“While we are living longer, in general, we are not living healthier. So, it is important to find ways to help people maintain or improve their health while aging, (to) improve quality of life and diminish the impact of age-related chronic diseases.”

— Karyn Esser, Ph.D., a professor and chair of the Department of Physiology and Aging, discussing a study she led on how exercising at the same time daily can improve cardiovascular and lung health with Medical News Today, May 27

“The capability of AI to generate text (and images) will keep advancing, becoming increasingly integrated into the daily lives of both us and our students. In our professional lives, it will be capable of responding to the most imaginative essay prompts educators can design. By shifting the focus of assignments from pure content creation to critical engagement, analysis and editing, we will teach our students how to think creatively, collaborate and communicate their ideas effectively and responsibly.”

— Brian Harfe, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and the associate provost at UF, discussing how to embrace generative AI in coursework with The Hill, Jan. 25 

“My health information is my health information — until it comes to my genetic health information.”

— Lauren Solberg, J.D., M.T.S., an associate professor in the Department of Community Health & Family Medicine, discussing whether a person’s relatives should have access to genetic information uncovered during autopsies with MIT Technology Review, March 21

“Self-reflection and journaling are great ways for students to process what goes on during their medical education. The first academic challenge, the first failure, the first incredible success, the first patient experience — good or bad — can serve as a lesson learned for all of our students. When they write about it or spend time thinking about their experience, they often independently come up with ways they could have approached the situation differently or what they learned from it.”

— Shelley Collins, M.D., the senior associate dean for educational affairs and a professor and associate chair in the Department of Pediatrics, discussing ways medical students can find feedback and gauge how they are doing during medical school with Medscape, April 15

“Worldwide, detection dog teams are being integrated into efforts to deter, monitor and combat the presence of invasive species.”

— Ngaio Richards, Ph.D., a wildlife biologist in the college’s Distance Education in Wildlife Forensic Sciences & Conservation program, discussing the use of canines in tackling invasive species issues with Scientific American, March 14

“AI’s potential to detect and prevent disease is limitless and allows us to address public health in a manner that is proactive, not just reactive.”

— Marco Salemi, Ph.D., interim director of the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute and the Holloway Professor in Experimental Pathology in the Department of Pathology, Immunology & Laboratory Medicine, discussing how scientists are leveraging AI in global health with The Hill, March 1

“This is a disease that not only affects movement, but also mood and thinking and causes about 20 motor and non-motor symptoms. This all makes Parkinson’s disease one of the most complex diseases in medicine.”

— Michael Okun, M.D., a professor in the Department of Neurology and director of the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at UF Health, discussing causes, symptoms and treatments for Parkinson’s disease with Forbes, April 22

“It’s time to take serious precautions against a silent killer in our state. While locals may be preoccupied with the mosquito swarms that unfailingly arrive every summer, Chagas disease — a lethal and little-known parasitic infection — is plaguing the Panhandle and the northern and central regions of Florida.”

— Norman Beatty, M.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, discussing how to combat kissing bugs and Chagas disease with the Tampa Bay Times, April 16

“We have not always been considered a tech hub, but I think that’s changing.” 

— Azra Bihorac, M.D., the senior associate dean for research and a professor in the departments of Medicine, Surgery and Anesthesiology, discussing how leveraging HiPerGator creates an opportunity for UF to serve as a hub for education and training in AI  with Inside Higher Ed, Jan. 14

“A higher heel height in our runners appeared to be related with a higher injury risk and a challenge with appropriately sensing the ground to detect foot strike. Generally, the thicker and the softer the shoe, the greater the likelihood that your body might fall into the mechanics that we’re trying to avoid.”

— Heather Vincent, Ph.D., M.S., FACSM, an associate professor and the vice chair of research in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, as well as the director of UF Health Sports Performance Center, discussing a study she led that suggests minimalist shoes improve runners’ gait awareness with Yahoo Life, April 4

“What triggers this weapon or the deployment? We don’t know but we have to consider the environment. We know that some of these E. coli that produce colibactin are influenced by diet, inflammation and medication.”

— Christian Jobin, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Medicine, discussing colibactin’s potential role in the rise of colon cancer in young adults with NPR, April 25

“When we started early in my career, we were looking for genes that cause OCD. We thought back then that it would be one or two. Over time, we’ve come to realize that OCD is not a disease of a single gene or specific brain region, but rather it’s a disease of circuits and hundreds of genes, which together contribute to the development of the disorder.”

— Carol Mathews, M.D., chair of the Department of Psychiatry, discussing a study linking obsessive compulsive disorder with specific genes with Newsweek, May 14