(From left) Yurong Hu, Sandra Smith and Pam Anders from the UF College of Medicine's Research Administration and Compliances Office received the 2012 Prudential-Davis Productivity Award. Photo by Jesse J. Jones

A high level of productivity within a unit of the UF College of Medicine doesn’t just benefit the college; it also contributes to the wellbeing of the whole university and the economy of the state.

To recognize state employees whose work significantly and measurably increases productivity, the state government’s initiative, Prudential-Davis Productivity Award, rewards winners each year.

In March, Sandra Smith, Yurong Hu and Pam Anders from the college’s Research Administration and Compliances Office learned they were among the 2012 winners. The three will attend the local award ceremony in June.

“They are stars,” said Yvonne Brinson, R.N., M.H.Sc., assistant dean of research administration and compliance, who nominated her staff members for the award. “These three women came together when they saw a need, even though they are not typically in a team together on a daily basis.”

Smith, the office’s research programs and services coordinator, noticed that the process to manage the office budget was frustrating and time-consuming. To teach such process to other staff members also took a lot of energy and often resulted in a high percentage of error. So she voluntarily started looking for a solution at the end of 2010.

“For so many years, we used large Excel spreadsheets to manually track our financial data,” Smith said. “When we reconciled our monthly budget, sometimes we needed to insert additional lines, which would then shift the entire spreadsheet and cause problems with the formulas. It was inefficient.”

To address this issue, Smith and Hu, management analysis coordinator, designed and built a financial tracking system in Access. The features of the system include a minimized reconciliation time and easily configurable reports to meet the needs of different users. The tools in the new system have eliminated the errors that would normally have occurred with Excel and has significantly reduced the amount of time spent tracking financial data.

“It’s a more efficient system that provides snapshots of our finances at any given time,” Hu said. “When management wants data, they don’t always want to see a long list of confusing numbers. With just a few clicks, we can give them either a high level or detailed report.”

Anders, who was the primary user of the spreadsheet, said adjusting to the new process was easy and it saved a lot of time and energy. Based on her user experience, Smith and Hu kept improving the system to better meet their needs.

“There’s always room to be efficient,” Smith said.

Mir, a fourth-year UF College of Medicine student, and his childhood friend, Omar Ishaq, a fourth-year John Hopkins School of Medicine student, are the co-directors and founders of the Sunnah Foundation, a Baltimore-based nonprofit organization that provides housing to the homeless.

“Omar contacted me and was like, ‘Hey man, I met this homeless guy at Wal-Mart, and I’ve been talking with him every day, and I want to help him’,” Mir said. “We always wanted to do something big and make a sustainable change, so we said, ‘Why don’t we do it now?’”

UF fouth-year medical student Saad Mir will graduate May 19 and head to Boston for his residency training in neurology. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

Mir and Ishaq began the foundation by using saved up loan money to purchase a house in Baltimore. Based on referrals from others, they chose five homeless men to live in the house, rent-free. They hoped providing the men with stable housing would help them to get an education and jobs.

“In normal shelters, people have to get in line daily,” Mir said. “How are you expected to get a job or education if you have to get in line somewhere? It’s not a good system.”

The five men lived in the house, located in East Baltimore near the John Hopkins Medical Campus, for several months. Ishaq stopped by the house daily to see the men’s progress, and Mir spent more than two months in Baltimore late last year to work on the foundation.

At the end of the men’s stay, one successfully completed the program and is now working toward a career as a social worker in Indiana. The other men, Mir said, were unable to complete the program for a variety of reasons: depression, drug abuse, psychiatric problems and incarceration for a past crime.

“Those are pretty difficult things to control when you’re a medical student who can’t be there all the time,” Mir said.

There will be a major overhaul of the program before another round of residents move in, Mir said. They are currently trying to find a home in a better part of Baltimore to house the program. The Sunnah Foundation accepts donations through their website, www.sunnahinc.org and is a 501(c)(3) application to be a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.

“We hoped for better, but now we know what to expect moving forward,” Mir said.

Mir did not publicize his foundation to his classmates and teachers, said Melanie Hagen, M.D., an associate professor of medicine in the UF College of Medicine. She learned about the foundation through a tagline on an email he sent her and clicked the link out of curiosity.

“I was very impressed,” Hagen said. “I knew he was inquisitive, thoughtful and hard-working, but I did not realize that he had such a vision of caring and compassion and a commitment to helping people.”

Mir will complete his residency training in neurology at a Partners HealthCare program in Boston. His first year will be spent in medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, followed by training in neurology at both Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General.

Stephen Hsu, M.D., Ph.D., the R. Glenn Davis endowed associate professor of clinical and translational medicine and director of the college’s M.D.-Ph.D. training program at the UF College of Medicine. Photo by Jesse S. Jones

Since the first use of insulin in a human patient 90 years ago, one element has been a necessary part of the equation — needles. Without a needle to inject the hormone past the armor-like barrier of the skin, this life-saving medication could not enter the body, where it removes excess sugar in the blood of people with diabetes.

However, the needle’s days as a necessary evil in the management of diabetes could be numbered, based on the ideas of University of Florida College of Medicine researcher Stephen Hsu, M.D., Ph.D. Hsu, the R. Glenn Davis endowed associate professor of clinical and translational medicine and director of the college’s M.D.-Ph.D. training program, is developing an insulin patch that will deliver long-acting insulin and other large-peptide medications through the skin, without the use of needles or other technologies that break the skin’s surface.

The idea and the preliminary research it is based on, have earned him a spot in the Final Four for the final round of the Cade Museum Prize competition, named for Gatorade inventor and late College of Medicine professor Dr. Robert Cade. The winner of this prestigious $50,000 prize will be announced tonight (May 11) during the third annual Cade Museum Prize Night in Gainesville.

“When we can demonstrate bioavailability and therapeutic response using an insulin patch that is comparable to using needle injection — such a breakthrough is likely to fundamentally change the way that diabetes is treated,” said Hsu, the interim chief scientific officer for Prometheon Pharma, the company he formed to develop the patch. “There are several newer classes of injectable peptide drugs for treating diabetes that are even smaller than insulin. We eventually want to try our patch technology to deliver these and other anti-diabetic drugs. And insulin is just the tip of the iceberg. We could even create patches to replace intramuscular needle vaccination for at least some diseases, such as malaria or tuberculosis.”

Surprisingly, the idea stems from Hsu’s efforts to develop a way to topically treat precancerous cells in the cervix, a project he entered for consideration for last year’s Cade Museum Prize.

A disproportionate number of women in developing countries die from cervical cancer, often because they have no access to Pap smear screening, which provides early detection of precancerous cells in the cervix. A new test has been developed making it easier for public health workers in low-resource settings to screen for strains of human papilloma virus that are linked to the development of cervical cancer. But what was missing, Hsu thought, was a simple, accessible way to treat precancerous cells if HPV was detected, a crucial step because public health workers often must diagnose and treat women during a single visit.

Collaborating with colleagues in the colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy and Engineering, he proposed to develop a drug-containing formulation that could be delivered using a device designed like a contraceptive diaphragm. The new device would deliver chemotherapy topically to the surface of the cervix. He began testing the device in mice, which he discovered had a cervix vastly different than women.

“We were really surprised to find that the mouse cervix has a tough keratin outer barrier similar to skin,” he said.

Because the skin is such an effective barrier, only a few chemical drugs under a certain size —500 daltons in atomic weight— have been developed as patches for delivery across the skin.

“The lucrative transdermal patch industry is essentially dominated by a handful of products because even small drugs may have properties that preclude delivery across skin,” Hsu said. “But I didn’t know about these kinds of limitations.”

After teaching himself basic principles of materials science engineering, Hsu discovered a formulation that successfully delivered a medication greater than 4,200 daltons through a surface similar to skin, a discovery that sparked the idea for creating a topical patch for even larger peptide drugs such as insulin.

“We are dedicated to developing products that address urgent and unmet needs relevant to common diseases because our goal is to make a significant impact on large global populations. Hundreds of millions of people are already diagnosed with diabetes, and that will double by 2030,” Hsu said. “We want to revolutionize the way diabetes is treated. One of the effects this will have is on patient quality of life and compliance with therapy. When people hear insulin, some people don’t want to start treatment because they have needle-phobia. An insulin patch will remove this obstacle, and because it is simple to administer, compliance is expected to be higher, reducing morbidity and mortality.”

The new product also would reduce medical waste, decreasing the number of syringes and other materials thrown away after use, Hsu said.

Hsu and his team are currently focused on developing a patch for long-acting insulin, which patients with diabetes take for continuous insulin release throughout the day. They plan to test the device, called TopixDM, in a rat model of Type 1 diabetes, which occurs when the pancreas stops producing insulin, and a rat model of Type 2 diabetes, the more common form of the disease associated with obesity and insulin resistance.

The device, patented by the UF Office of Technology Licensing, also will incorporate thermal and adhesive properties so that drug formulations are solid and stable at room temperature, melt when they reach skin temperature and then stick to the skin at the site of application, Hsu said.

“Everything I want to develop uses high technology, but they are really low-tech products that are easy to use, affordable and can be used anywhere and by anyone in the world. I think that every medical advancement should try to move us closer to global health equity,” he said.

In addition to his research colleagues, Hsu has also teamed with Ly-Le Tran, M.D., J.D., serving as the company’s director of medical and regulatory affairs, and chief adviser Jamie Grooms, on the project.

This year, 120 Florida inventors applied for the Cade Museum Prize, a list that was whittled down to four after three rounds of judging by entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and technology transfer specialists. Another round of judging will occur today, where the winner will be decided.

“I could not have guessed two years ago that I would be doing anything like this,” Hsu said. “It is all serendipity.”

David Weinstein, M.D., (left, with a patient) recently received a donation from the Johnny Damon Foundation to support efforts to establish a research center on the Faroe Islands, where one in 3,000 people have glycogen storage disease type III, as opposed to one in 100,000 in the general population. The effort could also lead to discoveries about high blood pressure. Photo by Jesse S. Jones

With the support of a Major League Baseball star, a new University of Florida research center on an island settled by the Vikings could lead to breakthroughs about a rare genetic disorder and potentially change the course of care for high blood pressure and other common conditions.

