SPRING 2023 HEADLINES

A new pilot and exploratory study program at the UF Health Cancer Center awarded funding to two teams of UF researchers to apply artificial intelligence to cancer research. These teams will address serious cancer-related research problems with AI to understand more about hard-to-study areas and develop new technologies like novel therapeutics.

Top neuro-oncology physicians and researchers from across the nation and abroad came together March 25-26 for the fifth annual ReMission Summit, a multidisciplinary gathering focused on discovering new treatments to change the future for patients with brain tumors.

A new University of Florida study is the first to provide evidence of a positive association between asthma and cancer risk in United States patients. Researchers used real-world data from the OneFlorida+ Clinical Research Network to reach their findings.

A new paper published in Nature Communications, led by Jason Butler, Ph.D., demonstrates that the Netrin-1 protein is a key regulator of cells in the bone marrow niche during homeostasis, regeneration and aging. The study is the first to show that infusing NTN1 into the body rejuvenates the BM niche and restores the regenerative capacity of aged hematopoietic stem cells.

UF Health is among 42 health systems nationwide chosen by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to carry out pioneering initiatives to accelerate the implementation of practice-changing research results in clinical care to improve patient outcomes. UF Health’s new involvement in the PCORI Health Systems Implementation Initiative will provide opportunities to enhance ongoing cancer population and implementation science research at the Cancer Center.

The UF Health Cancer Center joined Moffitt Cancer Center and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the 2023 Florida Academic Cancer Center Alliance (FACCA) Retreat held March 27-28 in Miami. The collaboration helps to ensure quality research, as the centers that make up FACCA adhere to the ideals set forward federally through the NCI, said Jonathan D. Licht, M.D.

Carrie A. Miller, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of public relations in the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, has received a $166,000 two-year grant from the National Cancer Institute to study how young adults can help increase colorectal cancer screening in rural settings.

A new study published in Clinical Cancer Research revealed that inhibition of the IRAK-4 protein with a small molecule inhibitor called CA-4948 can downregulate the expression of transcription factors related to cancer, even inside the blood-brain barrier. This discovery could have significant implications for treating certain types of cancer like primary central nervous system lymphoma and melanoma brain metastases.

A team of UF researchers led by Jatinder Lamba, Ph.D., a professor in the department of pharmacotherapy and translational research in the UF College of Pharmacy, has created a way to use genetics to predict leukemia patients’ risk for complications from chemotherapy drug toxicity.

UF College of Nursing Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Debra Lynch Kelly, Ph.D., RN, OCN, CNE, FAAN, and Chamings Professor and Assistant Dean for Research Development Angela Starkweather, Ph.D., ACNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, recently launched a partnership with Pack Health, a health coaching platform with a focus on chronic conditions, to study how weekly digital coaching sessions can improve health outcomes for individuals who have completed their initial cancer treatment.

Dejana Braithwaite, Ph.D., associate director for cancer population sciences at the UF Health Cancer Center, has joined the leadership council of the SelfMade Health Network, which works to combat tobacco- and cancer-related health disparities.

Christian Jobin, Ph.D., the Gatorade Trust Professor of Medicine in the division of gastroenterology, hepatology & nutrition in the UF College of Medicine, and Raad Gharaibeh, Ph.D., a research assistant professor in the division, have received a two-year $364,143 R21 grant from the National Cancer Institute to study the role of the gut microbiome in prostate cancer.

Led by Chair Elizabeth Shenkman, Ph.D., the UF College of Medicine department of health outcomes and biomedical informatics has been building a learning health system with UF Health and the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute for years. Thanks to successful team science and UF’s artificial intelligence initiative, progress has developed rapidly, with promising impacts for students, scientists, practitioners and patients across the university, state and country.

A new study of the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma suggests two specific cancer cell mutations may work together to help hide tumors from the immune system, offering a possible way to predict whether the tumors would respond to an emerging class of immunotherapy drugs.

Two UF Health Cancer Center members from the University of Florida College of Pharmacy have received a two-year $390,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute to study how a new therapeutic may help treat pancreatic cancer in its early stages.

More than 180 scientists attended The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute Chemical Biology & 5th UF Drug Discovery Symposium in Jupiter, Florida.

Ramzi Salloum, Ph.D., was selected to chair the Learning Healthcare Systems as Natural Laboratories action group. The group focuses on facilitating implementation research that advances the study and understanding of learning healthcare systems as natural laboratories for improving healthcare quality, equity and patient outcomes.