Research in Action

Dark matter has never been directly observed; it has only been detected through its gravitational influence on visible matter. This project will test the feasibility of the mineral detection approach by studying interactions of crystals in rock samples that have been exposed to dark matter for billions of years.

Cold-water seaweeds such as kelp and nori would not thrive in Florida’s warm waters. So, the team will focus on subtropical species that do well here. Objectives include developing scalable seaweed farming methods, identifying the best local species for cultivation, exploring commercial uses for these seaweeds, estimating costs and profits of farming seaweed, and assessing how seaweed can help clean waterways.

I-Corps Hub South will train and mentor university professors, students, staff, and community partners to help them transform their scientific discoveries and ideas into commercial products that improve everyday lives. Suhrud Rajguru will lead UM’s effort. “We’re building a vibrant ecosystem that will drive breakthrough discoveries and bring impactful solutions to our communities.”  

I-Corps Hub South will train and mentor university professors, students, staff, and community partners to help them transform their scientific discoveries and ideas into commercial products that improve everyday lives. Suhrud Rajguru will lead UM’s effort. “We’re building a vibrant ecosystem that will drive breakthrough discoveries and bring impactful solutions to our communities.”  

I-Corps Hub South will train and mentor university professors, students, staff, and community partners to help them transform their scientific discoveries and ideas into commercial products that improve everyday lives. Suhrud Rajguru will lead UM’s effort. “We’re building a vibrant ecosystem that will drive breakthrough discoveries and bring impactful solutions to our communities.”  

I-Corps Hub South will train and mentor university professors, students, staff, and community partners to help them transform their scientific discoveries and ideas into commercial products that improve everyday lives. Suhrud Rajguru will lead UM’s effort. “We’re building a vibrant ecosystem that will drive breakthrough discoveries and bring impactful solutions to our communities.”  

“Think of HEARTS-D as a comprehensive how-to guide packed with the latest diabetes prevention, diagnosis and management tools,” says Chowdhury. “It has the potential to transform the primary health care system from the grass roots level up for diabetes care.” In this integrated approach, in addition to the local doctors and nurses at health care facilities, the team will also train community health workers.

The long-term goal is to create a blue energy industry cluster in Southeast Florida that covers all aspects of utility-scale ocean current energy projects, including turbine development, undersea cables, and marine services. “Southeast Florida is ideal for ocean current energy projects not only because of its favorable ocean current conditions but also due to several supportive socio-economic factors,” says scientist Gabriel Alsenas.

The sponge applies pressure to restrict the hemorrhage while its silver oxide component serves as an antibacterial agent. The sponge also results in gentler removal. “The adhesive property of this bandage is optimized so that when you take it out from the system, the smaller vessels don’t get ruptured.” SilFoam’s advantages over other methods include less leakage, room-temperature storage, and lower costs.

Now the team aims to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind COVID-induced tauopathy and identify potential drug targets to prevent or slow its progression. The goal is to help prepare for the danger that Long COVID could lead to a wave of early onset Alzheimer’s disease in 10 years.

“Hospitalizations and ICU stays, combined with antibiotic exposure, may lead to a further decline in microbiome diversity that leaves older adults at high risk not only for digestive issues but also for extra-intestinal pathologies such as neurodegenerative disorders through a dysregulation of the gut-brain axis,” says Nagpal.

“Hospitalizations and ICU stays, combined with antibiotic exposure, may lead to a further decline in microbiome diversity that leaves older adults at high risk not only for digestive issues but also for extra-intestinal pathologies such as neurodegenerative disorders through a dysregulation of the gut-brain axis,” says Nagpal.

The project will connect postdoctoral candidates with program mentors from fields such as engineering, medicine, biostatistics, psychology, nursing, and anthropology. The vision for the UF PAIN TEAM (Partnerships Across Interdisciplinary Networks: Training through Engineering, Epidemiology & Addiction Medicine) is to help develop a “new pain scientist” that can “think across traditional academic disciplines and boundaries,” says researcher Kyle Allen.

“We have mapped more of the surface of Mars, the sun, and the moon than we have our own ocean floor,” Chirayath says. “Yet the ocean is Earth’s largest ecosystem…, pivotal to our survival, and the most rapidly changing.” Active fluid lensing would fuse two of his previous inventions: passive fluid lensing and Multispectral Imaging, Detection, and Active Reflectance.

The group will develop a National Cybersecurity Workforce Development model based on best practices, industry input, employable competencies, and stackable credentials. The program will include approximately 50 NCAE-C designated institutions across the country and provide education and professional development to help learners launch or advance cybersecurity careers.

Healthy seagrass meadows are vital for healthy oceans. They serve as nursery habitats for fish, crustaceans, and shellfish and food for sea turtles, manatees, and other animals. Seagrasses also remove carbon from the air and store it. “The arrival of yet another invasive species to Florida is a reminder that all of our earth is interconnected,” says researcher James Fourqurean.

The fully online training programs will offer flexible, self-paced options with integrated assistive technologies and accessibility features. The goal is to recruit 240 youth and adults with disabilities to participate. Half will receive paid internships in leading tech companies in order to obtain real-world, hands-on experience.

The team hopes to achieve this improved stability and performance through diamagnetic levitation, or a “hovering” effect. Diamagnetic materials are materials that are repelled and stabilized by a magnetic field. In the future, they plan to explore the potential of their levitation technology in fields such as precision measurement systems, quantum engineering, and advanced communication technologies.