UF College of Medicine researchers studying a genetic condition called glycogen storage disease type III, which prevents children and adults from properly processing sugar stored in the body, have received support from the Johnny Damon Foundation to establish a new research center on the Faroe Islands, located in the North Atlantic Ocean between Norway and Iceland. Because of the isolation of the island chain, genetic diseases are common there, making it a fertile ground for researchers.

“Johnny Damon has no connection to this disease, so his willingness to help means a lot to me,” said David Weinstein, M.D., a professor of pediatrics in the UF College of Medicine and director of the UF Glycogen Storage Disease Program. “We hear often about problems in sports, but we don’t frequently hear about athletes who go out of their way to help people. We could not do this without his support.”

Type III glycogen storage disease is one of the rarest forms of the disease and is linked to all the places where the Vikings settled more than 1,000 years ago. The disease occurs because of a genetic glitch that prevents children’s bodies from properly processing glycogen, stored sugar the body uses as fuel throughout the day. In children with this disease, stored sugar accumulates in the liver and muscles, including the heart, often causing it to grow so large it cannot function.

One in 3,000 people on the Faroe Islands has glycogen storage disease, or GSD, compared with about one in 100,000 in the United States. In addition, one in 22 people on the islands is a carrier for the disease, a statistic Weinstein suspects may be linked to other conditions prevalent there, such as high blood pressure and high levels of fats called triglycerides. Because Faroese people consume mostly fish, meat and root vegetables — there is only one fast food restaurant in the country — the high prevalence of high cholesterol and high triglycerides among the population is a mystery, Weinstein said.

Working in collaboration with the Faroese government and scientists there, UF researchers will study not only glycogen storage disease but also how it may link to some of these other common problems.

“The textbooks all say when you are a carrier for genetic diseases, that you are normal and have no effects,” Weinstein said. “We think the textbooks are wrong. We have evidence already from dogs that are carriers for GSD here that carriers of disease have mild manifestations. The way it may present is as high cholesterol and high triglycerides or it may be a cause of kidney stones. Common problems we deal with all the time may be due to being a carrier for this disease. This study will help not only islanders but could show that we should be treating common disorders in a different way.”

For example, if a link is found between glycogen storage disease and high cholesterol, the research may show that precise doses of cornstarch —the common treatment for some types of GSD — could be a safer and more effective treatment to combat cholesterol in carriers than the medications currently used, Weinstein said.

With no other foundations funding type III glycogen storage disease research, the Johnny Damon Foundation’s continuing support and $16,000 donation earmarked specifically for the new research center is particularly significant, Weinstein said.

“For us, this donation was an opportunity to support research that could make a difference in the lives of children living with what can be a devastating disease without the right therapy,” said Arden Czyzewski, executive director of the Johnny Damon Foundation. “We are also excited that this work could potentially help advance understanding about other common health conditions that affect people across the world.”

Damon currently plays for the Cleveland Indians but is perhaps most well-known for his play with the Boston Red Sox when the team won its historic World Series in 2004 and for his five years with the New York Yankees, where the team also won a World Series.

At UF, home to the largest center in the world for the liver forms of glycogen storage disease, Weinstein sees patients with the type III GSD from every continent except Antarctica. He started working with patients on the Faroe Islands in 2008 after meeting a German doctor who frequently visited the country to treat children with the disease. With Weinstein’s help, the health of children on the island with the disease has greatly improved, said collaborator Runa Olsen, M.D., a pediatrician at Queen Alexandrine’s Hospital on the Faroe Islands.

“It is very exciting, the fact that we are establishing a research community on the island is very good for other diseases, too,” Olsen said.

Patricia Abbitt, M.D., received the 2012 Hippocratic Award Friday, May 4. Bobby Casey, academic chair for the COM graduating class presented Abbitt with the award in a ceremony held at Wilmot Gardens. Photo by Jesse Jones.

But she still got choked up.

“Come up with ideas, figure out things to do. They might say no to you, but you just keep pushing through and see if you can’t get it done,” she told her students, as she accepted the award at a May 4 ceremony in Wilmot Gardens.

The award, established by the 1969 graduating class, is one of the highest honors the graduating class bestows on one of its teachers each year. It is given to the teacher and mentor students would most like to emulate.

“It is probably the most coveted award in the medical school,” said Michael L. Good, M.D., dean of the UF College of Medicine.

The Hippocratic award winners are “some of the people who have played a huge role in your medical education. People who have become beloved and very respected among you,” said Patrick Duff, M.D., associate dean for student affairs.

Abbitt, who also won the award in 2004 and 2009, became the fifth recipient of the Hippocratic Scholars Award, which includes UF COM faculty members who have received the Hippocratic Award three or more times.

Bobby Casey, academic chair the class of 2012, said Abbitt will be remembered for teaching students to read X-rays in her soft Southern drawl, her Socratic questioning of students and her untiring work helping the local homeless.

Perhaps the more important lesson Abbitt taught them was “even with a busy academic and clinical practice, there will always be time to lift up your fellow human being,” Casey said.

UF COM senior Sarah Yong said Abbitt is an interesting teacher who has a way of asking the right questions and making information relevant.

“When you talk to 135 students, it’s hard to hold everyone’s attention,” said Yong. “But she can. She just comes across as so smart, but so humble.”

In fact, Abbitt’s overall outlook on medicine and her devotion to her patients are why graduating student Leah Portnow chose to specialize in radiology herself.

“I think Dr. Abbitt has been an inspiration from day one,” she said.  “She is truly dedicated to her students.”

Abbitt motivated students to think, learn and always challenge themselves.

“I personally can’t thank her enough,” Portnow said. “She is just a wonderful person.”

Nearly 100 accepted UF COM students, and their guests, attended the college’s Second Look reception held April 27. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

Jodi-Anne Wallace chatted with other potential members of the UF College of Medicine’s class of 2016 at the recent Second Look reception.

But the UF undergraduate from Miramar said she had already made up her mind about two weeks ago.

“I’m going here,” Wallace said. “I feel like it’s become home for me.”

About 100 accepted UF COM students, plus their guests, attended the college’s Second Look weekend, held April 27-28. Friday night’s reception allowed accepted student to mingle with each other and meet college faculty and leadership, while Saturday’s agenda featured presentations by faculty and students.

With May 15 — the date students must hold only one acceptance at a U.S. medical school – fast approaching, Second Look helps woo some of UF’s top undecided students, as well as welcome students who have already committed to UF COM.

“First, let me tell you that we want you here,” said Jason Rosenberg, M.D., president of the UF medical alumni board and chairman of the Florida Board of Medicine.

Jason Rosenberg, M.D. '95, UF Medical Alumni Affairs Board president, looks on as Joseph Fantone, M.D., senior associate dean for educational affairs at the UF College of Medicine, welcomes accepted students, family and guests to the Second Look reception. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

The 1995 UF College of Medicine graduate, who was Friday night’s keynote speaker, spoke of the college’s focus on humanism and its tremendous opportunities for academic and clinical partnerships and lifelong mentorships.

Competition was stiff for one of the 135 seats in the College of Medicine class of 2016. There were 2,986 applicants for this fall’s class, up from 2,583 applicants last year, said Leila Amiri, director of admissions. Of those applicants, just 373 students received interviews this year.

“We always tell the students we’re looking for Albert Einstein and Mother Theresa mixed into one,” said Amiri.

Eleven incoming students knew UF was their top choice a year ago. They are the members of UF’s Junior Honors Medical Program, a combined seven-year baccalaureate/M.D. program.

“If I went the normal route, I would have applied to UF and gone to UF anyway,” said Dennis Chen, a UF junior honors student from Palm Harbor, who is interested in the clinical research opportunities at UF.

Melanie Mitta, another junior honors student, volunteers with the college’s Equal Access Clinic, which is where she said she found her passion for primary care. She also knew UF COM had a high quality program with plenty of strong mentors and international opportunities.

“I’m set on UF—this is the school where I want to go,” said Mitta, who moved to the U.S. two years ago from Peru. “This is a school that has everything for me.”

David Etter (center), a UF undergraduate, brought his father, Tom Etter, to the Second Look event. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

David Etter, a UF undergraduate from Coral Springs, brought his dad to the Second Look event, but said he had already decided to attend UF.

“I wanted to stay in-state and I think UF is the best school in the state,” he said.

Tom Etter, his father, said he was extremely proud of his son’s accomplishments.

“To get into UF, you have to be bright,” he said. “But to get into UF’s medical school, what are the odds of that?”

Students from the UF College of Medicine and the College of Pharmacy held a seminar on prescription drug abuse April 18. Pictured are: (from left to right) Ross Harrison, president of the UF American Medical Association; Paul Doering, M.S., distinguished service professor emeritus from the UF College of Pharmacy; Nancy Hardt, M.D., professor and director of Health Disparities and Service Learning Program at the UF College of Medicine; Roya Tran, president of the UF American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists; and Thomas Munyer, R.Ph., M.Sc., a clinical associate professor at the UF College of Pharmacy. Photo by Grant Lowther

UF chapters of the American Medical Association and the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists hosted a joint meeting for members April 18. The seminar featured a discussion about prescription drug abuse, led by Nancy Hardt, M.D., professor and director of Health Disparities and Service Learning Programs at the UF College of Medicine, and Paul Doering, M.S., distinguished service professor emeritus from the UF College of Pharmacy.

The collaboration was a first for the two student professional organizations which allowed an opportunity to discuss the issue from the perspective of both disciplines. The event attracted nearly 120 medical and pharmacy students.

Prescription drugs, notably painkiller and anti-anxiety medications, are now the most commonly abused psychotropic substances, following only alcohol and marijuana. Both physicians and pharmacists play a role in reducing prescription drug abuse.

“I am proud to see our two professional student associations, medicine and pharmacy, leading the way in interprofessional efforts to learn how they can share their expertise to improve healthcare,” said Thomas Munyer, R.Ph., M.Sc., a clinical associate professor of pharmacotherapy and translational research and faculty advisor to UF APhA-ASP.

