The University of Central Florida brings innovation and solutions to some of society’s most pressing problems through research and the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge and avenues for progress.
Fri Jan 5
Researchers at UCF’s College of Medicine who developed a new wound-healing technology report that their innovation may also be a promising treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Frederick Carrick (left)and Kiminobu Sugaya (right) are developing wound healing technology that may help Parkinson’s disease patients. The technology developed by Frederick Carrick, professor of neurology at UCF’s College of Medicine, and…
Tue Jul 25
University of Central Florida engineering professor is leading a $3.3 million project funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to research floating offshore wind turbines. “My goal is to model floating offshore wind turbines and use the model to explore design improvements while concurrently investigating new ideas for control and sensing, a concept that…
Thu Jul 20
UCF sea turtle research was recently highlighted for the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with a visit from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) leadership. The visit showcased the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge and its successful sea turtle conservation efforts. Since the refuge’s establishment as…
Thu Jul 13
Whether it’s solving the world’s biggest problems or investigating the potential of novel discoveries, researchers at UCF are on the edge scientific breakthroughs that aim to make an impact. Through the Research in 60 Seconds series, student and faculty researchers condense their complex studies into bite-sized summaries so you can know how and why Knights plan…
Wed Jul 12
In 2021, more people died from opioid overdoses in the U.S. than any other year in history, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, a new University of Central Florida study recently published in Health Affairsshows that one of the most effective medications for treating opioid addiction is one of…
Wed Jun 28
Ateam of astrophysicists, including a UCF researcher, have discovered the first compelling evidence for low-frequency gravitational waves permeating the universe. The breakthrough was made by a collaboration of researchers, known as the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav), who used large radio telescopes, like the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, to observe the…
Wed Jun 28
June is Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month, which aims to raise the public’s understanding of the oftentimes debilitating condition. It’s estimated that about one in three people who experience severe trauma develop PTSD. Veterans, first responders, and survivors of abuse or serious accidents are more prone to PTSD than others, according to the National…
Wed Jun 28
Researchers from UCF’s Violence Against Women Cluster have partnered with UCF Student Health Services and UCF Victim Services to develop and implement a screening tool that can help identify intimate partner violence (IPV) among college students. The work can help health care workers implement strategies for prevention and response. Recent research indicates that a significant number of college students, particularly those…
Tue Jun 27
College of Medicine researcher is discovering that vaping creates chemical reactions in the mouth that can destroy good bacteria while increasing germs that cause cavities, gum disease and cellular changes that can lead to cancer. Despite laws that outlaw selling e-cigarettes to minors, 1 in 10 young people under 18 use vapes, according to the…
Fri Jun 23
In the BRaIN Lab at UCF, researchers are working to understand how the brain and body work together to control how humans move their bodies. Called the Biomechanics, Rehabilitation, and Interdisciplinary Neuroscience (BRaIN) Lab, students and faculty use electroencephalography (EEG) technology to measure the electrical activity of the brain during movement. But something even more is…
Thu Jun 22
UCF researcher is working on a new, NASA-funded project that will gather the most comprehensive collection of data on active centaurs and distantly-active Jupiter-family comets to date. The work will inform research into the origins of the solar system, as these bodies contain materials from the dawn of its formation. Centaurs and Jupiter-family comets are…
Tue Jun 20
With malaria becoming increasingly drug-resistant, a team of UCF researchers is looking to use cancer drugs to accelerate the discovery of new life-saving therapies for the disease. In a study funded by a 5-year $3.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, UCF molecular parasitologist Debopam Chakrabarti and cancer molecular biologist Ratna Chakrabarti are…
Thu Jun 15
New research recasts the narrative on the earliest presence of Homo sapiens in Southeast Asia, pushing back the presence of humans in that part of the world by at least 20,000 years and a human presence in the region for at least 56,000 years. The findings are based on analysis of bones excavated from deep…
Thu Jun 15
For those suffering from allergies, especially allergic asthma, springtime can be dreadful. Fortunately, UCF researcher Justine Tigno-Aranjuez is making breakthroughs that could one day make many common allergies a thing of the past. For years, research and therapies for allergic asthma have been focused largely on targeting the inflammatory cytokines in the body that react…
Wed Jun 14
The number of older adults in the U.S. population is growing, expecting to nearly double by 2060, and becoming more diverse with racial and ethnic minority populations projected to increase by 105% by 2040. “As a society, we’re not ready for that,” says Norma Conner, a professor in the University of Central Florida’s College of Nursing. “We…
Thu Jun 8
UCF research team has engineered tissue with human cells that mosquitoes love to bite and feed upon — with the goal of helping fight deadly diseases transmitted by the biting insects. A multidisciplinary team led by College of Medicine biomedical researcher Bradley Jay Willenberg with Mollie Jewett (UCF Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences) and Andrew…
Wed Jun 7
The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it many challenges, but a UCF researcher and her team are finding silver linings by using the experience to help correction agencies develop new guidelines for probation and parole supervision during viral pandemics. The work can help ensure people on probation and parole get the help they need while also…
Tue Jun 6
UCF is one of two American colleges participating in a European scientific exchange designed to bridge the gap between academic research and the development of tomorrow’s medical therapies. The Orbis (Open Research Biopharmaceutical Internships Support) project was created to address the scientific and economic challenges of bringing new drugs to market and was implemented under…
Tue Jun 6
One of Florida’s most precious resources is its water from the aquifer to the 8,436 miles of coastline, boarded by the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida, and the Atlantic Ocean. Water is also a major player in the state’s economy, contributing $56 billion to the economy and generating 900,000 jobs according to a…
Wed May 31
University of Central Florida researcher and multiple alumni are part of a team that has used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to identify water vapor in the atmosphere of an ultra-hot gas giant exoplanet and make a thermal map of its atmosphere. Using JWST’s Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph, the team found multiple small,…