The team hopes to achieve this improved stability and performance through diamagnetic levitation, or a “hovering” effect. Diamagnetic materials are materials that are repelled and stabilized by a magnetic field. In the future, they plan to explore the potential of their levitation technology in fields such as precision measurement systems, quantum engineering, and advanced communication technologies.

A separate study found that playing the JSax (a small saxophone) can improve respiration of adults experiences breathing difficulties following COVID-19 and increase their executive functions. “Learning a challenging new activity such as learning a musical instrument can increase sensorimotor activity leading to strengthened neural pathways and enhanced cognition,” says Bugos. The team is working to distinguish which types of fine and gross motor music interventions have the most impact. 

The team will compile existing research about the spring and conduct new work to address gaps in current knowledge, says researcher Joel Trexler. “This is a tremendous opportunity…to understand what has been affecting the spring and how we can recommend changes that will assist environmental managers working to keep the water clean and clear.”

The new system uses constructed wetlands to break down chemicals on site to meet ground water standards, which is a low-energy solution for treating leachate. The system is expected to pay for itself in leachate-transport fees in five years. Although such systems have been built elsewhere, they are still uncommon, so Polk’s project could serve as a model for other Florida communities.

After learning about coral reefs, the children paint their favorite marine animals. UM students lead educational sessions and art activities, enriching the children’s understanding of marine science and providing training for the older students in science communication and community outreach. At the kickoff exhibition, the children’s artwork was displayed on upcycled coral nursery trees. 

The team will develop and disseminate breast cancer screening and tobacco smoking cessation information to at-risk women. Health and wellness workshops will be offered in rural communities, and breast cancer screenings will be made available through mobile mammogram vans. Long-term goals include a decrease in breast cancer morbidity and mortality, reduction in the proportion of women in the area that smoke, and improved life expectancy among breast cancer survivors. 

The team will develop and disseminate breast cancer screening and tobacco smoking cessation information to at-risk women. Health and wellness workshops will be offered in rural communities, and breast cancer screenings will be made available through mobile mammogram vans. Long-term goals include a decrease in breast cancer morbidity and mortality, reduction in the proportion of women in the area that smoke, and improved life expectancy among breast cancer survivors. 

The team will develop and disseminate breast cancer screening and tobacco smoking cessation information to at-risk women. Health and wellness workshops will be offered in rural communities, and breast cancer screenings will be made available through mobile mammogram vans. Long-term goals include a decrease in breast cancer morbidity and mortality, reduction in the proportion of women in the area that smoke, and improved life expectancy among breast cancer survivors. 

The team will develop and disseminate breast cancer screening and tobacco smoking cessation information to at-risk women. Health and wellness workshops will be offered in rural communities, and breast cancer screenings will be made available through mobile mammogram vans. Long-term goals include a decrease in breast cancer morbidity and mortality, reduction in the proportion of women in the area that smoke, and improved life expectancy among breast cancer survivors. 

Many also discovered new hobbies and deepened relationships with family and friends via video calls. Some drew on past experience of hardships like recessions and wars to cope. “Many… indicated that with age comes the ability to see the bigger picture. Using this perspective helped them remind themselves that difficult times are usually temporary and that it is possible to find joy and meaning even during hardship,” says researcher Patricia Liehr.

The NOD2 pathway has been linked to inflammatory conditions such as Crohn’s disease and early onset sarcoidosis (symptoms of which may include pediatric arthritis). “Our hope is that by understanding the molecular events important for the production of such lipid mediators, we can guide therapies in the future that either prevent inflammation or promote its resolution,” says Tigno-Aranjuez.

The project aims to reduce the responders’ mental health burden by offering a personalized, clinician-supported remote intervention they can access to help manage their symptoms. The focus is on PTSD, anxiety, depression, and sleep difficulties. The team is also advocating for federal funding to establish a designated clinical center that would offer physical and mental health care services in Florida.

The program includes efforts to introduce K-12 students to careers in railroading and provide college students with internships. It also includes training for existing railroad employees to encourage employee retention and upward mobility. “We are committed to promoting industry careers, developing and advancing the skillsets of current transportation workers and reaching and developing tomorrow’s industry professionals,” says project manager Lisa Staes.

Collaborator Ebrahim Ahmadisharaf will use machine learning to evaluate water quality in two estuaries connected to Lake Okeechobee. The research will distinguish the impact of natural and human-related effects on short-term and long-term water quality. The team will also investigate other effects of poor water quality, such as harm to wildlife and contribution to destructive algae blooms.

Ferl will chemically lock the plant’s genes with a preservative to pause the plants at various points in the launch – just before takeoff, at the start of zero gravity, at the end of zero gravity, and at landing. Researchers will then sequence the plants’ expressed genes and compare them to an on-Earth control experiment to figure out which were activated or deactivated during the flight.

However, they are now focusing on a new strategy: delivering mRNA to dendritic cells, a specific immune cell that is at the basis of driving anti-tumor immune responses. “The main goal of this proposal is to knock down immune checkpoint targets and see how targeting these could improve mRNA vaccination,” says Van der Jeught. “Our goal is to ensure that our work has a real chance to make it to the clinic and help patients.”

“Our tool, which we coined ‘EPICS,’ offers a novel lens to monitor marine ecosystems in real-time, allowing human intervention to be supplemented … to prevent biotic disasters,” says Zhu. The larger goal is to “advance and generalize AI-powered conservation study to manatees, sea turtles, whales, rays and other threatened or endangered marine species.”

“There have been attempts in the past to try to warm Mars using greenhouse gases, but they require many resources to be brought from Earth and there’s the issue of cost,” Ramirez says. “We were trying to find a solution that was more cost effective and also made it possible to live off the land per se using Martian materials.”

