With funding from the University of Florida, College of Public Health and Health Professions investigators have launched two projects that bring together interdisciplinary teams to address health challenges for residents of Florida and beyond.
The PHHP-led projects include an effort that seeks to improve the effectiveness of clinical trials designed to treat childhood neuromuscular diseases. A second initiative will develop strategies to improve the health of outdoor workers who are employed in Florida and the Southeast.
Both Strategic Funding Initiatives are supported by the $130 million in funding that UF received from the Florida Legislature last year. These funds have been directed toward various projects across campus that enhance interdisciplinary research and the student experience at UF.
Krista Vandenborne, Ph.D., a distinguished professor and chair of the college’s department of physical therapy, leads the AI Applications to Pediatric Neuromedicine project, which combines a massive dataset of sophisticated muscle imaging data with UF’s powerful artificial intelligence computing. Collaborators include researchers from the UF colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy.
“In our decades of muscular dystrophy research, we have amassed a rich dataset of imaging and other biomarkers that represent millions of pieces of information characterizing the disease,” Vandenborne said. “Now, with the capabilities of AI, we can more quickly and accurately extract answers to treatment questions that will accelerate new therapies and bring us closer to a cure.”
The Outdoor Worker Safety Project aims to develop sustainable solutions to health-related challenges, particularly for Florida’s outdoor workforce. Led by Catalina Lopez-Quintero, Ph.D., M.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor of epidemiology, the project brings together experts from PHHP, the colleges of Design Construction and Planning, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Medicine, as well as UF-IFAS and community partners.
“Our initial focus is on the health needs of agricultural crop farmworkers and construction workers in the greater Tampa area and surrounding rural regions,” Lopez-Quintero said. “Our project includes collecting important health and environmental data on factors such as heat and air pollution. The strategies we develop, in partnership with the community, could serve as a model for improving the health of outdoor worker communities throughout the state and across the Southeast.”
