo by Allison Long | USF Health  

This year’s top stories highlight USF Health as an academic medical center.  Stories of patient gratitude, innovative research and development, and affirmation that the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine is truly the fastest rising medical school in the country.

Take a look at the top USF Health stories of 2022.

1. USF Health and Weill Cornell Medicine earn funding to further develop artificial intelligence that uses voice to diagnose disease. 

2. A USF Health patient had very few answers to her condition until she met with Dr. Jolan Walter.

3. Congratulations to our USF Health physicians who made the 2022 list of the country’s top doctors. 

4. The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine is on the rise faster than any medical school in the country. 

5. A USF Health psychiatry expert explains how the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increased number of patients with Social Anxiety Disorder.

6.  No medical school in the country does Match Day like the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. 

7. USF Health and Tampa General Hospital neurosurgeons are the first in Tampa Bay to offer game-changing ultrasound. 

8. USF Health was awarded $3.2 million to develop blood tests designed to detect Alzheimer’s Disease. 

9. Researchers begin to unlock how gut and oral microbiomes are linked to brain health in older adults. 

Hariom Yadav, PhD, (standing) and Shalini Jain, PhD, were recently recruited to research on the gut-brain connection (gut-brain axis) in relation to cognitive function.

10. Take a look at all of the USF Health physicians who made the Tampa Magazine list of Top Doctors in 2022. 

USF Health microbiome expert Hariom Yadav, PhD, has received a grant from the National Institute on Aging to help determine if a common medication can restore microbiome diversity in older patients who have a form of heart failure and, thus, prevent the subsequent problems that tend keep these patients inactive and cause their conditions to worsen.

Hariom Yadav, PhD, was recently recruited to lead the USF Microbiome Research Center and his research focuses on the gut-brain connection (gut-brain axis) in relation to cognitive function.

Dr. Yadav, associate professor in the Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition for the Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair and Internal Medicine in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and director of the USF Center for Microbiome Research in the Microbiomes Institute, is a co-principal investigator and is working with co-principal investigator and project lead Dalane Kitzman, MD, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The 3-year NIH consortium project research, which will include patients diagnosed with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), is titled “Repurposing of Metformin for Older Patients with HFpEF.”

Preclinical studies show that gut barriers, including mucin production, are reduced in older gut and cause ‘leaky gut’, which allows certain antigens to diffuse into blood circulation, thus causing systemic inflammation. Preliminary data also suggest that older HFpEF patients have markedly reduced microbiome diversity, including reduced production of beneficial metabolites such as butyrate, which maintain health and gut wall integrity, and may help reduce leaky gut.

Metformin prescription bottle. Metformin is a generic medication name and label was created by photographer.

Metformin is a generic FDA-approved medication used for diabetes. Earlier studies, including research in Dr. Yadav’s lab, shows that metformin decreases leaky gut by improving microbial diversity and increasing intestinal wall mucin production thereby reducing systemic inflammation and improving physical function in lab model studies.

This new study seeks to translate these findings to determine if metformin improves microbiome diversity, reduces leaky gut, and reduces the inflammation associated with HFpEF in patients, a common condition in older people, particular older women.

“Earlier research suggests that metformin can inhibit a root cause of systemic inflammation – leaky gut – and its adverse consequences which are highly relevant to HFpEF, including exercise intolerance, a known barrier for HFpEF patients for staying active,” Dr. Yadav said. “We propose to test repurposing of metformin, a promising medication for improving heart failure outcomes by improving gut leakiness and microbial diversity, and that metformin will restore gut microbiome diversity and increase gut wall mucin, which in turn will reduce leaky gut and systemic inflammation and improve physical function for HFpEF patients.”

This new study is a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled trial over 20 weeks in 80 non-diabetic HFpEF patients age 60 and older. The Wake Forest and Atrium Health team will coordinate the patients, measuring physical function, provide a quality of life questionnaire, and collect stool and blood samples. The team in Dr. Yadav’s lab will examine the samples and measure microbiome diversity and the key markers of leaky gut and of inflammation.