But former UF College of Medicine Dean C. Craig Tisher, M.D., and an army of dedicated volunteers have spent the past six years lovingly restoring the five-acre area at the corner of Gale Lemerand Drive and Mowry Road.

Recognizing those efforts, the City of Gainesville presented Wilmot Gardens with a 2012 Beautification Award on April 25.

“We were pleasantly surprised that we were nominated and even more pleased that we won,” said Tisher. “For me, it was an acknowledgement that volunteers can accomplish great things.”

C. Craig Tisher, M.D. (right) and Linda Luecking hold the city beautification award they received for UF's Wilmot Gardens. The pair were the driving force in the extensive renovation of the five-acre garden, located at the corner of Gale Lemerand Drive and Mowry Road. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

Since renovations started in 2006, Wilmot Gardens has bloomed into a natural jewel, nestled on the Health Science Center campus near the Shands at UF and Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The gardens now attract students, employees, patients and families to its tranquil setting.

“It’s just a beautiful attribute to the community,” said Earline Luhrman, a City of Gainesville urban forestry inspector and city beautification board liaison.

Linda Luecking, Wilmot Gardens’ project coordinator and one of Tisher’s most dedicated volunteers, said it is the first award that Wilmot Gardens has received.

“It’s a true validation that what we are doing actually means something to people,” she said.

And even bigger plans for Wilmot Gardens are on the horizon. Currently, Tisher and Luecking are applying for a major multi-year grant to develop the southwest part of Wilmot Gardens into an area for therapeutic horticulture, adding a greenhouse, raised community garden beds and a water feature. The grant includes a research project studying the effects of therapeutic horticulture on VA patients suffering from chronic pain.

“If we are successful with this grant, we can fulfill two other missions of the Health Science Center—research and education,” Tisher said.

The webcast will be available at the start of the event. If you are experiencing trouble viewing the live video feed, please click here.

In just a few days, students from the UF College of Medicine’s class of 2012 will embark on the next chapter of their lives.

Some of the students’ friends and family, plus faculty, staff and alumni are unable to share in the excitement of the day. That is why, The Gator Nation and the College of Medicine’s class of 2012 will be live on graduation day. Those interested can take part in the College of Medicine tradition without leaving their computers during the UF College of Medicine Commencement Ceremony, Saturday, May 19.

Stay on top of live updates and join in the discussion on Twitter using #UFMedGrad and #UFGrad.

Photos from the ceremony will be available in the following week on the UF COM Alumni Facebook page.

*What you will need to watch the ceremony

Windows users: Windows Media Player 9.0 or later (FREE download available at Microsoft.com)
MAC users: Flip4Mac (FREE download available at Microsoft.com)

“We may have to amputate your leg,” said his doctor.

Devastated, Rimpel imagined what it would be like to never again play soccer, his favorite sport.

Rimpel and his wife, Maranatha, with their 2-year-old son, Aiden. Photo by Jesse S. Jones

But it was the passionate care of the skilled physicians who attended to his injury that healed Rimpel’s leg and also prompted the desire in the boy’s heart to pursue medicine.

“It was a defining moment in my life,” said Rimpel, a fourth-year UF College of Medicine student. “These men and women inspired me to become a physician and impact patients’ lives the way they impacted mine.”

At the age of 17, Rimpel emigrated from Haiti to South Florida with one of his older sisters in hopes of better education. Determined to succeed, he learned English quickly and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Florida International University.

As an undergraduate student, Rimpel took an emergency medical technician basic course, in which he could shadow emergency medical technicians and paramedics. He often rode in ambulances with them to respond to 911 calls.

He recalled a particular incident when an emergency call came in from an 8-year-old girl who knew her mother was having a seizure. Rimpel and the rescue team arrived at the scene and saw the woman on the bathroom floor.

“When I was interacting with the patient and her daughter, it pretty much sealed the deal for me,” he said. “I realized then that a physician’s work doesn’t just affect the patients’ health but also their families and the community around them.”

Rimpel began searching for a medical school that would best suit his need to stay within one-flight distance from his family back home. During his interview at the UF College of Medicine, he saw a supportive environment provided by the faculty and staff.

“I was confident that I would succeed at UF, one of the best medical schools in the state,” Rimpel said. “I also loved the fact that UF offered opportunities to participate in international health outreach trips to Haiti which allowed me to give back to my fellow Haitians early in my career.”

During an international health outreach trip to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Rimpel gained insight into the importance of preventative care. Photo provided by Ricardy Rimpel

Participating in the trips to Haiti and the Dominican Republic for four years, Rimpel was exposed to the unfortunate outcomes of health disparities and scarce resources. He also became more aware of the importance of preventative medicine.

Motivated by great mentors and “master clinicians” at UF, Rimpel matched in family medicine for his residency training at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, which was his first choice.

“Family medicine excites me because I want to be on the front line of preventative medicine,” he said. “Being the face of primary care offers infinite learning opportunities, something I find very appealing.”

Only a few weeks away from graduation, Rimpel thanks his wife, who is also graduating in May with a nursing degree, for taking care of their 2-year-old son, Aiden.

“A typical day in my second year here consisted of waking up after five hours of interrupted sleep and heading to school,” Rimpel said. “I could not have done this without my supportive wife who always understood what I needed to do.”

Luckily, the new parents had many classmates who volunteered to babysit and faculty members who showed great support during one of the most challenging times of Rimpel’s life.

“I have made long lasting friends and learned from wonderful role models at the UF College of Medicine,” he said. “I am very blessed and excited to be doing what I’ve always wanted to do—provide excellent care to my patients.”

Second-year student Miaoyuan Wang listens to a urology faculty member during the sixth annual Medical Specialty Speed Dating event. Photo by Jesse S. Jones

Second-year medical student Miaoyuan Wang has never been to a speed-dating event. But she decided she would give one a try since many of her classmates were going, too.

Wang, however, was not searching for a dating partner. She, like the majority of her classmates, was looking for information on a variety of medical specialty options.

“I’m interested in primary care at the moment, but I have not made any decisions,” she said. “I’m unfamiliar with some specialties, and I wanted to find out more about them here.”

Wang was one of the 73 second-year students who went to the sixth annual Medical Specialty Speed Dating event held April 24 and sponsored by the College of Medicine’s Office of Student Counseling and Development.

Wang and classmates interact with faculty members and residents at the emergency medicine specialty table. Photo by Jesse S. Jones

Forty-three faculty members and residents volunteered to sit at tables representing 18 different medical specialties to help second-year students get a closer look into each track. Fifteen fourth-year medical students also attended to share their recent experience during Match Day.

“The strength of this program is that so many of our own graduates who took advantage of this event during their second year in medical school come back to answer the same questions they once had,” said Beverly Vidaurreta, Ph.D., program director of the College of Medicine’s Office of Student Counseling and Development.

Students picked their top two preferences and were assigned four more randomly chosen tables to visit. Some chose to visit the specialties they already have in mind to pursue while others, like Wang, chose brand new specialties to explore.

Patrick Duff, M.D., associate dean for student affairs and professor of obstetrics and gynecology, talks with students about specialty and career options. Photo by Jesse S. Jones

Knowing she would get plenty of opportunities to work with primary care physicians during her third-year rotations, Wang chose urology and ophthalmology.

“I really like working with my hands and enjoy interacting with patients on a personal level,” she said. “The ophthalmology professor spoke about how gratifying it is to dramatically improve people’s vision.  Being a visually oriented person myself, I thought it could be a good fit for me.”

Patrick Duff, M.D., associate dean for student affairs, interacted with students who were interested in finding out more about his specialty, obstetrics and gynecology.

“This is a good time for second-year students to refine their plans and think seriously about career choices,” Duff said. “Events like these help our students make some of the most important decisions of their lives.”

Mark Scarborough, M.D., professor and chair of the department of orthopaedics and rehabilitation, took time to answer students' questions about his specialty. Photo by Jesse S. Jones

After six rounds of conversation with the professionals, many students were able to set up shadowing opportunities with faculty members and learn what to expect during the last two years in medical school.

“I’m so grateful that so many of our faculty members and residents came out to share what they love about their jobs,” Wang said. “It helped me realize that medicine is a truly diverse profession. I am now more confident that I will find the best specialty for me.”

Throughout the week, UF&Shands will host the following events at different locations:

Shands at UF Cafeteria

Monday, May 7

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: barbecue-themed lunch

2-4 p.m.: free ice cream

Tuesday, May 8

6-7:30 a.m.: free breakfast in the UF Faculty Dining Room

Shands Cancer Hospital Terrace Café

Monday, May 7

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: barbecue-themed lunch

2-4 p.m.: free ice cream in the seating area

Tuesday, May 8

6-7:30 a.m.: free breakfast in the seating area

1329 Building Cafeteria

Monday, May 7

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: barbecue-themed lunch

2-4 p.m.: free ice cream

Shands Medical Plaza Food Court

Monday, May 7

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: barbecue-themed lunch at the Terrace Café food cart

2-4 p.m.: free ice cream

Shands Vista and Shands Rehab Hospital Cafeteria

Monday, May 7

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: barbecue-themed lunch
Other employee celebrations are happening throughout the week.

UFP outpatient practices

Wednesday, May 9 (time TBD): Free cookies will be delivered.

Other outpatient practices and UF&Shands locations

Monday, May 7: Free cookies will be delivered.

The webcast will be available at the start of the event. If you are experiencing trouble viewing the live video feed, please click here.

In just a few days, students from the UF College of Medicine’s class of 2014 will receive their white coats, signifying the transition from basic science studies to the beginning of clinical rotations.

Some of the students’ friends and family, plus faculty, staff and alumni are unable to share in the excitement of the day. That is why, The Gator Nation and the College of Medicine’s class of 2014 will be live on White Coat Ceremony day. Those interested can take part in the College of Medicine tradition without leaving their computers during the UF College of Medicine White Coat Ceremony, Sunday, May 20.

Stay on top of live updates and join in the discussion on Twitter.

Photos from the ceremony will be available in the following week on the UF College of Medicine Alumni Facebook page.

