Mon Sep 21
UCF’s clinical leaders gathered Monday to give the community a simple message: Get your flu shot. And then they rolled up their sleeves and were vaccinated at a new mobile flu shot golf cart that’s making the rounds on campus to protect even more people from the virus. Drs. Deborah German, vice president for health…
Fri Sep 18
As the Hispanic population in the U.S. continues to grow — surpassing 60 million in 2019 — a recent workforce survey showed less than 6% of U.S. doctors are Hispanic. This underrepresentation of Hispanics in the medical profession was among the issues discussed in Nuestras Raices, a virtual panel hosted by the Latino Medical Student Association…
Thu Sep 17
As we navigate COVID-19, you need to get your flu vaccine this year – now more than ever before. No, a flu shot won’t protect you from the coronavirus – the diseases are caused by two different viruses. But getting a flu vaccine provides important health protections for you, your family, your UCF colleagues and…
Thu Sep 10
The quick switch to remote working has left many people without a proper office. Our kitchen and dining-room tables, even our beds, have become our workstations. These situations can result in joint and back pain from a day spent just sitting. But a few modifications can bring more physical activity to your remote work life…
Thu Sep 3
The Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences has received $125,000 from the Hollie and Anna Oakley Foundation to provide scholarships for its doctoral students and enhance graduate programs. Dr. Griffith Parks, director of the Burnett School, said the endowed scholarship will help UCF compete in recruiting the best, brightest and most diverse young scientists, and create…
Thu Sep 3
The goal of a vaccine is to give you protection against a pathogen — without you having to suffer through the illness. With so much talk about developing a COVID-19 vaccine, we turn this week to Kai McKinstry, a virus expert at the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, who is working to create a flu vaccine…
Mon Aug 31
Patients lay intubated in hospital hallways, their respirator tubes and monitors running through holes punched into walls. Continuous lines of ambulances dropped off the sick and dying and returned with even more. Three refrigerated 18-wheelers sat parked outside, serving as makeshift morgues. That was the scene that greeted UCF College of Medicine faculty physician Jeff…
Thu Aug 27
Viruses have been around for nearly 500 million years. So what happened to make the COVID-19 virus into a pandemic? How did this virus appear out of nowhere and then spread to millions across the globe? For answers, we turn this week to Griffith Parks, associate dean for research at the College of Medicine, director…
Thu Aug 20
Ayear ago, no one would have considered a birthday party or singing in a church choir a dangerous, potentially deadly activity. But COVID-19 shows us that such events can be “super spreaders” that allow one or two sick people to infect dozens. In this week’s health tip, College of Medicine students Neel Shah and Deep Gandhi offer…
Tue Aug 18
Forty young scientists will join the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences as a new class of graduate students begins study next week. The group includes 12 Ph.D. candidates and 28 master’s students who will be welcomed officially in a virtual exercise on Wednesday. In previous years, graduate students are welcomed with a research colloquium that…
Thu Aug 13
As a new school year begins for many of our children, parents are worried about navigating the new normal of life with COVID-19. Colleen Moran-Bano, a pediatrician at the UCF College of Medicine who leads pediatric training for M.D. students and is a parent herself, offers these tips. As pediatricians, we know that most children learn best…
Wed Aug 12
As a young girl, Lisvet Luceno saw firsthand the importance of community service as her family depended on free clinics for their healthcare. Now a second-year UCF medical student, she volunteers at several community programs, as her way of giving back. These service efforts have earned her a $10,000 scholarship from the Dr. William Lascheid…
Fri Aug 7
As a young physician, Mustafa Kinaan helped build UCF’s new residency and fellowship programs. After five years of training, he’s staying in Greater Orlando to “care for the new family I love.” This month, Dr. Kinaan joins Premier Endocrinology in Kissimmee and St. Cloud also begins work at Osceola Regional Medical Center as a faculty…
Thu Aug 6
As we return to campus, we’re going to find colleagues who have become ill and recovered from COVID-19 and others who have lost a loved one to the virus. As a community, we take care of each other, especially during challenging times. So what is the best way to offer support to colleagues and friends…
Mon Aug 3
Medical school interviews have gone virtual this year as the UCF College of Medicine supports public-health efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19. Rather than in-person interview, about 450 applicants will participate in two Zoom-based interviews and then are invited to a virtual visit. That visit includes Zoom discussions, panels and video messages so potential…
Thu Jul 30
On Saturday, 121 young scientists will graduate from the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences in a virtual commencement due to COVID-19 physical distancing requirements. Those earning degrees include 109 undergraduates, nine master’s students and three Ph.D. candidates. Among the graduates is Levi Adams, who spent the last 5 1/2 years studying Parkinson’s disease and will…
Thu Jul 30
The UCF and Orlando VA Healthcare System research project will examine telehealth for veterans during the pandemic. The team members pictured are, from left, Adam Golden, Andriy Koval, Teresa Carper, Diana Mendez, and Christian King. The switch to remote psychotherapy treatment for veterans diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder has worked for some patients…
Tue Jul 28
Kyle Benkel ’20 traded his UCF football jersey for a white coat Monday — even though his new uniform, recognizing him as a physician-in-training, came in a plastic bag instead of being presented at a ceremony. Benkel was one of 120 new College of Medicine students who began training at a time drastically changed by COVID-19. There was…
Tue Jul 21
One of the biggest pharma companies in the world will use a nanoparticle technology developed at UCF in hopes of coming up with new blood cancer treatments. In May, a cell-based cancer immunotherapy that utilizes a nanoparticle developed at UCF to stimulate a patient’s natural cancer-killing cells, headed to Phase II clinical trial. College of Medicine…
Fri Jul 17
UCF Health recently welcomed Dr. Amita Kathuria to its physician team. Dr. Kathuria will provide specialty care in endocrinology to patients and also help train medical students at the College of Medicine. As an endocrinologist, she specializes in the treatment of conditions such as Type I and Type II diabetes, thyroid disorders, calcium abnormalities, adrenal…