This study is supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U01AG076928.

Dr. Yadav is conducting similar research associated with leaky gut and inflammation, including their connections to Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias.

The multisite study may identify measures to help prevent or delay mild cognitive impairment and dementias like Alzheimer’s disease

TAMPA, Fla. (April 19, 2022) – The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program has awarded the University of South Florida total expected funds of $743,661 over the next four years for a multisite clinical study titled “Role of the Microbiome in the Aging Gut and Brain of Floridian Older Adults.”

Hariom Yadav, PhD, was recently recruited to lead the USF Microbiome Research Center and his research focuses on the gut-brain connection (gut-brain axis) in relation to cognitive function.

The multidisciplinary project will investigate how diet influences the gut and oral microbiomes linked to brain health in adults ages 60 and older.

The FDOH consortium grant allows researchers at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine to expand an initial study examining the microbiome in the aging gut and brain, started in Tampa late last year, to three other sites across the state: Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Boca Raton; Miami Jewish Health, Miami; and the University of Central Florida (UCF), Orlando. The consortium’s investigators expect to enroll a total of 400 older participants — both those who are cognitively healthy as well as those diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment and early-stage dementia.

By the time people are clinically diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s disease, or even mild cognitive impairment, degeneration of neurons in the brain is already quite extensive. For any treatments to stop or delay disease progression, patients at risk for Alzheimer’s must be identified and treated very early, said Hariom Yadav, PhD, an associate professor of neurosurgery and brain repair at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and director of the USF Center for Microbiome Research. “We desperately need noninvasive, inexpensive, clinically validated prognostic markers for Alzheimer’s disease that can be easily measured.”

The USF Health-led clinical research consortium will analyze bacteria composition in stool samples and saliva samples donated by study participants one time at the beginning of the study and then once a year for three to four years. Researchers will track alterations over time in the populations of oral and gut microorganisms, collectively known as the microbiome.

“Our study is the first of its kind in Florida exclusively focused on determining whether microbiome ‘signatures’ (biomarkers) from the gut and mouth can accurately predict an older adult’s risk of developing cognitive decline or dementia,” said Dr. Yadav, principal investigator for the FDOH consortium grant. “We also want to know if the signatures we identify can do that early enough to figure out strategies to delay or prevent those age-related diseases – either by modifying the individual’s diet or the microbiome composition itself.”

Using an interactive mobile app, study participants complete a daily dietary recall questionnaire and yearly tests of their memory, speed of thinking, and other cognitive abilities. Researchers will evaluate the effects of certain types of foods (i.e., protein, fruits, vegetables, dairy, carbohydrates, fermented foods, and junk food) on the growth of specific types of bacteria and see how the mix of bacteria changes if an individual’s diet is modified.

A growing number of studies correlate healthy guts, characterized by a well-balanced diversity of microorganisms, with healthy aging. Alzheimer’s disease is among the growing number of medical conditions linked to an imbalance of microorganisms (more bad microorganisms than good microorganisms) within the intestines. Emerging evidence also suggests that oral health and brain health are connected, including a large National Institute on Aging study linking gum disease with dementia.

Ronald Day and his wife Ardell, both 74, were among the first to enroll in USF Health’s novel microbiome study. Day, a retired pastor and volunteer chaplain at his Tampa continuing care retirement community, said he was intrigued by the idea that gut microorganisms may affect brain function and possibly be altered to combat cognitive decline.

“In the future, I’m hoping researchers learn enough from studies like this to suggest individualized diets, or other interventions, tailored to our own microbiomes,” Day said. “Anything that can help us maintain mental acuity as we age is so important.”

Aging is not a disease, Dr. Yadav emphasized, but as people age it’s particularly important to keep a healthy balance of intestinal microbes so that a potentially harmful strain of bacteria does not overgrow and monopolize the food source of beneficial bacteria. “A healthy gut allows you to adequately absorb the healthier nutrients and keep a check on the stimulation of inflammation, which is a root cause of several age-related conditions, including declining cognitive function that increases the risk for Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” he said.