*What you will need to watch the ceremony

Windows users: Windows Media Player 9.0 or later (FREE download available at Microsoft.com)
MAC users: Flip4Mac (FREE download available at Microsoft.com)

Rajeeb Das, a statistical research coordinator at the UF College of Medicine's department of pediatrics and grant writer at the Family Data Center. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

Looking at a map of Gainesville’s underserved areas, Rajeeb Das wondered what life was like for the families who lived there. So he decided to move into one of these neighborhoods to find out for himself.

Family and friends were concerned about his decision, but Das, a statistical research coordinator at the UF College of Medicine’s department of pediatrics and grant writer at the department’s Family Data Center, had already made up his mind.

“If I could experience what these families were dealing with on a daily basis, I knew I’d better understand what the numbers meant,” he said.

This attitude of going the extra mile to help others is the reason Das was recently honored twice as the inaugural recipient of the Community Service Award during the UF Health Science Center and campus-wide Superior Accomplishment Award ceremonies.

“Mr. Das has played an integral role in the college’s mission to promote community health, empower families to take charge of their health and reduce the health disparities in the region,” said Michael L. Good, M.D., dean of the UF College of Medicine. “He is an inspiration because of his compassion for our area’s most fragile populations.”

Jeffrey Roth, Ph.D., program director of the Family Data Center and a research professor of pediatrics at UF, said Das played in instrumental role in pinpointing the “unknown areas of need.”

Das was honored twice as the inaugural recipient of UF's campus-wide and the Health Science Center's Community Service Award during the 2012 Superior Accomplishment Award ceremonies. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

“Rajeeb worked with faculty to take a look at a density map of communities that have adverse conditions,” Roth said. “He paid attention to the areas that are sometimes overlooked because they are near nicer neighborhoods.”

After studying the geographic information from maps, Das decided to voluntarily move into a local low-income neighborhood for six months. Through that experience, the Gainesville native gained insights that helped him write highly competitive grant proposals to accurately address the needs of the residents.

“I saw people living in a broken state, neglected and forgotten by their community,” he said. “Little things like sidewalks and quietness didn’t exist there. But the people there are just like us, trying to live a life.”

At the Family Data Center, Das collects data on maternal and child health and works collaboratively on projects with state agencies such as the departments of Health, Education, Children and Families, and Juvenile Justice. But just getting numbers and figures on paper has never been his final goal.

“I enjoy numbers and statistics,” he said. “But if it’s not applied, what is the point? What can we do with these numbers for our community?”

Das’ colleagues, who nominated him for the award, had no difficulty obtaining recommendation letters. Jill Bischoff, training and education coordinator at the Family Data Center, said people from in and outside of the university jumped on the opportunity to praise Das’ efforts.

“Rajeeb is great at sharing passion and connecting people,” she said. “People realize that what he does is genuine.”

In 2009, Das launched the School Health Interdisciplinary Program, which includes nearly 60 student volunteers from colleges across campus to provide weekly after-school programs on science, math and physical fitness at elementary schools serving low-income families.

Das coordinates events to donate bicycles to underserved children in Gainesville. Destiny Kimbrough poses on her new bicycle at one of the donation events. Photo provided by Rajeeb Das

Outside of work, Das regularly coordinates events to donate and install bicycle headlights, taillights and bells to increase safety for day laborers who often have to bike to worksites before dawn. He also volunteers to repair bikes for free at the weekly downtown Farmers Market.

“One of the fondest memories in my childhood is riding my bike with friends,” Das said. “I was shocked to find out that many of these children have never ridden bikes.”

He hopes to continue these outreach activities and get more people involved from different colleges across campus and around the community.

“UF is a great place to work because people care about these things and there is a huge pool of volunteers who are interested and passionate about their community,” he said.

During the little spare time he has, Das, who is currently pursuing a doctorate in applied statistical methods at the UF College of Education, likes to travel. But the majority of his time is spent out in the community and at city meetings to find help for those who need it the most.

“Doing things for others feels natural to me,” Das said. “I’ve always wanted to do these things and always will. It’s something I need to do.”

Elizabeth Shenkman, Ph.D., director of the UF Institute for Child Health Policy

Joining a gym to log in hours on the elliptical or hiring a nutritionist for guidance are good ideas to shed pounds but typically too pricey for people with low incomes, as are many programs geared toward boosting wellness.

To address that issue, University of Florida researchers have received a $9.9 million grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Texas State Health and Human Services Commission to test whether increasing access to wellness services could improve the health of patients already facing physical and mental health conditions.

Study subjects who take part in the Texas Wellness Incentives and Navigation project will receive a small stipend to pay for items such as gym memberships, tools to quit smoking or even a simple bathroom scale. They also will work closely with a navigator who will help them set goals and identify health risks, said Elizabeth Shenkman, Ph.D., director of the UF Institute for Child Health Policy and the grant’s primary investigator.

“We know that patients with co-morbid physical and mental health conditions are at particularly high risk for a shortened lifespan, a sedentary lifestyle and alcohol use. They also are at risk for high health expenditures because they are hospitalized or use the emergency room often,” said Shenkman, who also serves as chairwoman of the UF College of Medicine department of health outcomes and policy. “Some of these folks have conditions such as asthma, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease combined with depression or other mental health problems. The improved healthy lifestyle can help people better manage their physical health conditions and also have a positive effect on their mental health.”

For each year of the three-year study, participants will receive a $1,150 debit card to use on various wellness services and products, based on the plan each makes with his or her personal navigator.

Using a counseling technique called motivational interviewing, navigators will coach participants and help them determine what services they need and what steps they need to take to achieve a healthy lifestyle. Participants will meet with their navigators once a month.

“The utilization of motivational interviewing has been shown to be effective in improving patient engagement in and commitment to the treatment process in numerous clinical contexts, including in health care settings,” said Carson Ham, Ph.D., a UF psychologist and expert on motivational interviewing.

The researchers are developing an electronic form that will not only help assess patients’ risks and needs but also will be coded to provide links to resources in the specific areas where patients live.

“Many of these patients have transportation issues that affect their access to services, too,” Shenkman said.

The study is one of 10 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently funded to assess how helpful financial incentives are in promoting wellness. After the studies are complete, the most effective projects will be used as models for the rest of the country.

Keeping in mind the ability to serve as a model, UF researchers are working in concert with three health plans in Houston that handle Medicaid. The navigators are working with patients through the three health plans as part of the grant.

“We want the project to take place in a context where it could be implemented in other settings,” Shenkman said.

To measure the success of the study, researchers will examine several key outcomes, such as whether it reduces visits to the emergency room. They also will monitor participant’s blood pressure and cholesterol levels and total health care expenditures. If health benefits and cost savings are achieved, hiring health navigators and providing small stipends for wellness up front could save money down the road by keeping patients out of hospitals, Shenkman said.

“We are very excited about this partnership with the health plans, to really test a novel program and see what works best,” Shenkman said. “This is a phenomenal opportunity.”

Michael L. Good, dean of the UF College of Medicine, and David Winchester, M.D., M.S., an assistant professor of medicine, discuss Winchester's research during the 2012 College of Medicine Celebration of Research at the Hilton UF Conference Center. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

Social networking is not just about fun and games. It’s also key to patient safety and effective medical practice. No, not Facebook or Twitter, but communication among different types of medical professionals involved in getting patients quickly into care once they show up at the hospital. UF biochemistry major Anas Dalloul and colleagues in the anesthesiology department used computer software to perform a social network analysis of a hospital’s system for handling stroke patients and getting them to therapy within the critical first hours before irreparable damage occurs.

Dalloul, who is mentored by anesthesiology associate professor Steven Robicsek, M.D., Ph.D., was among more than 300 researchers who presented their work during the 2012 College of Medicine Celebration of Research at the Hilton UF Conference Center. The studies covered basic science as well as clinical and translational research.

“This session shows the size and scope of the College of Medicine research program,” said Michael L. Good, dean of the UF College of Medicine. “This type of breadth is possible only at the very best research-oriented medical schools.”

Here are some highlights from the Celebration of Research:

UF college senior Rachel Thome, right, discusses her research during the 2012 College of Medicine Celebration of Research at the Hilton UF Conference Center. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

• With a focus on patient safety and reduction of human error, Dalloul and colleagues borrowed an analysis technique used routinely in the fields of aviation and mail delivery to identify potential weak spots that could lead to failure of an entire system. The analysis, using software developed at Carnegie Mellon University, took into account people, tasks, information and equipment. It revealed critical staff roles, which, if removed or operated poorly, increased the likelihood of a failure that could harm patients.

• Also borrowing a computing technique used in other fields, in this case law enforcement and commerce, anesthesiology chief resident David Edwards, M.D., Ph.D., used an algorithm to predict which patients with back pain would have lasting benefit from surgery and which ones would instead have a recurrence of symptoms six months after surgery. The calculation, based on raw text data from electronic medical records, made accurate predictions more than three-quarters of the time. The new calculation method did a better job at those predictions than did physicians who made recommendations based on their knowledge of a patient’s case. It also outperformed standard statistical methods. Since the calculations take only a few seconds, Edwards foresees being able to run them on applications on mobile devices or in electronic medical records systems. Such a system that aids decision-making could save on health care costs.

• David Winchester, M.D., M.S., an assistant professor of medicine, worked with UF/Orlando Health partner hospitals to implement a new protocol aimed at reducing radiation exposure of patients receiving a CT scan. The researchers developed criteria that involved lowering the amount of radiation produced by reducing the voltage used to generate X-rays and reducing the length of time the X-ray beam is turned on. They were able to reduce the average radiation dose patients received up to 25 percent, showing that simple measures taken in community-based medical settings can greatly enhance patient safety.

Neuroscientist Michael Lane, Ph.D., discusses his research with Johannes W. Viewig, M.D., chairman of the department of urology, during the 2012 College of Medicine Celebration of Research at the Hilton UF Conference Center. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

• Neuroscientist Michael Lane, Ph.D., an assistant professor who works with Paul Reier, Ph.D., a professor and eminent scholar in the department of neuroscience, studied how the nervous system can compensate for loss of function after injury. Lane and his graduate student Lynne Mercier found that cells in the brain that normally direct breathing might change what they do after spinal cord injury. The work gives insight into the ways in which the nervous system can adapt, and could form the basis of new treatments.