The U.S. sawfish population experienced dramatic declines in the 20th century due to incidental capture, trophy fishing, and habitat decline and was the first marine fish listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Since then, the species has shown signs of slow recovery, but remains at risk. In the first half of 2024, 53 sawfish deaths due to an unknown “spinning and whirling” disease were reported.

The Automated Lidar Scanning Topography (A-LiST) invention was integrated onto a rocket-powered lander for a flight that simulated a lunar landing. The flight was part of the NASA TechLeap Prize’s Nighttime Precision Landing Challenge. “Leveraging our expertise in software, systems engineering and integration, the IAE team intends to dramatically reduce costs of precision landing technology, enabling increased potential for rapid lunar landings,” says Peter Jorgensen.

The team hopes to develop a treatment with fewer side effects than chemotherapy or radiation therapy. They derived natural killer cells from human-induced pluripotent stem cells, which do not pose a risk of rejection by the immune system, unlike feeder cells from mice. They also enhanced the immune quality of the cells by using different proteins to stimulate them to have more killing power.

Blackburn is developing an AI-based model to process the resulting massive amounts of data. To train the model, Blackburn feeds it more than 20 years of data from satellite imagery showing how a landscape’s vegetation grows and dies back with each year’s changing seasons. The goal is to develop a way to determine the likelihood of an outbreak with two months’ notice.

The cylinders could be lowered to allow the ship to pass beneath bridges and navigate in and out of ports. On some shipping routes, the cylinders could cut fuel consumption by as much as 50 percent. The nonrotating cylinders are expected to be a significant upgrade in efficiency over the few wind-assisted propulsion units currently in use.

“The goal of the model is to provide optimized treatment plans, aid diagnosis and follow-up, and draw on patients’ data including health history, cancer histology, genomic and molecular profiling, prior treatment history, and radio-sensitivity index to improve patient outcomes,” says Muhammad. The project will address challenges related to data quality, complexity and integration of AI into clinical workflows.

Increasing demand for wireless data transfers “causes more tussle on the sharing of the underlying natural resource, which is the radio spectrum that supports these wireless transfers,” says Yuksel. The deep learning network will select the optimal waveform modifications and beam direction to manage the drones and nodes that provide wireless signals and modifications.

“Digital ordering modes foster a more automatic decision-making process with lower cognitive involvement,” says Biswas. “This is because digital tools encourage people to rely less on their cognitive resources and more on automated processes.” The study also found that consumers that are more proficient with technology may be less susceptible to this “Google Effect.”

It’s difficult to link damage to a structure to the wind field at the time of failure. During hurricanes, power often goes out, leaving weather stations not functioning, so not much information about what the wind field is doing near the ground is available. “That is a challenge we are working on right now… to better infer or predict what the wind field was, with regards to intensity, direction and turbulence, and then relate that to some of the observed damage that we see.”

The team has identified compound 368, which, when paired with Narcan, increased the latter’s efficacy. Also, compound 368 can be used with lower doses of Narcan to reverse respiratory depression without inducing withdrawal symptoms. “Determining the optimal Narcan dosage has been a persistent challenge,” McLaughlin said. “Combining a smaller amount of Narcan with our compound may circumvent the danger of patients undergoing opioid withdrawal.”

The team will study how lead exposure affects neurons, brain circuits and networks, and behavior. They will also assess the effectiveness of the flavonoid 7,8-dihydroxyflavone in mitigating the effects of lead exposure. The natural chemical found in foods (and also available as a supplement) has previously demonstrated the ability to reverse lead-induced damage in animals.

The team found rates of both types of digital self-harm increased from 2016 to 2021. They also found that students that experienced cyberbullying were more likely to have digitally self-harmed compared to students that had not been cyberbullied, and that female and non-heterosexual youth were more likely to engage in digital self-harm compared to male and heterosexual youth.

One goal was to identify immune cells released by the endometrium into the uterine fluid during the period of optimal conditions for embryo transfer. “If you are outside of that window of opportunity, then the implantation will never happen,” Strbo says. The team found significant differences in the presence and level of immune cells. They plan to correlate their immunologic findings at the time of IVF with pregnancy outcomes to determine if there is a role for uterine fluid analysis in infertility medicine.

The team compiled a huge database of animal DNA sequences showing the presence of various types of magnetic bacteria to help understand the environmental and ecological roles of such bacteria and identify potential host animals. They are now testing their hypotheses in sea turtles because they are “kind of a model of animal navigation.”

Cisplatin and similar chemo drugs damage the cochlea in the inner ear, leading to hearing loss. The risk increases with higher doses. Despite that, hearing assessments for chemotherapy patients are not routine, says Sanchez. “This research gives oncologists the information they need to explore alternative treatment plans that could reduce the long-term side effects, such as altering the dosages and timing of the cisplatin in the treatment,” adds Frisina.

“We were surprised at how well this worked,” Steinbock says. “Who would think that from a photo, you can tell the difference between sodium chloride and potassium chloride?” The research has many potential applications, such as analyzing samples collected by a rover during planetary exploration, testing materials for lab safety, or low-cost blood analysis.

“We were surprised at how well this worked,” Steinbock says. “Who would think that from a photo, you can tell the difference between sodium chloride and potassium chloride?” The research has many potential applications, such as analyzing samples collected by a rover during planetary exploration, testing materials for lab safety, or low-cost blood analysis.

