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Hana Totary-Jain, PhD, an assistant professor of molecular pharmacology and physiology at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, is among leading scientists from across the country who appear in the Research!America “Reasons for Research” video series to discuss why federal support for medical and health research is crucial to saving lives and reducing health care costs.

The National Institutes of Health-funded research team led by Dr. Totary-Jain — including students at all levels — is part of the USF Health Heart Institute.  They are working on solutions for heart disease and other cardiovascular disorders.  The team’s research focuses on developing new nanotherapies to reverse arterial damage caused by atherosclerosis. These investigational therapies, designed to target diseased cells without harming healthy cells, could be applied to other diseases, including cancer.

“Today we have the tools to treat many diseases, but it takes many years of training and hard work to make the right discoveries that lead to treatment,” Dr. Totary-Jain said.  “That is why it is crucial that the U.S. government continues to invest in biomedical research.”

Hana Totary-Jain, PhD, far right, with her research team

Research!America is the nation’s largest not-for-profit public education and advocacy alliance committed to making research to improve health a higher national priority.

-Video and photo by Sandra C. Roa, University Communications and Marketing

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In honor of Public Health Thank You Day, the  USF College of Public Health joins Research!America and leading U.S. organizations to recognize professionals who work 24/7 to protect the health of all Americans.

Celebrated on the Monday before Thanksgiving, Public Health Thank You Day honors all those unsung heroes who keep our drinking water safe and air clean, develop vaccines, track and investigate infections, and protect us against imminent threats to our health such as the influenza, the recent salmonella outbreak in chicken, meningitis and natural disasters — like last year’s Hurricane Sandy.