• UF college senior Rachel Thome, under the mentorship of rheumatology professor Roland Staud, M.D., studied how patients who have the pain syndrome fibromyalgia see their bodies. She found that the more pain people had, the smaller they estimated the size of their hands to be. Studies such as these are exploring biological bases for a disease thought by many to be psychological.

“What’s really outstanding is the breadth of research being done here,” said Johannes W. Viewig, M.D., chairman of the department of urology. “Seeing how inspired some of these young researchers are is very encouraging for the future of our university and for medicine.”

As the science showcase keeps expanding year after year, the research programs that feed it must be nurtured by ensuring sufficient funding and resources, said Stephen Sugrue, Ph.D., senior associate dean of research affairs.

“We need to sustain our efforts and continue the growth.”

Kenneth Caldwell (center) received the Alpha Omega Alpha award for his research project on overexpression of angiotensin in hematopoietic stem cells at the 2012 Medical Student Research Day on April 12. Greg Schultz, Ph.D. (left), director of the college's medical student research program and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and Joseph Fantone, M.D., senior associate dean for educational affairs, presented the award. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

UF College of Medicine students set a new record during the 2012 Medical Student Research Day.

Ninety-five students showcased 86 research posters, which tightly packed the Broad-Bussell Atrium at the Biomedical Sciences Building on April 12.

“This is the highest number of students yet,” said Greg Schultz, Ph.D., director of the college’s medical student research program and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology.

Students presented on a variety of research topics ranging from arthritis to a comparison of different types of radiotherapy. More than 70 College of Medicine faculty members served as mentors.

The number of the annual research day participants has increased consistently each year. Almost three times as many posters were presented compared with two years ago. Schultz said this is because students are beginning to realize the importance of evidence-based medicine. As students get involved in research programs, they gain valuable experience interpreting and understanding scientific literature and data.

Conducting research also makes the students more competitive for residency programs.

Most of the research featured at the event originated from the summer research program in which many students participate before entering their second year of medical school.

“The quality of research and discovery is outstanding,” Schultz said. “It’s amazing what our students do in just 10 weeks.”

Six presenters were honored during the award ceremony:

Kenneth Caldwell – Alpha Omega Alpha Award ($1,000)

“Overexpression of Angiotensin (1-7) in Hematopoietic Stem Cells: A Novel Route of Delivery to site of Injury in Brain”

Keisin Wang – John Harrington Tanous Award for Distinguished Research in Cancer ($500)

“NSC185058 Suppresses Human Osteosarcoma Tumorgenises in mice”

Monica Roca – John Harrington Tanous Award for Distinguished Research in Cancer ($500)

“Dosimetric Comparison of Photon and Proton Radiotherapy for Unresectable Ewing Sarcoma for the Pelvis”

Elissa Finkler – Lawrence M. Goodman Research Award 1st place ($500)

“A Model of Arthritis driven by Local Ex Vivo Gene Transfer of Human IL-1b”

Michael Armbruster – Lawrence M. Goodman Research Award 2nd place ($400)

“Lipid Emulsions in Resuscitation from Hemorrhagic Shock”

Camila Avila – Lawrence M. Goodman Research Award 3rd place ($300)

“Regulation of NOTCH1 Oncogenic Pathway by Protein Phosphatase 6”

Terry Jackson, vice president of Florida Players Network and former University of Florida and NFL football player, and Ahmad Black, FPN member and former University of Florida and Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety, spent time with 23-year-old patient Christine Danks at Shands Hospital for Children at UF. Danks has been treated at Shands since she was 3-years-old. Photo by Jesse S. Jones

Ahmad Black – former University of Florida and Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety – flashed his friendly smile on Thursday evening. But it wasn’t because of a big play.

It was for the kids at Shands Hospital for Children at UF. Ten former Gator football players showed up to tour the facility, dropping by patients’ rooms to lift the spirits of the children and their parents.

When the players walked in to visit 3-year-old Noah English, who is awaiting a heart transplant, he immediately lit up. “We’re all here to see you, man,” Black said.

The tour was the first of a series of events that took place last weekend as part of the Florida Players Network’s inaugural Orange and Blue Spring Spectacular. The newly-formed organization offers former Gator football players the opportunity to network and give back to the Gainesville community. The nonprofit will select a local charitable cause each year and host networking events to raise funds for the designated charity. This year, the group selected Shands Hospital for Children at UF.

“You think about the total number of players who have had the chance to run through the tunnel wearing orange and blue. We have so much in common,” said Chris Doering, president of FPN and former UF wide receiver and UF Athletic Hall of Fame inductee.

Giving back means several things for FPN. Not only do they plan to give back to the community, but they also plan to help players off the field, be it a newly retired player or a former player or player’s family experiencing health issues. Doering spoke about mentoring as one example of this. “We want to create a natural transition for Florida players. There is an abrupt stop when your career’s over. It is difficult to know how to move into the next phase of your life, so we would like to develop a mentor program to connect newly retired players with those who have made that transition,” said Doering.

FPN members Mike Ricketts and Jason Meyers visit with 22-year-old patient Jamal Davis. Photo by Jesse S. Jones

FPN was the brainchild of former UF and NFL football player, Terry Jackson. He said his inspiration came from a quote by Martin Luther King Jr., “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” Jackson felt that players are great on the field; when they finish they still want and need that connection, and want to do well in serving others.

During their visit, the players toured the hospital’s facilities including the pediatric emergency room, pediatric intensive care unit and the neonatal intensive care unit. They learned about the patients and the circumstances that have led them to the hospital for treatment.

“It is ironic because the kids and the doctors are the real heroes – and they look up to guys like us,” said Telly Concepcion, former UF player and CEO of Gator Glyss.

FPN’s inaugural event culminated during the Orange and Blue game’s halftime show when it presented Shands Hospital for Children at UF with a $5,000 donation. The funds will help expand the infusion center in the hospital’s immunocompromised unit, which is where children come to get treatment for cancer.

Scott Rivkees, M.D., chair and professor of pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine, said the donated funds will “buy more than chairs, they will buy lives.”

Scientists have long understood the role of messenger RNA, known as mRNA, in translating instructions from DNA to make protein. Inherited diseases are caused by faulty genetic instructions, but a study led by Laura Ranum, Ph.D., director of the Center for NeuroGenetics and a professor of molecular genetics and microbiology, has introduced a new twist to the plot.

“Our research disputes the conventional dogma about what causes proteins to be expressed within cells and why,” said Ranum, whose original study was done while she was at the University of Minnesota. “We discovered that proteins can be made across some repetitive disease-causing mutations in the absence of ‘green light’ or ‘start’ signals, previously thought to be required. This discovery has the potential to change the course of scientific investigation on human disease because we may have been grossly underestimating the number of proteins cells express.”

Ranum specializes in the study of myotonic dystrophy — the most common form of muscular dystrophy in adults — and ataxia, a rare brain disease that robs people of their coordination and motor control. She and colleagues set out to study how proteins are made and to dig for the disease-causing genes hidden within the human genome.

A lot of DNA is made up of repetitive sequences, called genomic stuttering, said Maurice Swanson, Ph.D., the associate director of the center and a professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at the UF College of Medicine. Fifty percent of human DNA is made up of repetitive sequences, which historically have been dismissed as unimportant information, he said.

“The discovery that unusual, potentially harmful proteins are translated within these regions adds another layer to the basic biological process,” said Swanson, who will help lead the new study. “The discovery leads to a whole new way of looking at disease.”

Keck funding will help researchers determine how this repeat-associated non-ATG translation, or RAN translation, works, if it is a key to neurological disease and whether other repetitive sequences in the genome are translated into proteins.

“This prestigious award is significant news for the university,” said UF medical Dean Michael L. Good, M.D. “It is very exciting that an influential organization such as the W.M. Keck Foundation recognizes the strength of the research program at the College of Medicine, particularly the cutting-edge expertise of Dr. Ranum and Dr. Swanson and their colleagues.”

The Keck Foundation’s history is to invest in scientific pursuits that have great promise, but that are outside-the-box and viewed by some as risky, Ranum said.

“We are grateful for this opportunity and excited about what we will learn,” she said.

Based in Los Angeles, the foundation was established in 1954 by the late W.M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company. The foundation’s grant making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of medical research, science and engineering. The Keck Foundation is known for funding high-risk, high-return projects. Keck awards fall outside the mission of public funding agencies and support transformative ideas that are investments in the future.

The Center for NeuroGenetics is located within UF’s College of Medicine and affiliated with the department of molecular genetics and microbiology, the McKnight Brain Institute and the Genetics Institute. In addition to Ranum and Swanson, the research team includes Tao Zu, Ph.D., John Cleary, Ph.D., and Tammy Reid, M.Sc.

Clinicians with the Shands Transplant Center at the University of Florida will trade in their white lab coats for neon spandex, sweatbands and sunglasses at night to celebrate National Donate Life month at “Life-a-palooza,” a concert series event to raise awareness for organ donation and transplantation.

“Life-a-palooza” is hosted by UF student organ donation awareness organization Get Carded. It will feature musical performances by Hundred Waters and Maximino as well as Shands Transplant Center patient testimonials from those whose lives have been enhanced by organ and tissue donation.

The event is from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, April 12, at the Orange and Brew. It is free and open to the public. Transplant recipients will share their stories to help put a face to organ donation. Transplant recipients may have a new organ, but they lead healthy, active lifestyles. Many Shands Transplant Center patients even participate in Olympic-like athletic competitions like the Transplant Games.

Shands Transplant Center team members and representatives from the local organ procurement organization will be available to answer questions about organ donation, and guests can register at the event to become donors on Florida’s online registry.

“Get Carded has set a goal to register 50 new donors on the Joshua Abbot State Registry,” said Get Carded President Haley Appel. “We hope to bring education and awareness to the increasing need for donations.”

Shands at UF provides subspecialty services such as advanced trauma care and organ transplantation.  Shands Transplant Center has performed many “first” transplants in the state of Florida.

For more information about organ donation or to sign up on Florida’s organ and tissue donor registry, please visit www.DonateLifeFlorida.org.