The team brought numerous colonies of Caribbean elkhorn to a south Florida spawning facility in hopes they will spawn in late summer and can then be crossbred with Florida coral. If successful, they will seek permits to plant the new babies on Florida’s reef. “We can't just wait for that solution to be ready and then think ... What do we do to save these ecosystems?” says Baker. “We've got to work now, to have something left to save by the time we fix this bigger problem of climate change.”

“Fungi play a significant role in agriculture by naturally managing insect pest populations in various crop production systems, as they work compatibly with natural enemies,” says Avery. The researcher introduced South Florida growers to fungi to manage pest ambrosia beetles in more than 3,000 acres of avocado. The growers used less chemicals when fungi were part of their management strategy. 

“In addition to their socioeconomic importance, the queen conch plays a critical ecological role in seagrass beds,” says Davis. “Aquaculture, along with conservation of breeding populations and fishery management, are ways we can help ensure longevity of this important species.” eConch uses visuals from the Naguabo Aquaculture Center in Puerto Rico, where Davis has been assisting with stock enhancement since 2019. 

“It may be that a combination of these approaches, tailored to the diverse needs of different crops, is the best way to provide sustainable and productive agriculture,” says Palmer. “Until now, there have been no direct comparison studies between hydroponic and regolith-based systems for any crop targeted for space applications.” The team hypothesizes that fast-growing crops like microgreens will be better suited for hydroponic systems, while slow-growing crops like tomatoes may fare better in regolith.

The team also developed a 3D-printed whistle that produces a sound frequency proportional to the air flow a patient is generating. A smartphone app measures the pitch of the sound and the patient’s breathing capacity, providing the same information as much more expensive devices now on the market. Eddins’ has also developed a device and treatment method to help people with abnormal sensitivity to sound and another targeting age-related auditory deficits. “Rather than just put a hearing aid on, what we would like to do is change the way the brain reacts and responds and processes.”

“We are the only team that we know of globally that can successfully enable anatomy-based classification from a single photo to identify mosquitoes,” says Chellappan. The new funding will allow the team to refine their algorithms and add additional species for automated ide

“The BRADs Program represents an important expansion of the EPA’s commitment to minimizing displacement and gentrification resulting from brownfields reuse, and more generally thinking about the relationships between brownfields and environmental justice,” says Kinahan. The team will conduct research on gentrification issues and provide guidance and technical assistance on anti-displacement practices.

“We have so many unique and amazing ocean habitats ... but they are facing tremendous challenges,” Heithaus said. “This Hope Spot designation helps shine a light on the tremendous work that our scientists and others are doing along with the community and government agencies to keep our oceans healthy.” FIU has long led research on the bay, and FIU scientists provide essential data to water and land managers, monitor plant and animal species on coastlines, reefs, and islands, and much more.

However, access is still uneven. “Unfortunately, while we know this technology could have great benefits in terms of an individual’s overall quality of life, there still is a lot of variability in coverage by states and by insurance companies,” says Cejas. “And there are issues related to early intervention and equal access, especially when we talk about diverse populations.”

“We intuitively know that landscapes have been … transformed by humans, but we don’t know exactly how these changes have affected the distribution of different lineages of plants and animals,” says researcher Nico Cellinese. Bellflowers are perfect “tracers” because they diversified throughout the Mediterranean before the arrival of humans, tend to have narrow distributions, and do not have direct agricultural applications.

An advantage of using C. elegans as a research model is that its embryos can develop outside the uterus and in the absence of maternal care. “Our results were not influenced by possible amphetamine-induced epigenetic or behavioral modifications passed through maternal care, but they are a direct consequence of biological alterations,” of the embryo, says Carvelli.

The Contactless Magnetic Joint Actuator addresses three NASA focus areas: dust mitigation with dust tolerant mechanisms and bearings; new sensors and controls for precision landing, surface navigation, hazard detection and avoidance to support spacecraft systems; and precision pointing subsystems for instruments to address the need for autonomous systems and robotics.

The gold will be coated in an MOF, which will help it react to the sunlight, resulting in oxidation of the microcystins, removing them from the water. “Clean drinking water isn’t just a necessity, it’s a fundamental right,” says Lee. “By leveraging the innovative nanotechnology for water treatment, we’re not only removing toxins but also safeguarding the health and well-being of our communities, ensuring a brighter, healthier future for all.”

“Even though we’re focusing on a specific part of the brain involved in hearing, the information we gather can help us understand serious developmental disorders that happen when the brain doesn’t develop properly early on,” says Spirou. The team is capturing the journey of neurons in mice from birth to their establishment of synaptic connections and using VR to examine the neurons in the images and analyze the synapses.

He also works with biologist Roberto Vincis and mathematicians Tom Needham and Martin Bauer to investigate how taste is processed in the brain and with biologist Douglas Storace and mathematician Bhargav Karamched on the neural basis of the sense of smell. “The success of most research projects depends on the team behind it; my collaborators have all been part of the ecosystem that is my work,” says Bertram.

The device may also help advance bone engineering research — including bone reconstruction to replace chunks of bone lost to cancer, infections, or injury — as well as cartilage research and growing new cartilage tissue. Prasad plans to use this device as part of an ongoing bone reconstruction project in which a team will design personalized 3D implants for children with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer.

They found that phytoplankton, which can live as much as 150 meters below the ocean surface, and the carbon isotope ratios in their cells vary between the top layer of the ocean, where sunlight reaches and the deeper, low-light areas of the ocean. The variations in carbon isotope ratios were as large as those in the geologic record that have been attributed to major global carbon cycle events. 

The results will help scientists make data-based recommendations on how to manage coyotes and their habitats. “Knowing where potential prey, like deer and turkey, live, and knowing where and when coyotes are hunting and searching for prey allows us to better predict potential predation events and conflict,” says researcher Hance Ellington.

