UF Brain Tumor Researcher Embarks on First-in-Human Clinical Trial of Novel Immunotherapy Vaccine
UF Health pediatric oncologist Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D., has received a $2.5 million grant from the pediatric cancer foundation CureSearch for Children’s Cancer to undertake a first-in-human clinical trial to test a novel form of immunotherapy to treat the most aggressive forms of malignant brain tumors. The FDA-approved clinical trial, slated to begin this summer, […]
UF Health Anesthesiology Team Devises Respirator Mask Made From Existing Hospital Materials
With respiratory masks used by health workers battling the coronavirus in short supply, the University of Florida Health’s department of anesthesiology has developed masks that can be produced in large quantities using materials already found in hospitals and medical facilities. N95 respirator masks have been in high demand worldwide since the outbreak of COVID-19. That led […]
What You Need to Know About the Possible Smell/Taste Link to COVID-19
As more anecdotes surface from physicians around the world about patients with COVID-19 losing their senses of smell and taste, we asked Steven Munger, Ph.D., director of the University of Florida Center for Smell and Taste, located within UF’s McKnight Brain Institute, what science can tell us about the potential link — and what to […]
COVID-19 Highlights Need for Blood Donations
As the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic continues to escalate, experts are warning of a dire shortage of blood as donors stay home and blood drives across the country are canceled. People should continue to donate blood while taking appropriate precautions and following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about social distancing and hand […]
UF Researchers Lead the Way in Rapidly Designing, Building Low-Cost, Open-Source Ventilator
As a University of Florida mechanical engineering student decades ago, Samsun Lampotang, Ph.D., helped respiratory therapist colleagues build a minimal-transport ventilator that became a commercial success. So, when the coronavirus pandemic hit and he heard the desperate international plea for thousands of more ventilators, the longtime UF professor of anesthesiology set out to build a […]
Coronavirus and Parkinson’s Disease
Watch Dr. Michael S. Okun, chair and professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Florida, administrative director and co-director of the Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration within the McKnight Brain Institute, and national medical director for the Parkinson’s Foundation, along with UF infectious disease expert, Dr. Frederick S. Southwick, talk about […]
Certain Compounds May Block Coronavirus From Cells, UF Health Researcher Finds
Computer simulations run by a University of Florida Health researcher have shown that three compounds appear to have the potential to block cells from being infected by the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The next step involves validation of the findings by David A. Ostrov, Ph.D., an associate professor in the UF College of Medicine’s department of […]
Some Things Can Wait, Colorectal Cancer Doesn’t
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the U.S., and second-leading cause of death, taking 50,000 lives each year. However, thanks to years of raising awareness and education, there are currently over 1 million colorectal cancer survivors alive in the U.S. Luckily, when detected early, colorectal cancer is highly treatable. Most commonly, treatment […]
How Childhood Cancer Research Is Advancing
Cancer doesn’t discriminate when it comes to who it affects and sometimes even otherwise healthy children can be diagnosed with the disease. Dr. Duane Mitchell, director of UF’s Preston A. Wells Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy at the University of Florida and the co-director of the ReMission Alliance Against Brain Tumors, is among one […]
UF Health Opens New Center to Help Those With Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
University of Florida Health cut the ribbon on its new Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, a multidisciplinary, collaborative facility that will provide specialized care and resources to children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families. “In and around the Gainesville community, parents have had barriers to obtaining diagnoses, assessments and appropriate treatments for their […]