The Pence family presented $23,000 to Shands Hospital for Children at UF in a ceremony on Wednesday. The family, also known as the “Pence Bunch,” earned the winnings by taking home second place in the Primrose Schools Family Dance-off. They were joined by David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president for health affairs and president, UF&Shands Health System (third from left), Scott Rivkees, M.D., chair and professor of pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine (far right) and several Dance Marathon at UF students. Photo by Jesse Jones

The “Pence Bunch” is no stranger to dancing. Dedicated ambassadors of the annual Dance Marathon at the University of Florida and fans of dancing to the family Kinect, the Pence family of Gainesville certainly knows how to get down.

This week Shands Hospital for Children at UF benefitted from the Pences dance moves when the family won second place and a $20,000 donation to the hospital and $3,000 cash in the Primrose Schools’ Family Dance-off. The Pence family and Primrose Schools came together in a Wednesday ceremony to present their winnings to Shands Hospital for Children at UF.

“It is families like the Pences that allow all the terrific things we do here to happen,” said Scott Rivkees, M.D., chair and professor of pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine, who welcomed a roomful of patients, nurses, doctors and students, and thanked them for a job well done.

The contest attracted 117 families across the nation to submit their 30-second video. Inspired by the Brady Bunch, the “Pence Bunch” video – which received a total of 38,372 votes – featured all eight family members including: mom and dad, Kelly and Nathan Pence; children Austyn, Lauren, Stacy, Tyler and Amy; and the family dog, Charlie, breaking it down to their own rendition of the Brady Bunch theme song.

The family’s true inspiration is 7-year-old Tyler, who was diagnosed with a cleft lip and possible cleft palate before birth. At just 3 months old he was treated at the Craniofacial Center at Shands at UF. As Kelly Pence says, the care he received and continues to receive is “impeccable … the best in the world as far as I’m concerned.”

Seven-year-old Tyler Pence of the "Pence Bunch" was tdiagnosed with a cleft lip and possible cleft palate before birth. At just 3 months old he was treated at the Craniofacial Center at Shands at UF. Photo by Jesse S. Jones

The Pence family and Kim Englehardt, executive director of public relations and communications for Primrose Schools, then proudly handed over the $20,000 check to Rivkees. But the surprise of the morning came in the form of a second announcement.

“The Pence family has decided to do something different with its check,” Englehardt said. The family then gave back its $3,000 prize to Rivkees. The family also plans to provide Shands with $1,000 they initially received for being a finalist in the contest.

After the surprise announcement Kelly Pence graciously thanked everyone who voted for the family’s video. “That’s why we did it. For the kids!” she said.

When asked if Tyler would like to say anything, it only took a second for him to think before he excitedly broke into the Gator chomp.

The Primrose Schools’ Family Dance-off is part of the organization’s commitment to fight childhood obesity. The contest comes on the heels of the 18th annual Dance Marathon at UF, which took place this past weekend. The event benefits Gainesville’s Children’s Miracle Network hospital, Shands Hospital for Children at UF. This year, more than 800 dancers and 1,000 other students worked together to raise nearly $887,000.

Beginning in April, the new center, named UF&Shands Florida Recovery Center at Orlando Health, will serve as a destination for the evaluation and treatment of people facing alcohol and drug addiction.

The UF&Shands Florida Recovery Center at Orlando Health bridges the gap in outpatient services for people suffering with an addiction who are receiving fragmented inpatient and outpatient services, or those who are leaving the Central Florida area to seek addiction treatment elsewhere.

“Addiction is both a national and local public health concern,” said Gilbert T. Tamakloe, medical director, Behavioral Health Services, Orlando Health. “Additional outpatient services for addiction are a great need in our community. Although there are programs available, there are few programs that compare to the comprehensive approach the FRC provides to its patients. We are pleased that the Florida Recovery Center will join our health care organization in meeting our community’s growing needs.”

Orlando Health and UF&Shands look forward to offering the community a partnership in alcohol and drug addiction evaluations, inpatient and outpatient services and addiction intervention and treatment, officials said.

“It is an ideal scenario to bring a new, expert Florida Recovery Center team with special training and skills to Orlando Health, which is a state leader in so many other areas of medicine and surgery,” said Mark S. Gold, M.D., a professor and chairman of the department of psychiatry at UF. “We know from the calls for help that we receive that Orlando is an underserved area. Dr. Scott Teitelbaum, our division chief of addiction medicine, is the president of the Florida Society of Addiction Medicine and we know from his work that board-certified, fellowship-trained addiction physicians are very hard to find in the Orlando area.”

Addiction medicine specialist Timothy Huckaby, M.D., has been appointed as the medical director of the UF&Shands Florida Recovery Center at Orlando Health. He will evaluate patients, consult with physicians and health care professionals at South Seminole Hospital and others in the Central Florida community, and oversee an intensive outpatient program (IOP), a three- to six-week program that integrates patients back into their communities, families and work lives.

The IOP also consists of group meetings four nights a week for 12 to 16 weeks. The primary goal of the IOP is to help assist patients in their recovery from addiction and help integrate them back into living healthy lives.

Dr. Huckaby and his clinical team will examine some of the behaviors that have caused the patient to have difficulty in the past, and change those behaviors to establish and maintain a sober support system. The FRC team will provide family, couples and group counseling as well. The goal of the program is to help those in recovery effectively manage the social, spiritual, physical and emotional aspects of life to maintain a lifestyle of recovery.

The FRC team will work the Orlando Health Behavioral Healthcare at South Seminole Hospital (inpatient) and the Orlando Health Behavioral Specialists (outpatient) teams of certified and experienced psychiatrists, nurses, social workers and other clinicians to provide patient care.

Dr. Huckaby is a board-certified anesthesiologist who also has been trained in an addiction medicine fellowship at UF and an obstetric anesthesiology fellowship at Harvard. His experience in pain, pain management, women’s health and iatrogenic addictions will add to FRC at Orlando Health’s suite of treatment options. In addition to addiction services, Dr. Huckaby also will offer pain medicine services through the UF&Shands Florida Recovery Center.

Because the Florida Recovery Center is affiliated with the University of Florida and UF’s McKnight Brain Institute, patients have the benefit of a bench-to-bedside approach to addiction science, receiving treatment based on the latest addiction medicine research.

The UF&Shands Florida Recovery Center at Orlando Health is part of an ongoing collaboration of health initiatives between Orlando Health and UF&Shands, making care more accessible to millions of patients over a 20-county region. The alliance was formed in 2010 as a result of a longstanding history of close working relationships.

In addition to the recent addiction medicine initiative, the organizations have formed or will begin several joint clinical programs in areas including pediatrics, neuroscience, oncology, women’s health, transplantation and cardiovascular medicine.

For additional information about the Florida Recovery Center at Orlando Health, contact 855.265.4FRC(4372), or visit FloridaRecoveryCenter.UFandShands.org.

Tandon, an international expert in schizophrenia, has been listed in every edition of the Best Doctors in America since 1995. He provides consultations to psychiatrists and families of individuals with severe mental illnesses. As the chief of psychiatry at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans’ Healthcare System, he has played a key role in expanding the Assertive Community Treatment from Gainesville to Jacksonville. He also initiated Gainesville’s Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center for veterans.

“We are proud to have Dr. Tandon as a director on the NAMI Florida board,” said Judith Evans, executive director of NAMI Florida. “No one is more deserving of this prestigious award. He has done so much to improve the quality of life for those with mental illnesses.”

Tandon is a member of the NAMI Gainesville chapter.

Tandon regularly provides testimony to the state Legislature in support of various NAMI priorities. He was a member of the State Supreme Court Subcommittee on Mental Health and Criminal Justice, chairing the workgroup on “Best Practices for Mental Health Diversion” during 2007 – 2008. He is also a member of a state panel that is developing a mental health manual and bench book for the judiciary.

Tandon has delivered more than 100 presentations to local, state, and national NAMI audiences during the past 20 years. He regularly participates in affiliate NAMI Gainesville meetings, providing information about advances in the understanding of mental illness.

Tandon is also a member of the National Schizophrenia Foundation and was chair of the board of directors from 2002 – 2005; the Brain Research Foundation, from which he received the Gerald Klerman award; the Florida Psychiatric Society Leadership Council; and Disability Rights Florida as a member of the Advisory Council for the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness.

The Family Dance-off contest attracted 117 families across the nation to submit their 30-second video. The dance-off is part of Primrose Schools’ commitment to help fight childhood obesity by getting kids to engage in physical activities like dancing. Primrose Schools provides early childhood education and childcare services in more than 240 schools in 17 states.

“Thank you to everyone who voted for the ‘Pence Bunch,’” said Scott A. Rivkees, M.D., chair and professor of pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine.

To celebrate the success, a check presentation and short reception will be held 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 4, at the Pediatrics Medical and Surgical Unit 44/45 welcome desk, located on the fourth floor in the Patient Services Building.

Years later, he took another leap of faith and quit his vice presidential job in a hedge fund company to dive into medicine.

Now, Boatright, a 29-year-old fourth-year medical student at the University of Florida College of Medicine, worked on orthopedic surgery rotations everywhere from UF to Emory to the University of Virginia.

His journey to medicine started in a swimming lane.

Jeffrey Boatright, a fourth-year student at UF COM, poses with his wife, Laura, on Match Day, March 16. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

He learned to swim at 4 and started competing when he was 6. He grew up in Waynesboro, Va., with pruney fingers and hair that smelled of chlorine. But by the time he’d reached his junior year of high school, he felt he’d squeezed in all of the training he could get from his town. He enrolled in the Bolles School, a private school in Jacksonville known for producing Olympic swimmers.

He made it to the 2000 Olympic trials, where he swam the 200-meter butterfly against Michael Phelps and other elite swimmers. He dove and the pressure washed over him. Competitors are generally relaxed during meets, but this one was different. It was all or nothing.

His time of 2:10.06 didn’t send him to the Olympics, but instead he led Florida State University to the Atlantic Coast Conference championships. Along the way, he saw injured teammates get back into their races because of orthopedic surgeons.