“We can attach various drugs to the nanoparticles and deliver them to a specific site,” says Seal. “The medication on its own already has its own applications, so when you combine them, their role in intervention becomes quite significant.” The RNA-targeting therapy inhibited tumor growth in mice by 40-50%. It may also have fewer side effects than the current therapy of craniospinal irradiation.

“Employing this advanced technology ... enabled us to collect extensive data from Hurricane Ian’s aftermath and analyze large-scale datasets rather quickly,” says researcher Tiffany Roberts Briggs. “We found no correlation between the ground elevation or year built for the extent of damages,” emphasizing instead the role of extreme inundation and other factors contributing to vulnerability.

Passaglia believes there is an association between circadian rhythm and eye pressure. The lab has also created a portable pump to inject fluid into the eye to set intraocular pressure to any desired level. Passaglia hopes to use the device to determine what causes cell death in the eye that typically leads to glaucoma.

Although it had been thought that luminous secretions were the most common type of bioluminescence, the team found that more species that rely on photophores. Shrimp may use bioluminescence for camouflage, defense, or to communicate with other shrimp. “Bioluminescence is the universal language of light in the deep sea,” says Bracken-Grissom.

Electrolytes are a crucial battery component, facilitating movement of ions between electrodes and enabling the battery to be charged or to supply power. The FSU team discovered a strategy using an electrolyte made of lithium chloride and gallium fluoride that can promote ion transport in solid electrolytes, leading to faster charging and longer battery life.

Schwann cells are a type of nervous system cell that wrap around nerve fibers, or axons, to create the myelin sheath. “We are now looking at how to overcome limitations associated with Schwann cell transplantation while improving the cells’ ability to survive, integrate and repair the injured spinal cord, which is why our partnership with Gel4Med came to life,” says Pearse.

FIU’s Jeremy Kiszka has taken on that challenge. While surveying about 5,500km across the northern Seychelles, Kiszka and collaborators had a surprising five sightings of up to 10 individual blue whales. They also discovered that the animals’ presence in the area was highly seasonal, primarily from December to April. “We still know so little about blue whales. But the data collected in Seychelles gives us hope and encourages us to do more.”

When printing with its special eco-friendly liquids, which may include metal or ceramic particles, a non-solvent vapor is released into the printing area. This vapor makes the liquid part of the ink solidify, leaving behind solid material. The process will allow manufacturers to print parts that include different kinds of substances at different locations and varied levels of porousness. This could be useful for manufacturing objects such as porous medical implants or lightweight aerospace products.

The software obscures identifying elements such as faces or clothing by adding perturbations to the RGB (color) pixels in the video feed, so human eyes are unable to recognize them. The new technology must analyze the data quickly and not require a lot of computing power, since it is designed for drones and public surveillance cameras that are not dependent on an outside server.

They had a mixed reaction to prospects for the integration of artificial intelligence into healthcare. A majority expressed reservations, and 38% questioned AI’s potential benefits for nursing. While some recognized AI's potential, many were concerned about its lack of empathy, data security risks, and other matters. “Ultimately, current and future nurses will find a synergistic balance between technology, innovation, patient trust and the human connection,” says FAU’s Safiya George.   

But the team found a way to go back to an earlier point in the parasite’s development and disrupt it in a way that makes it less able to tolerate artemisinin. “The parasite development is very rhythmic... A lot of genes are expressed just in time for when they’re needed, and then they’re gone. So if they are made at the wrong time, they will not have the same function.”

“Our study takes the harmful greenhouse gas CO2 and makes it into a useful raw material to produce degradable polymers or plastics,” says Hoyong Chung. “We are not only reducing CO2 emissions, but we are producing a sustainable polymer product using the CO2.” The material will degrade fully without producing microplastics and toxic substances and can be recycled without losing its original properties. It could be used in an array of low-cost products and, eventually, in biomedical and energy storage applications.

“Across Phoenix and Las Vegas, … arid climates with limited rainfall, water-saving fixture installation and grey water harvesting systems are pivotal,” they write. “In Des Moines and Houston, where rainfall is more abundant but still subject to seasonal variability, optimizing water usage through efficient fixture installation and grey water recycling becomes paramount.” The team will next research water-saving measures for larger residential buildings and commercial structures, says lead author Esber Andiroglu.

“This parasite is able to survive many decades inside of a human cell and hijack its machinery,” says Beatty. But when diagnosed early, T. cruzi infections can be treated with antiparasitic medications. The team has established a screening program in clinics and hospitals targeting people with high risk of infection. Beatty’s research suggests that using two rapid blood tests simultaneously could be a quick and easy way to diagnose the disease.

Personalized cancer treatment is about getting rid of the guesswork by matching “the right drug for the right person at the right time,” says Azzam. One of the most common precision medicine tools is genomics, and Azzam’s approach includes a genomics component. But its “functional” ability to see how living cancer cells derived from a patient tumor sample respond in real time to extensive drug testing expands the horizon of treatment options.

The Antheater is a mobile, high-volume machine that injects 150°F water directly into fire ant mounds without disturbing other species nearby. It has potential for controlling other ground nesting insects as well. The Antheater has been proven effective in defense of threatened and endangered wildlife affected by fire ants, including beach nesting sea turtles and Florida grasshopper sparrows. The system also has potential in urban, suburban, and agricultural settings.