The investigators collaborating with Dr. Yadav are Shalini Jain, PhD, Amanda Smith, MD, and Ambuj Kumar, MD, MPH, all from USF Health; Peter Holland, MD, of FAU; Marc Agronin, MD, of Miami Jewish Health; and Michal Masternak, PhD, of UCF.

Florida is among 10 U.S. states with the highest rates of Alzheimer’s disease. Approximately 580,000 people in Florida live with Alzheimer’s disease and this number is projected to increase to over 720,000 by 2025, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

For more information about the microbiome in aging gut and brain study, please email jains10@usf.edu or call (813) 974-6281.

Dr. Christian Bréchot will help elevate biomedical and health-related areas of research excellence to the international level

The former head of the world-renowned Pasteur Institute in Paris has joined USF Health to help university leaders strengthen biomedical and health-related areas of research excellence – and to elevate interdisciplinary signature programs to the international level.

Christian Bréchot, MD, PhD

Preeminent virologist Christian Bréchot, MD, PhD, joined the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine part time in October as senior associate dean for research in global affairs, associate vice president for international partnerships and innovation, and a professor in the Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine.  Dr. Bréchot is also executive director of the Tampa-based Romark Laboratories Institute for Medical Research. Since 2017, he has served as president of the Global Virus Network, a coalition of the world’s foremost medical virologists.

“Dr. Bréchot has been at the forefront of catalyzing teams of top scientists to work together effectively on global solutions for emerging pathogens, malaria and microbial infections,” said Charles Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine. “He is the ideal person to work with leadership across USF Health and USF in strategically identifying opportunities to take our infectious diseases, cardiovascular, neuroscience, and maternal-child health translational research to the next level, and to build upon the international networks he helped create at the Pasteur Institute and elsewhere to make that happen.”

Before serving as president of the Pasteur Institute from 2013 to 2017, Dr. Bréchot was vice president of medical and scientific affairs at Institut-Merieux, a company that develops new approaches to fight infectious diseases and cancers.  He also served as the general director of Inserm, the French national agency for biomedical research (analogous to the National Institutes of Health in the U.S.) from 2002 to 2007. As professor of hepatology and cell biology at Necker School of Medicine, Paris Descartes University, he headed the clinical department of liver diseases at Necker-Enfants Maldes Hospital from 1997 to 2001.

Dr. Bréchot has authored more than 400 articles in medical and scientific journals, and in 2005 was ranked by the Institute for Scientific Information as the 4^th most cited author on the topic hepatitis C. He has been recognized as an inventor on 18 patents, and helped to create three biotechnology companies.

With a prestigious career bridging basic science and medicine, Dr. Bréchot has combined research, clinical service and teaching with top administrative posts to enhance scientific understanding and better public health. His scholarly endeavors have included cultivating productive public-private partnerships between academia and industry.

During a recent interview in his office at USF Health, Dr. Bréchot talked about leading the Pasteur Institute, a preeminent global network of 33 institutes in 26 countries; his diverse background; and his new role at USF Health.  The interview has been edited for length.

What has been your area of research focus?

As an MD-PhD, I’ve always been convinced of the need to combine basic research with clinical practice — long before translational medicine became fashionable. My basic science research has combined cell biology and molecular virology, mostly focusing on hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) and how these viruses can induce liver cancer. I’ve also been very involved in developing diagnostic tests of HBV and HCV and evaluating new drugs to treat chronic forms of the infection.  More recently, I’ve worked on the mechanisms of liver regeneration and based on longstanding research activity in my laboratory, we discovered a new molecule (HIP/PAP, or hepatocarcinoma-intestine-pancreas/pancreatic associated protein), now being tested in clinical trials as a drug that may be useful for patients with a severe form of acute and chronic hepatitis. We’re contemplating organizing new phase 2 clinical trials in China, because China has so many people with chronic hepatitis B infection.

What were some major accomplishments at the Pasteur Institute under your leadership?