Two years into his time at FSU, Boatright had a change of heart. He still loved swimming, but could he make a living from it? He decided he couldn’t and set off to find a new calling.

He ended up following some investment-minded buddies to Atlanta into an entry-level brokering job at New South Capital Management. Three years later, he was vice president of trading operations. He spent those years entertaining investors, filing quarterly reports and making hard-and-fast decisions about when to buy or sell future commodity market positions, which are similar to stocks.

He said he could have made a great living with that career. He could have retired at that job. Yet something still didn’t feel right.

“My whole point of leaving Florida State and leaving swimming was to find out what I wanted to do,” Boatright said. “I just knew deep down inside. I just knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do forever.”

The son of an orthopedic surgeon, he said he was inspired by his dad’s love for his job.

“My dad was always happy, always ready to go to work,” he said.

So he jumped in.

He received a bachelor’s and master’s from Florida Atlantic University and started at UF’s College of Medicine in 2008.

He met his wife, Laura, during a patient training exercise and connected with her right away. They married in 2010. Boatright said he and his wife, a third-year medical student, keep each other centered.

Now in his senior year, he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

“There is no longer any doubt in my mind that this is exactly what I was meant to do,” he said.

Daniel Meldrum, M.D., chief of the division of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

Daniel R. Meldrum, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.H.A., joined the University of Florida department of surgery’s division of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery as a professor and chief on March 1. He will care for patients at Shands at UF medical center.

Meldrum comes to UF from Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana University Health, where he was a professor of cardiothoracic surgery. He joined Indiana University from the Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2002. Meldrum completed surgical training at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and graduated Alpha Omega Alpha from Michigan State University’s College of Medicine.

His clinical expertise is in coronary artery bypass grafting, valve surgery, aortic surgery and thoracic oncology. His research expertise is related to adult stem cell research and gender differences in heart disease.

“We are delighted that Dr. Meldrum will bring his unique skill set and leadership to the division of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery,” said Kevin Behrns, M.D., chair of the UF department of surgery. “He is well-recognized nationally for delivering expert, high-quality, personalized patient care, along with making numerous novel discoveries that have advanced cardiac surgery. He is poised to lead the group to remarkable innovative achievements in clinical care, research and in training the next generation of thoracic and cardiovascular surgeons.”

During training at the University of Colorado, Meldrum earned a National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award.

He has authored more than 250 original publications, received several NIH grants, including three RO1 grants, and served as mentor for multiple training grants from the NIH and American Heart Association. He received the Indiana University Board of Trustees Teaching Award in 2008 in recognition of his commitment to medical student and resident education.

He has served as a regular member of the NIH Myocardial Ischemia and Metabolism study section and as a member of the AHA Radiology and Surgery study section. He also has served as a temporary reviewer for multiple other NIH and AHA study sections and as a member of the NIH Right Heart Working Group. He is the associate editor of the Journal of Surgical Research and the senior associate editor of the journal Shock.

He is the immediate past-president of the Society of University Surgeons and has served on the executive councils of that organization, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Shock Society, the Surgical Infection Society and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. He also is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and the American Surgical Association. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Heart Association and was a Lt. Colonel in the United States Army Reserve.

Meldrum said the opportunity to lead UF’s division of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery “is an exciting opportunity to be involved in an already outstanding program.”

“I look forward to working with everyone to build upon the great progress that already has been made by my predecessors,” he said.

UF scientists in many different specialties are part of the Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network, a national NIH-funded consortium that seeks to discover stem cell therapies for heart disease. Carl J. Pepine, M.D., leads the UF team. Photo by Maria Belen Farias

University of Florida researchers and colleagues at six other institutions have received a $63 million, seven-year grant from the NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to develop heart disease therapies that use a patient’s own bone marrow and heart cells to generate new healthy heart cells and restore function.

“The work has the potential to change the paradigm from the management of patients with heart disease, which right now is aimed at prevention and slowing progression,” said UF principal investigator Carl J. Pepine, M.D., a professor and eminent scholar emeritus of cardiovascular medicine. “This has the ability to move treatment into the regenerative medicine field.”

Heart disease, also called cardiovascular disease, is the leading cause of death in the U.S., killing more than 600,000 men and women a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 27 million Americans are estimated to be living with heart disease, which encompasses a range of abnormalities of the heart and blood vessels such as heart failure, narrowed arteries, irregular heartbeat and heart defects present from birth. Those conditions can, in turn, lead to chest pain, heart attack and stroke.

The new grant is to the Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network, or CCTRN, a national clinical trial consortium that, in addition to UF, includes the University of Miami, Indiana University, Stanford University, Texas Heart Institute, the University of Louisville and the Minneapolis Heart Institute. Originally funded in 2007, the network received the first federal funding for cooperative studies of so-called adult stem cells, in which patients are treated with cells taken from their own bodies. The UF-led team includes satellite study sites at UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville, Orlando Health and Pepin Heart Hospital in Tampa, Fla.

The network’s large size allows recruitment of hundreds of patients over relatively short periods for important clinical trials. Member researchers are specialists in a wide range of fields, including stem cell processing, bone marrow transplantation, interventional cardiology, MRI, EKG, cardiac anesthesia, pharmacology and gene and cell therapy.

“Stem cell therapy holds great promise for treating heart disease, and researchers involved in CCTRN are helping determine how these promising therapies might be most beneficial to patients,” said Sonia Skarlatos, Ph.D., deputy director of the division of cardiovascular sciences in the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. “This new round of funding is an important step in helping to improve cardiovascular health.”

The award, of which UF’s portion totals more than $5 million, allows the researchers to build on findings from rigorous randomized clinical trials funded by an earlier five-year grant to the network. The researchers previously found that in patients who had heart failure and/or chest pain, called angina pectoris, but were not eligible for standard surgical treatment to improve blood flow, delivering two types of stem cells from the patient’s own bone marrow resulted in a small but notable improvement in the heart’s ability to pump oxygen-rich blood around the body.

In other studies, the researchers sought to determine the optimal time for delivering therapeutic stem cells to patients after a heart attack. They administered the therapy in the first and third week after a heart attack, respectively. Giving the therapy in the third week yielded no benefit, and conclusions from the first-week study are pending.

This pioneering work in adult stem cell therapy for cardiovascular disease has laid the groundwork and set the standards for translating insights from basic stem cell biology research into clinical application.

With the new funding, the researchers will work to identify new kinds of stem cells that can be used for therapy. They will explore patients’ bone marrow and hearts to find cells ultimately capable of becoming new heart cells. The research will also extend to new categories of patients, including those who have a condition called peripheral vascular disease, in which narrowed arteries limit blood flow to the limbs. The effectiveness of stem cell therapy will also be evaluated in patients with heart failure or weak hearts and who have implanted mechanical pumps called left ventricular assist devices that help send blood around the body.

“What we are doing today is going to change cardiovascular medicine 10 years from now,” said Stanford University principal investigator John Cooke, M.D., Ph.D. “We are going to have better therapies for heart failure, myocardial ischemia and arrythmia. We’re going to have regenerative therapies for vascular disease and myocardial disease. These new therapies will have the ability to extend the quantity and quality of human life and lift the burden of cardiovascular disease from humanity.”

Jeffrey Fair, M.D., chief of transplantation surgery in University of Florida College of Medicine. Photo by Jesse S. Jones

Jeffrey Fair, M.D., has joined the University of Florida College of Medicine’s department of surgery as chief of the division of transplantation surgery.

Fair, an accomplished transplant surgeon and an innovator in liver stem cell therapies, comes to UF from the University of California at Los Angeles’ David Geffen School of Medicine where he was a professor of surgery and served as director of translational research in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s department of surgery.

UF Department of Surgery Chairman Kevin Behrns, M.D., said Fair brings vast experience in transplantation of the liver, kidney and pancreas to the division, which focuses on abdominal organ transplantation.

“He previously built successful programs that delivered exceptional clinical care and made novel discoveries in liver research,” said Behrns. “His leadership will provide an outstanding foundation for sustained success in transplantation.”

Fair earned his medical degree at East Carolina School of Medicine and completed a fellowship in kidney and liver transplantation at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a fellowship in pancreas transplantation at University of Minnesota Hospital. Fair served in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps from 1990 to 2004.

Before working at UCLA and Cedars-Sinai, he was a faculty member in the department of surgery at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. During that time, Fair rose to the rank of professor, served as the chief of transplantation and worked with Oliver Smithies, D.Phil., a Nobel laureate who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2007 for work using stem cells to modify genes in mice.

His research interests include using stem cells to restore function to damaged or diseased livers through gene therapy, and to grow new, healthy liver cells in patients whose livers do not function properly. Doing so, he said, may one day help some patients avoid liver transplants.

Fair is especially hopeful this therapy could help children who suffer from urea cycle disorders, a category of hereditary conditions that render the liver unable to properly dispose of ammonia produced by protein digestion. Urea cycle disorders “cause severe neurologic damage and then, ultimately, severe mental retardation or death,” he said.

The procedure also may help people with liver cirrhosis, hemophilia and other diseases.

As the division moves forward, Fair plans to improve its research, educational and clinical missions and build on state-of-the-art transplantation practices.

“We plan within five years to be considered as one of the top 10 programs in the country,” Fair said.

He and his wife, Lyn Fair, have three grown children.

The recognition goes to faculty members who have a distinguished current record of research and a strong research agenda that is likely to lead to continuing distinction in their fields.

The UFRF professors were recommended by their college deans based on nominations from their department chairs, a personal statement and an evaluation of their recent research accomplishments as evidenced by publications in scholarly journals, external funding, honors and awards, development of intellectual property and other measures appropriate to their field of expertise.

“Deans, department chairs and colleagues use words like ‘scholar of highest distinction,’ ‘one of the best young talents in his field,’ and ‘one of our most productive faculty members,’ to describe these researchers’ work,” said David Norton, UF’s vice president for research. “Typically, these researchers on the cutting edge of their fields are also recognized as outstanding mentors of graduate and undergraduate students. It is scholars like these that make the University of Florida one of the nation’s great research institutions.”

The three-year award includes a $5,000 annual salary supplement and a one-time $3,000 grant. The professorships are funded from the university’s share of royalty and licensing income on UF-generated products.