The team will use remotely operated vehicles to survey Sargassum sites for fauna, quantify the size of the Sargassum mats, and assess the changing structure of the beach. They will begin with a small trial removal with dip nets to test the viability of harvesting Sargassum without harming marine animals and other fauna. “After collection, we will scale up harvesting this seaweed using larger nets,” says researcher Brian Lapointe. The team will also try to identify a change point—a density or distance from shore where Sargassum no longer provides functional habitat.

Florida Tech computer scientist Debasis Mitra is developing a machine learning algorithm to help in the decoding efforts. “I work on medical imaging and some of the challenges are similar,” says Mitra. Using two-staged artificial neural networks, the automated script recognition system has achieved 88% success in detecting graphemes. The team hopes to eventually develop a system that allows archaeologists to take a smartphone photo of a text and route it directly into the database.

“Most of the work that I've been doing inside glaciers has been with an eye towards understanding how they're going to be impacted by future climate change scenarios,” says Gulley. “For example, the way that caves melt glaciers in the Himalayas from the inside out was a process that nobody even knew was happening until we started exploring and mapping in that area. It turns out that the process is really important for setting the pace at how quickly those glaciers are melting.”

MagLab experts will use the facility’s 21-tesla Fourier-Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance mass spectrometry system to analyze the mixture, with the goal of improving efficiency and increasing production capacity. "It's sort of like having a world class taste tester of your cookie recipes. They're tasting it and telling you exactly ‘that's too much vanilla', or ‘that's too much this', and you can change the recipe to perfect the product," says FSU’s Ryan Rodgers.

After travelling to Mars aboard a rocket, MAGGIE would fly more than 100 miles on a full battery charge, landing to conduct atmospheric and geophysical experiments. The Ingenuity helicopter covered about 11 miles during its three years of operation. MAGGIE would cover nearly 10,000 miles over the course of a Martian year (687 days). MAGGIE is still in the pre-prototype stage. “But our goal is to make history—the first fixed-wing aircraft to fly on the red planet,” says Zha.

Most sensors function in temperatures up to 125ºC. So new solutions will be needed for extreme environments such as the surface of other planets. The team’s platform, Integrated Harsh-Environment Analog Transducers, harnesses team members’ experience in aerodynamic sensor design, thin-film piezoelectric transducer development, and high-temperature physics. “It’s an organic thing, where faculty come together … with very complementary technical abilities. No one person could do this.”

Free photo editors, tax document assistants, and other web apps that access the user’s media can encrypt files and then demand ransom in exchange for safe return of the files. "Antivirus software systems allow these attacks because it is normal for them to give browsers access to files,” says researcher Selcuk Uluagac. “They don’t detect that anything is wrong.”

Each part (enantiomer) can have different effects in the body, so pharmaceutical developers must often separate the enantiomers or synthesize only the desired enantiomer to ensure optimal therapeutic outcomes and minimize adverse effects. The new platform can quantify the purity of chiral enantiomers with a high degree of sensitivity and save money due to its nanoimprinting fabrication and lower concentrations and fewer molecules needed for accurate detection, says inventor Debashis Chanda.

They recorded participants walking straight and curved paths and compared gait markers between participants with MCI and a group of healthy older adults. Curved walking outperformed straight walking in detecting MCI. “The MCI group exhibited a markedly lower average step length and speed during curve walking…,” says researcher Behnaz Ghoraani. “The MCI group showed diminished symmetry and regularity in both step and stride lengths for curved walking.” 

They recorded participants walking straight and curved paths and compared gait markers between participants with MCI and a group of healthy older adults. Curved walking outperformed straight walking in detecting MCI. “The MCI group exhibited a markedly lower average step length and speed during curve walking…,” says researcher Behnaz Ghoraani. “The MCI group showed diminished symmetry and regularity in both step and stride lengths for curved walking.” 

“It is helping us paint a more complete picture of the human trafficking situation in the greater Tampa Bay region,” says researcher Shelly Wagers about the BRIGHT Network. “Federal support will now allow us to do the same throughout Florida.” Nearly $1 million will go toward development and operation of a statewide human trafficking data repository.

PREDISS takes advantage of sensors, cameras, and wireless technology already in use and intervenes by providing collision warning signals and, potentially, modifying traffic signals to prevent an incident. “We hope to validate all aspects of the technology using FDOT’s data for stage 1B,” says researcher Olugbenga Anubi, and to explore ways to mature and scale the technology.

PREDISS takes advantage of sensors, cameras, and wireless technology already in use and intervenes by providing collision warning signals and, potentially, modifying traffic signals to prevent an incident. “We hope to validate all aspects of the technology using FDOT’s data for stage 1B,” says researcher Olugbenga Anubi, and to explore ways to mature and scale the technology.

The study found that while older adults were in some cases better at discerning financial scams than younger ones, older adults with cognitive impairment were more likely to engage in both scams and legitimate scenarios. “If we could identify individuals at risk ... before they are scammed, we could protect them, their families and their assets,” says researcher James Galvin. The team is now collecting new data to test the questionnaire against measures of cognitive and functional ability and biological markers of brain health.

The team had previously studied antibody functionality in breast milk after mothers received the initial COVID vaccines. “When babies are born, they have an immature immune system, so they rely heavily on mom’s immune system,” says researcher Joseph Larkin. But antibodies wane, so the team wanted to know if moms can provide prolonged protection to their baby by getting the booster.

The AR system fills in the details of the scenario. “If you bend it, for example, the smart moulage know[s] it’s flexing and the digital imagery will match what you’re feeling,” says researcher Gregory Welch. Learners may even feel a pulse and liquid “blood” from a reservoir inside the wound. When the learner applies pressure to stop the bleeding, they see the results in the patient’s improved vital signs.

