Glint Pharmaceuticals to Begin Clinical Testing on Contact Lens to Prevent COVID-19 Virus Infection
UF startup Glint Pharmaceuticals, an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company that delivers medicated contact lenses to treat eye diseases, has developed a patented technology for delivery of an anti-COVID-19 formulation to the ocular surface to prevent and treat infections. The proprietary formulation combines a well-tolerated ocular chemistry with the Glint drug delivery contact lens to kill a […]
Gilbert Creates inLine Ticketing System to Lower Health Risk When Voting
As people across the country head to the polls, a concern on many minds is how to stay safe while voting. With the COVID-19 pandemic surging nationwide, what can election officials do to ensure everyone has the ability to vote without risking their health? Juan E. Gilbert, Ph.D., The Banks Family Preeminence Endowed Professor and […]
UF Health Surgeons Perform Historic Double-Lung Transplant on COVID-19 Survivor
A man who battled back from COVID-19 only to face a life-threatening crisis when his lungs began to fail has become the first person in the Southeast to receive a double-lung transplant after beating the coronavirus, thanks to the nationally ranked lung transplant team at UF Health Shands Hospital. The patient, who is in his […]
Tiny Florida Medical Research Firm Faces Giant Challenge — COVID-19 Vaccine
UF startup and UF Innovate | Sid Martin Biotech graduate company Oragenics, Inc., a Tampa-based medical research business with roots in Gainesville, found itself at a crossroads earlier this year right before the COVID-19 pandemic struck America. The company’s previous project had been working on modifying genes related to bacteria in the hopes of stopping oral mucositis in […]
Oragenics Provides Update on SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Program
UF startup and UF Innovate | Sid Martin Biotech graduate company Oragenics, Inc., a leader in the development of new antibiotics against infectious diseases and effective treatments for oral mucositis, provided an update on progress with its SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccine candidate and announced the termination of its clinical development program with AG013 for the treatment of severe oral […]
Harnessing Genome Editing for COVID-19 Drug Discovery
A University of Florida research team is harnessing the power of genomic editing to illuminate druggable targets in human cells for the fight against COVID-19. By taking advantage of high-containment labs in UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute—especially designed for studying highly contagious and virulent pathogens—the team is using CRISPR genome editing techniques to screen human cell […]
Adapting Neurological Care Amid COVID-19
As the ongoing battle against the spread of COVID-19 continues, the medical community is learning more about the disease and at-risk populations by the day. Many symptoms and comorbidities associated with neurologic disorders place patients, especially those in the neuromuscular disease community, within those high-risk categories established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]
Príncipe Receives NSF Grant for Unique Multi-Patient Ventilator Technique
José Príncipe, Ph.D., distinguished professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Florida, was recently awarded an NSF grant in support of the development of a low-cost smart multi-patient ventilator system. The proposal, “RAPID: Inexpensive, rapidly manufacturable respiratory monitor to provide safe emergency ventilation during COVID19 pandemic,” provides a portable respiratory monitoring […]
How Deforestation Helps Deadly Viruses Jump From Animals to Humans
Dr. Amy Y. Vittor, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Florida, co-authored a study on how deforestation helps deadly viruses jump from animals to humans. The coronavirus pandemic, suspected of originating in bats and pangolins, has brought the risk of viruses that jump from wildlife to humans into stark focus. These leaps often happen […]
UF Health Researchers in Jacksonville Are Studying the Effects of Hydroxychloroquine
University of Florida Health researchers in Jacksonville are part of a national effort to determine if the drug hydroxychloroquine, or HCQ, can help prevent health care workers from contracting the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the virus that causes COVID-19. Nizar Maraqa, MD, an associate professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville who specializes in pediatric infectious […]