This year’s UFRF Professors are listed below.

College of Medicine

Arthur S. Edison
Department of Biochemistry and Biology

Douglas Grant McFadden
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology

Kelli Komro
Department of Health Outcomes and Policy

Colin Sumners
Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics

I. David Weiner
Department of Medicine

Warrington College of Business

Jay R. Ritter
Department of Finance, Insurance and Real Estate

College of Dentistry

Robert Caudle
Department of Maxillofacial Surgery

College of Design, Construction and Planning

R. Raymond Issa
M.E. Rinker Sr. School of Building Construction

College of Education

Nancy Dana
School of Teaching and Learning

College of Engineering

Warren E. Dixon
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Paul Gader
Department of Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering

Kevin S. Jones
Department of Materials Science and Engineering

College of Fine Arts

Joan D. Frosch
School of Theatre and Dance

Florida Museum of Natural History

Keith R. Willmott
McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity

College of Health and Human Performance

Chris J. Hass
Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology

Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Micheal S. Allen
School of Forest Resources and Conservation

James H. Graham, Jr.
Citrus Research and Education Center

Lena Q. Ma
Department of Soil and Water Science

Timothy A. Martin
School of Forest Resources and Conservation

Lynn E. Sollenberger
Department of Agronomy

David L. Wright
North Florida Research and Education Center

College of Journalism and Communications

Ronald R. Rodgers
Department of Journalism

College of Law

Elizabeth A. Rowe
College of Law

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Badredine Arfi
Department of Political Science

Jesse Dallery
Department of Psychology

Sidney I. Dobrin
Department of English

Jonathan B. Martin
Department of Geological Sciences

Douglas Soltis
Department of Biology

Gregory Stewart
Department of Physics

College of Nursing

Charlene A. Krueger
Department of Women’s, Children’s and Family Nursing

College of Pharmacy

Maureen Keller-Wood
Department of Pharmacodynamics

College of Public Health and Health Professions

Michael Marsiske
Department of Clinical and Health Psychology

College of Veterinary Medicine

Ayalew Mergia
Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology

Neuroscientist William G. “Bill” Luttge

Neuroscientist William G. “Bill” Luttge, 68, the founding executive director of the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida, died on Saturday, March 24, 2012, at Shands at UF medical center. His wife, sons and other family members were at his side.

He was diagnosed in January with multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow.

Luttge channeled the vast amount of brain research under way at the University of Florida in the 1980s and 1990s into a comprehensive program, resulting in a $60 million Brain Institute research building that was dedicated in 1998.

“Bill Luttge was always private and very modest, but his accomplishments are gigantic,” said Mark Gold, M.D., the Donald Dizney Eminent Scholar and chairman of the department of psychiatry in the College of Medicine. “He is one of the founders of modern neuroscience.”

Colleagues say Luttge was an early innovator of a neuroscience movement that flowered in the late 1990s, employing interdisciplinary teams to understand complex human behavior and intractable diseases. In 1998, UF’s Brain Institute was among the first of a fresh, elite crop of institutes and centers sprouting around the country at places such as Harvard University and the University of California.

“The university has lost one of its great heroes,” said Michael L. Good, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine. “Dr. Luttge challenged diseases of the brain by creating the McKnight Brain Institute and filling it with some of the nation’s best scientists. He significantly shaped the work of so many faculty at UF and throughout the nation and world, in my case, helping our team add neurological models to the human patient simulator program. Bill Luttge’s impact on science was significant and far-reaching.”

Tetsuo Ashizawa, M.D., the current executive director of the McKnight Brain Institute, was in Tokyo for a scientific conference when he heard the news of Luttge’s death.

“This is a huge loss for the McKnight Brain Institute and the university,” Ashizawa said. “I had a chance to visit with him at his home one month ago. He was upbeat and eager to contribute to MBI-related activities despite his illness. Dr. Luttge has left a great imprint on the history of neuroscience research as the founding executive director of the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute, and the MBI will remember him and his great contributions.”

Luttge joined UF in 1971 as an assistant professor of neuroscience in the College of Medicine after earning his Ph.D. in biological sciences at the University of California, Irvine. The neuroscience department at the College of Medicine was one of the first of its kind in the country, and Luttge quickly became its leader, researching the molecular and behavioral actions of steroids in the brain.

In the early 1990s, Luttge worked closely with Albert Rhoton, M.D., then chairman of the department of neurosurgery, and Richard Smith, M.D., a founding faculty member of the College of Medicine, to build support for a campuswide initiative to harness UF’s research, clinical care and educational skills to solve brain disorders. In December 1991, while chairman of the neuroscience department, Luttge came upon a small Department of Defense advertisement in an obscure newsletter, the Commerce Business Daily. It called for proposals to build a major national brain and spinal cord research center.

In the following days Luttge, with the help of his wife Michaelyn, pieced together descriptions of the many but disparate elements of brain research at UF into a comprehensive proposal. He included disciplines whose connections to brain research had been overlooked, Gold said.

“Bill always thought way ahead of the curve,” Gold said. “While writing the grant he told me he thought drug and alcohol abuse prevention should be part of the Brain Institute application. I asked him why, and he said drugs and alcohol are the main causes of brain and spinal cord trauma and until we have something better, the best treatment is prevention. That was a pioneering notion. But his energy and spirit are what made it possible for other scientists to follow him, because many of them thought he was on a Sisyphean task, pushing an immense boulder up a hill that was certainly going to roll back down before it reached the top.”

In an interview in 2003, then-Vice President for Health Affairs Douglas Barrett, M.D., recalled Easter Sunday, April 19, 1992. Barrett had come to the health center to see a patient. He found Bill and Michaelyn Luttge walking with stacks of papers under their arms.

“They had been working all week and weekend, day and night, to get this grant put together,” Barrett said. “Later, I got to thinking about that — his almost singlehanded, remarkable dedication to pull all the pieces together. It’s true there were lots of patchwork pieces of the quilt, but Bill had the dream of sewing it all together and making it a coherent picture, so that when you stood back, you saw a beautiful tapestry. No one but Bill could have done that because of his view of the neurosciences at the University of Florida. It was a remarkable personal effort and that late Sunday evening, when you couldn’t have found anybody else here, will always stand out in my mind as a personal snapshot of Bill’s dedication to the dream.”

The proposal to the Department of Defense was dated April 20, 1992 — the morning after Barrett’s hallway encounter with the Luttges. It contained a $26 million commitment from UF and was signed by Luttge, David Challoner, M.D., vice president for health affairs; Allen Neims, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the College of Medicine; Paul Metts, CPA, CEO of Shands at UF; and UF President John Lombardi, Ph.D.

On June 11, 1992, UF won the $18 million grant, ahead of several prestigious universities and neuroscience research centers. On Oct. 22, 1998, with the help of additional grants, UF opened the doors of its $60 million Brain Institute. Later, in 2000, the McKnight Brain Research Foundation bestowed the institute with a private donation that created a $30 million endowment, devoted to research that explores the mechanisms of memory loss with aging and to finding solutions to cognitive aging.

Today, the MBI has more than 300 affiliated faculty working to end the ravages of brain diseases and age-related memory loss.

In addition to assembling an armada of clinicians and scientists, Luttge believed a comprehensive institute should provide high-quality resources. With that in mind, he added specialized facilities in addition to traditional laboratories in the plans for the Brain Institute.

A prime example is the Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy research facility, a nuclear magnetic resonance imaging lab at the MBI. It features some of the most powerful scanning systems in the world, including a machine that generates a magnetic field more than 200,000 times stronger than the Earth’s.

Researchers have used these magnets to unravel the secrets of the smallest cells, to see how human brains respond to food or other stimulation, and even to diagnose tumors in wild animals.

“We think of Dr. Luttge as a neuroscientist who was fascinated by novel technologies,” said Lucia Notterpek, Ph.D., chairwoman of the department of neuroscience. “He wanted cutting-edge equipment and people who were very skilled. But he was very hands-on in all aspects of our mission, including education, and enjoyed teaching students in neuroanatomy classes. It was visionary for him to house the clinicians who are interested in understanding and curing neurological problems with basic scientists, trainees and students. He saw the future of translational research — the only way we can meet the challenges ahead is when we are part of collaborative teams.”

In a 2003 interview, Luttge said it remained a source of amazement that UF gave him — “just a regular faculty member” — the opportunity to create the Brain Institute.

“Knowing that they trusted me, I didn’t want to do anything other than the best possible job,” Luttge said. 

Luttge served as chairman of the department of neuroscience for nearly 20 years, and was senior associate dean for research and basic science for the College of Medicine and chairman of the scientific advisory committee for the UF General Clinical Research Center for two years. He received the College of Medicine’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 and was named an Honorary Alumnus.

In 2004, after 33 years of service to UF, Luttge retired a professor emeritus of neuroscience and pursued his passion for the outdoors. Once an accomplished runner who could finish a marathon in under two-and-a-half hours, he began hiking the Continental Divide Trail, the Florida Trail, the Tuscarora Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail.

He climbed Mount Rainier for the second time and celebrated his 60th birthday in 2004 on the Appalachian Trail. His trail name was “Fireball” and Michaelyn, nicknamed “Hot Chocolate,” hauled a trailer, meeting up with her husband at obscure trail heads for restock and supply. In 2008, they stored the truck and trailer and together backpacked the Superior Hiking Trail in Minnesota.

In addition to his wife of 47 years, Michaelyn Chacon Luttge, of Cross Creek, he is survived by two sons, William R. Luttge, of Gainesville, and Benjamin Luttge, of Cleveland; three grandchildren, one older sister and two younger brothers.

In a message Monday, Michaelyn Luttge wrote, “In the 10 weeks since his diagnosis with multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells that causes bone lesions, Dr. Luttge attended seminars, met with former UF colleagues and new faculty, took the opportunity to tell his sons how proud he was of them, and with every available moment reminisced with his wife over a life well spent.”

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The UF Foundation, McKnight Brain Institute, P.O. Box 100243, Gainesville, FL 32610. Please place “Dr. Luttge” on the memo line. Call (352) 273-5882 for more information.