“There was no difference in abundance across the study period …, which suggests that the populations of both species appear stable in Southeast Florida,” says biologist Stephen Kajiura. The researchers also found that the abundances of the two species were not correlated with sea surface temperature, daily chlorophyll-a concentration (an indicator of phytoplankton abundance), or day length.

Researchers are gauging abnormal driving such as getting lost, ignoring traffic signals and signs, and near-collision events, as well as number of trips, miles on the highway, and driving in severe weather. “These travel-pattern-related driver behavior indices are known to be indicative of the changes in older drivers’ cognition and physical functions since they tend to incorporate deliberate avoidance strategies to compensate for age-related deficits,” says Ruth Tappen of FAU’s College of Nursing.

In the U.S., Black women are more than three times as likely as white women to die from pregnancy-related causes. “This project will allow us to look at Miami-Dade County community-based care models to measure what it is about community-based models that leads to better outcomes and the lessons that this kind of model in Miami can provide nationally,” says researcher Okezi Otovo.

 

O’Leary tried a machine that converted the data into sound, but was unhappy with the results. “I was thinking how sound could make my spreadsheets come alive.” So she reached out to USF’s School of Music, which led to the creation of an interdisciplinary group of faculty and students creating music about the environment. The piece was performed by the USF Symphonic Band & Wind Ensemble in 2024.

The team has submitted a patent for a technology that will allow researchers to measure what is happening in the prefrontal cortex directly, using TMS in conjunction with functional near infrared spectroscopy. “Over 20 years ago, we looked at adjusting the dose parameters related to age based on MRI scans,” says researcher Frank “Andrew” Kozel. “Based on our prior success, we think that if we enhance the personalization for each individual, we will improve clinical outcomes.”

Arruda knew the goggles needed to be enhanced for people that are color deficient. “Not everyone has all four types of visual receptors…. So we are attempting to tailor the physical properties of the light to maximize the response of someone’s visual receptors so we can get an appropriate response from the brain.” The team includes Muhammad Harunur Rashid, Mohamed Khabou, and Aaron Wade.

The team synthesized a new derivative of a compound called Motuporamine C that is extracted from a type of sea sponge. It turned out to be twice as effective as the original at blocking cell migration in a pancreatic cancer cell line they tested. “Who knows if Mother Nature made the perfect antimetastatic compound right out of the box? As medicinal chemists, we like to tinker with those molecular messages and see if we can make them better,” says Phanstiel.

“While we have done great in reducing the racial inequity in terms of the Black-white poverty gap...our position [relative to other communities] in terms of income inequality worsened.” On the upside, Tampa Bay is one of the most affordable regions to go to college. “This is great because it helps in the production of a high-caliber workforce which in turn helps in creating and attracting high paying jobs.”

They developed a mathematical model dubbed Inferred Attractiveness that proposes a new idea about how females choose mates, says DuVal. “We suggest females learn from each other’s mate choices but use the context of other males to decide what makes a chosen male attractive. Because observing females aren’t mind-readers, they can make ‘mistakes’ in inferring what traits are important, and this generates some interesting patterns over time.”

“Once the data are unblinded ..., we will be able to determine if those who received the TPS demonstrate any thinking and memory changes as well as any lasting changes in their functional abilities in the home, such as ability to cook meals, manage medications and so forth,” says Gullett.

In the game, patients make decisions for an avatar to prevent nausea and vomiting and decide what to do when it does occur. In a small preliminary study, “Those who played the game were proactive and didn’t have as much nausea as they could have, while the control group waited until they started to feel sick before they did anything,” says Loerzel. A new study will include 500 participants.

The researchers floated mats of inexpensive polyethylene foam in outdoor test tanks that mirrored water conditions of nearby polluted waterways. They transplanted flower seedlings, including giant marigolds, into the mats. The team found that flowers grown on the floating platforms extracted 52% more phosphorus and 36% more nitrogen than the natural nitrogen cycle removes from untreated water.

Seeking an alternative, the team targeted a peptide called tertiapin, isolated from European honeybee venom. However, tertiapin breaks down too quickly in the body to be effective. So they attached the peptide to the stem of an antibody, to allow the drug to remain in the bloodstream longer. “Now we have a formulation that does not need to be administered daily– it could be every week or every month,” says researcher Sami Noujaim.  

The team will analyze thousands of ship tracks captured by satellites. They will also use computer models to extend their findings, investigating what sort of clouds would form if ships emitted salt particles instead of sulfur or carbon. Spraying salt water into the atmosphere to seed clouds, a proposal called marine cloud brightening, is a potential tool for lowering global temperatures.

To learn more, NASA’s Space Biology Program has funded an experiment that involves growing the bacteria in enclosed canisters on the International Space Station to better understand how microgravity affects their disease-spreading properties. Rice’s experiment was launched in early 2024 aboard a SpaceX rocket. “We hope that these results will help guide strategies to maintain astronaut health during long-term space flight missions,” says Rice.

Copik is studying if removing a molecular “brake” cancer cells use to avoid being killed can enhance NK cell anti-tumor power. The approach is showing strong results in killing neuroblastoma cell lines, the most common cancer in infants. NK cell therapy comes with very few side effects, and NK cells can be donated by a patient’s family, friends, or even strangers without the new cells attacking the recipient’s healthy cells.

The key innovation lies in combining different biological elements to identify biomolecules that interact with specific metal surfaces under certain environmental conditions. This approach not only seeks to stop corrosion but also offers the ability to tailor the biomolecules for specific environments. Another benefit is that biobased products result in lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to petroleum-based counterparts.