First, both at Inserm and the Pasteur Institute, I was very much focused on attracting and supporting young investigators. We created programs and special funding mechanisms to really give scientists at the early stages of their careers the means to develop interdisciplinary research and then get a grant. Second, at Pasteur, we reinforced research activities, especially in the fields of bioinformatics and integrative biology. We created a Center for Bioinformatics, Biostatistics and Integrative Biology (an international multidisciplinary center for processing, analyzing and modeling biological data) that included recruiting 40 high-level engineers and opening a new building.  Third, we merged the activities of different departments focused on the microbiota. For instance, we had a program called Brain and Microbes in which scientists working on infectious agents and those working in the neurosciences looked at how the bacteria of the intestine can modulate brain function, including disorders such as anxiety and depression.

What is the microbiome, and why is it such a hot area of research interest?

The microbiota is made up of populations of bacteria, fungi, certain viruses and other microorganisms present throughout the body.  It’s actually a very old topic:  The first microbiota intervention (to treat diarrhea) was done by a Chinese doctor 3,000 years before Christ (the ancient equivalent of a fecal microbiota transplant). What’s new is our technological progress – with the capacity for genome sequencing and advances in bioinformatics, we now have the possibility to investigate the human microbiota like never before… As a result, we’ve discovered very significant connections between dysbiosis — modifications of how microbe populations are distributed in the gut, the lungs, the skin — and metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and perhaps also Alzheimer’s, and some infectious diseases where disease severity correlates with what happens to intestinal bacteria. It’s a fascinating, challenging field with applications for cross-disciplinary research and translational medicine, and where international cooperation can be extremely interesting because the link between, say for example, the microbiota and diabetes may be very different in the U.S. and Africa due to the strong influence of environmental factors such as nutrition, as well as genetic variations… So, the science of microbiota as it affects certain diseases is a very good example of a collaboration which, if organized with centers in Africa, Southeast Asia and South America, could create a unique USF program very competitive with other universities.

What attracted you to the University of South Florida?

USF already has a lot of excellent ongoing research activities and in my discussions with senior leadership I found there’s real international ambition here, a desire and commitment to go further. I liked that.

What is your vision for helping advance research at USF Health?

I’m still in the stage where I need to listen and learn more about the research activities to see how I can best contribute. But, initially I want to work with Drs. Lockwood, (Paul) Sanberg, (Stephen) Liggett, (John) Sinnott and other leaders to delineate which strategic research areas need to be reinforced and then contribute to the high-level recruitment of scientists. Second, we’ll increase coordination among different departments working in research areas such as the intestinal microbiota and its impact on cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases. Third, I hope to contribute to the international expansion of USF, building upon the networks from my previous activities including work with industry partners.

I absolutely appreciate that I will only be efficient in helping to advance research activities at USF if I integrate into the team. It’s not always easy, but it works.

Dr. Bréchot will build on global networks from his previous activities, including work with industry partners.

You have said talent is key to research excellence. Is there one predominant quality you seek in selecting top talent?

You start by looking for bright minds. But, when you must choose among five scientists all with very bright minds, enthusiasm and the capacity to integrate are critically important. I’m a fan of soccer where you need to have very talented players, but you also very much need players with team spirit. Modern science needs researchers with an interdisciplinary mode of thinking who interact well with those from other disciplines.

Some things you may not know about Dr. Bréchot:

-Each generation of Dr. Bréchot’s family, dating back to King Louis XIV of France, had at least one medical doctor.

– As a student at Pasteur Institute, he helped set up the first diagnostic test to detect hepatitis B virus in blood; he also taught the first course in molecular biology in China in 1981.

-He met his wife Patrizia Paterlini Bréchot, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine at Necker School of Medicine and founder of a biotech company, when she came from Italy for a postdoctoral fellowship at Necker and Pasteur Institute in Paris. His five grown children include two MD-PhDs: a daughter who is a cancer immunologist at Pennsylvania State University, and a son who directs an intensive care unit at Pitié–Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, one of Europe’s largest teaching hospitals. There are also six grandchildren, ranging from ages 1 to 11.

