Research for a better future 2022
We highlight a few significant research advances over the past year
Post-COVID mortality risk may be caused by high inflammation
A study sheds new light on the reason people who recover from a bout of severe COVID-19 are still at increased risk for death in the year after their recovery. The culprit may be high levels of inflammation during the initial illness. The UF team, led by Arch G. Mainous III, Ph.D., a professor in the department of health services research, management and policy, previously reported that patients who recovered from severe COVID-19 have more than twice the mortality risk within the year following their illness than people who have not contracted the virus. The new findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, are the first to use biomarkers to help explain the increased risk.
UF leads community-engaged research network for the All of Us Research Program
With funding from the National Institutes of Health, UF is leading the creation of a network that engages researchers from diverse backgrounds in All of Us, an NIH research program designed to advance precision medicine. Researchers can use All of Us data to study the impact that differences in lifestyle, environment and genetic makeup can have on individual health in order to improve health care for generations to come. The new project is directed by Linda B. Cottler, Ph.D., M.P.H., dean’s professor of epidemiology, and Milton “Mickey” Eder, Ph.D., an assistant professor of family medicine and community health at the University of Minnesota.
Boosting cognition for those with HIV
As people living with HIV age, about half will experience some sort of cognitive decline. With the support of a $6.6 million program project grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, researchers will evaluate three promising interventions that may improve cognitive function in those with HIV who consume alcohol. PHHP’s Robert Cook, M.D., M.P.H., a professor of epidemiology and medicine, and Ronald Cohen, Ph.D., a professor of clinical and health psychology, lead the multi-site study with investigators at University of Miami, Florida State University and the University of Louisville.
Physical activity, diet improve after bariatric surgery, but do not meet recommended levels
In a long-term study of adults who have undergone bariatric weight loss surgery, researchers led by Young-Rock Hong, Ph.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor of health services research, management and policy, found participants’ physical activity and diet quality improved after surgery, but fell short of federal physical activity guidelines. The findings, which appeared in JAMA Network Open, suggest patients may need continued support to help them maintain weight loss and other health benefits of the surgery.
Researchers use AI to predict new coronavirus variants
A world awash in waves of novel coronavirus variants is left to react to each new emergence. Imagine if we could get ahead of the curve and predict the next one. That’s the goal of a new project supported by a $3.7 million National Institutes of Health grant. Mattia Prosperi, Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology and PHHP’s associate dean for artificial intelligence and innovation, and Marco Salemi, Ph.D., a professor in the UF College of Medicine, lead the project that uses AI and machine learning to build an algorithm to spot new variants of concern.
Optimizing antibiotic use in settings with poor hygiene and sanitation
In developing countries, inappropriate antibiotic use is a persistent, difficult challenge. An international group of scientists, including PHHP’s Eric Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of environmental and global health and pediatrics, have a solution: an artificial intelligence-driven tool that uses an algorithm to estimate the probability a case of diarrhea is caused by a virus alone. Findings published in JAMA Pediatrics show the algorithm works. As the predicted probability of viral diarrhea increased, doctors participating in the study prescribed significantly fewer antibiotics to children.
Improving infectious disease modeling
A team led by Peihua Qiu, Ph.D., chair of the department of biostatistics, has received a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant to address current shortcomings in modeling outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases. The researchers will develop a rigorous outbreak surveillance and detection system that could help public health officials contain outbreaks at their source, avoiding widespread health and economic impacts.
Faculty receive NIH fellowships designed to improve diversity in AI research
Candice Adams-Mitchell, SLP.D., CCC-SLP, a clinical assistant professor of speech, language, and hearing sciences, and Shantrel Canidate, Ph.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor of epidemiology, are among the inaugural fellowship recipients of the National Institutes of Health’s Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity program. The AIM-AHEAD program was created to enhance the participation and representation of researchers and communities currently underrepresented in the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning models and to improve the capabilities of the technology in order to address health disparities and inequities.
9th in NIH research funding among schools of public health at public universities
$34.2M in new research awards in FY22
10 investigators who received grant funding exceeding $1M in FY22
8 federally funded training programs
$1B in research spending by UF faculty in 2022