-Dr. Bréchot enjoys jogging, playing tennis and snow skiing. Currently, he’s reading about U.S. history, including biographies of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

-Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications and Marketing

In what was likely the largest USF Health Research Day on record, nearly 360 presenters filled the Ballroom at the Marshall Student Center with their poster presentations, offering a wonderful overview of the range and quality of research taking place at USF Health.

A record crowd of presenters for USF Health Research Day.

This year’s event, held Feb. 24, featured the work of students, residents, fellows and post-doctoral researchers from across USF Health.

Now in its 27^th year, USF Health Research Day has grown in participation and increased the size of the venue, making this year’s event an especially bittersweet moment for Phillip Marty, PhD, associate vice president, USF Health, who has been with USF since 1990 and led the coordination of USF Health Research Day for 15 years — he will be retiring later this year.

“I’m going to miss this, it’s always been fun to be a part of this,” Dr. Marty said. “I’d like to think Research Day has contributed a little bit to the growth of the research programs here, going from a university that was down the ranks a bit to a major research organization in the country.”

Dr. Phillip Marty

USF Health Research Day is a day-long event showcasing science within and across disciplines from across all USF Health colleges, schools and programs, as well as guest researchers from USF programs studying the science of health.

Setting up poster presentations.

This year the morning started with the keynote speaker: the Roy H. Behnke Distinguished Lectureship featured Jack A. Gilbert, PhD, professor of surgery in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago and Group Leader for Microbial Ecology at the Argonne National Laboratory. His lecture was titled “Invisible Influence: The Microbiome and Human Health.”

Dr. Gilbert works with experts in environmental sciences, chemical engineering, marine ecosystems, health and medicine, and other disciplines to try to understand how the complex population of bacteria and other microorganisms we share with the rest of the world, collectively known as the microbiome, shapes our environments and our health. Among the researchers his University of Chicago team collaborates with is USF Health nurse scientist Maureen Groer, PhD, who is studying pre-term babies and their microbiome, neurodevelopment and school readiness.

Keynote speaker Jack Gilbert, PhD, spoke about a hot topic — the microbiome and human health.

Science is still in the early stages of this revolutionary research, including working to unravel exactly how the immune system responds to microbial governance, and finding the proper balance between “good” and “bad” bacteria.  But, studies in mice have already shown that altering gut bacteria can change behavior, Dr. Gilbert said, and imbalances in gut bacteria have been found in many diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, , diabetes and obesity. Nearly 400 clinical trials now involve the human microbiome in some component, including studies of how microbes respond to drugs, lifestyle and other factors, he added.

“What are the good bacteria?  How much or how little is needed to have protective effect? How do we get them in the body and activate them to have a defined impact,” Dr. Gilbert said are just some of many questions to be answered. “There is good evidence that some probiotics work, but we don’t know why.”

The topic was chosen because the microbiome has such potential in interest and activities, Dr. Marty said.

“We thought this topic would appeal to just about any researcher,” he said. “If anyone is looking for a research career or a topic for research, that’s a hot area right now, and such an important area for the future, especially in regards to precision medicine as we look at how we can treat disease. We really have to find out what’s going on at that (microbial) level.”

Katherine Stanford, a PhD student in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, explains her work to Dr. Stephen Liggett, associate vice president for research at USF Health.

Attendees hustled from the lecture in the Marshall Center Oval Theatre into the Ballroom to begin reviewing the hundreds of posters tacked onto rows and rows of bulletin boards, including interdisciplinary projects marked with yellow ribbons.  Judges also made the rounds, evaluating each presentation and asking lead researchers questions about their work or to further explain their methods, results and conclusions. As always, for those who are new researchers, USF Health Research Day is a key event in acting as a practice run for future national research meetings.

Following lunch, the crowd returned to the Oval Theatre to hear from the select few who were invited to present their work orally. This year 11 students presented their work at the 8th Annual Joseph Krzanowski, PhD, USF Health Invited Oral Presentations Session. They were: Aurelie Joly-Amado, PhD; April L Darling; Samia VO Dutra; Mark Howell; Shannon Kelly; Fahad Mukhtar; Danny T Nguyen; Emily Palumbo; Prit K Patel, BS; Ellen J Schafer, PhD, MPH, MCHES; Sarah L Todd, MD; and Lan Xu.

At the conclusion of the talk, the much-anticipated awards were presented. Winners for the USF Health Research Day 2017 were:

Best MCOM Graduate Student Poster Presentations:
Doctoral Student Poster Presentation: Allergy and Immunology: Viviana Sampayo-Escobar
Doctoral Student Poster Presentation: Cancer Biology: Emily Palumbo
Doctoral Student Poster Presentation: Cardiovascular and Clinical Science Research: Jin Wei (Basic Science) and Roberto Aponte (Clinical Science)
Masters Student Poster Presentation: Allergy, Immunology and Infectious Disease: Geeta Iyer
Doctoral Student Poster Presentation: Molecular and Cellular Biology: Shpetim Karandrea

Best MCOM Medical Student Presentations:
Med I Student Poster Presentation: Elliot Neal
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Interdisciplinary Research: Nima Hosseinian
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Clinical Science Research: Danny Nguyen
Med II Student Poster Presentations: Education Research: Dana Ciullo
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Global Health Research:  Nupur Godbole
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Public Health Research: Nicole Le
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Case Studies and Chart Reviews: Annie Hendryx
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Gilbert Murimwa
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Sean Sileno
Med II Student Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Kyle Kilinski
Med II Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Yeshuwa Mayers
Med III Student Poster Presentation, Interdisciplinary Case Studies: Manjari Pedapudi
Med III Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: LesleAnn Hayward
Med III Student Poster Presentation, Empirical Studies: Jourdan Cooney
Med IV Student Poster Presentation Case Studies: Mayssan Muftah
Med IV Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Samuel B. Reynolds
Med IV Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Jewel Brown

Best MCOM Medical Resident Poster Presentations:
MCOM Resident Poster Presentations: Case Studies: Emily McClung
MCOM Resident Poster Presentation: Case Studies: Norberto Mancera
MCOM Residents Presentation: Case Studies: Bhumika Patel
MCOM Fellow Poster Presentation: Chart Reviews: Matthew Perez

Best College of Nursing Poster Presentation:
CON Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Samia Dutra

Best College of Pharmacy Poster Presentations:
Postdoctoral Poster Presentation: Zainuddin Quadri
Postdoctoral Poster Presentation: Malathi Narayan

Best College of Public Health Poster Presentations:
Graduate Student: Yingwei Yang
Graduate Student: Caitlin Wolfe
Graduate Student: Korede Adegoke
Graduate Student: Stacey Griner
Graduate Student: Kyle Watterson
Graduate Student: Omotola O Balogun
Graduate Student: Abimbola Michael-Asalu

Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentations:
Allergy, Immunology and Infectious Diseases: Sanjay Mahendrasah
Neurosciences: Anisha Kesarwani
Neurosciences: Amirthaa Suntharalingam
Clinical Sciences: Alejandra Mallorga
Interdisciplinary Research: Achintya A. Patel
College of Pharmacy: Interdisciplinary and Public Health Research: Phillip Pham

Top Awards
USF Health Vice President’s Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Oral Presentation: Mark Howell
MCOM Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar Poster Presentation: Lisa Kirouac
MCOM Outstanding Fellow Trainee Poster Presentation: Chinedu Nwabuobi
MCOM Outstanding Resident Trainee Poster Presentation: Harrison Cobb
Outstanding Global Pediatric Behavioral Health Poster Presentation: Yingwei Yang
Outstanding Innovations in Medicine Poster Presentation: Muhammad Jaffer
Watson Clinic Award to a Fourth-Year Medical Student: Ali Antar
Dr. Christopher P. Phelps Memorial Fund Annual MCOM Neuroscience Graduate Student Travel Award: Jeremy Baker

Winner Mark Howell with Dr. Phillip Marty.

Keynote speaker Dr. Jack Gilbert.

Story by Sarah A. Worth, USF Health Communications
Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications
Video by Vjollca Hysenlika, USF Health Communications
Social media by Emily Wingate, USF Health Communications