In addition to political polling, PORL works with clients from across the public, nonprofit, and private sectors to gauge public sentiment and awareness around topics ranging from economic impact to public safety. In 2023, PORL conducted 31 large polling projects with more than 14,150 surveys completed.

The team used high-speed cameras to map the movements of hundreds of insects. It turns out that, in flight, the insects kept their backs to the artificial light, just as they keep their backs to the sky to know which way is up and control their flight. This otherwise helpful behavior traps insects that try to orient to the “imposter sky” created by the artificial light.

Looking into the future, we can expect cybercrime to keep happening and changing shape,” says researcher Gita Javidi. “Realistically, hackers will get smarter and more targeted.” The lab uses advanced technology, including chatbots that engage the hacker community directly, as well as neural networks and artificial intelligence tools, to better understand the current threat landscape.

“Air can get trapped in the IV bags ... or when administered by syringe the oil used in delivering the product can mix with the proteins in the therapeutic and alter its effectiveness,” says researcher Hadi Mohammadigoushki. The structure of the monoclonal antibodies causes this vulnerability. Once that process is better understood, steps can be taken to mitigate the risks.

“Identifying local reefs and oceanic regions with high recovery rates is crucial to protecting reefs and ensuring their future. And identifying the environmental drivers behind recovery rates is vital to predicting changes in coral reefs,” says Rob van Woesik. “Our research incentivizes protection and conservation locally, in tandem with reducing greenhouse gases globally, as the oceans continue to warm.”

In a new study, the researchers used artificial intelligence to identify the combinations of genetic variants that best predicted outcomes in patients that received standard chemotherapy and G.O. They also developed a genetic score to predict patient outcomes with the targeted drug treatment.

The mobile unit will be based on a trailer chassis and thus easily deployed in neighborhoods without power or service access. It will offer appliances and services for cooling off, charging devices, accessing the internet, and more. The key is the hub’s self-sustaining power, principally supplied via solar panels and supplemented by a conventional generator.

“Forams have been abundant in the ocean for the last 500 million years, and their limestone shells record many things about the chemistry of the ocean,” says researcher Sam Purkis. “We are using forams to tell us whether the reefs have suffered high temperatures over the centuries, how the reefs have been stressed or impacted by humans, and also how reefs have been overgrown by algae.”

The video explains what types of statements are (and are not) appropriate for forensic experts to make, based on U.S. Department of Justice guidelines. It also explains that juries are required to consider, but not necessarily to accept, expert testimony. Participants that watched the video before a mock trial were more likely to appropriately differentiate between low- and high-quality forensic testimony.

Results suggest the shark’s vertebral anatomy and mineralized microstructure meet the demands of both fast swimming and tail-whipping. The shark’s vertebral column is fortified along its length and may work like a catapult, allowing the tail to launch over the head. “We think that anterior body vertebrae stabilize the thresher shark’s main body, while vertebrae closer to the tail support overhead tail-whips,” says researcher Marianne Porter.

The five-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled study will be led by Harry van Loveren, who says the neurosurgery research group has been conducting TBI-focused research for nearly 20 years. They have already conducted numerous smaller studies of the effectiveness of HBOT in patients that suffer from TBI.  

The team’s research predicts that by 2100, average age in coastal communities could rise by 10 years. “Think about who are more unlikely to move and who will be left behind in these communities; it tends to be the oldest,” Hauer said. “Because migration is most likely to occur in more youthful populations, areas experiencing accelerated out-migration could face accelerated population aging.”

The field of nuclear forensics focuses on tracking the movement of rogue nuclear material around the world and providing law enforcement with evidence needed to prosecute perpetrators. Project leader Jim Baciak says the diversity of the team’s expertise—in analytical chemistry, radiochemistry, environmental sciences, geochemistry, nuclear engineering, physics, statistical analyses, machine learning, and optical sciences—will allow it to attack the problem from multiple angles.

One benefit of the ceramic far-field infrared blanket for wound care is that it does not require a power supply, says Sugaya. So it is well suited for use in combat situations and applications in remote areas. The team is conducting ongoing research on its use in treating Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other conditions.

When nerve cells die, as in ALS, neurofilament is released into the spinal fluid and blood. The amount of neurofilament in the blood reflects the speed with which neurons are dying. Researchers can use this information to guide strategies and improve the efficiency with which they work to develop new treatments. The research team included UM’s Joanne Wuu and researchers from Oxford University, Biogen, and other organizations.

“Growing challenges of food safety, biosecurity and agricultural productivity, or emergence of new pathogens such as citrus greening devastation, plant invasion, climate change and depletion of soil fertility, all have a microbiome undertone,” says researcher Nwadiuto Esiobu. “In virtually every field of science, microbiomes are emerging as key priority themes.”

“Growing challenges of food safety, biosecurity and agricultural productivity, or emergence of new pathogens such as citrus greening devastation, plant invasion, climate change and depletion of soil fertility, all have a microbiome undertone,” says researcher Nwadiuto Esiobu. “In virtually every field of science, microbiomes are emerging as key priority themes.”

Neuroinflammation causes infected cells hiding in the brain to activate, start the replication process, and spread the virus back into the body. The team tested various concentrations of THC and CBD on hundreds of HIV-infected microglia cells. CBD-treated cells reduced the numbers of inflammatory molecules and kept the infected cells from activating.

Assessing the effectiveness of drugs and gene therapies in clinical trials can be difficult when based on measures of participants’ physical functioning, especially with young children. In contrast, muscle imaging provides objective evidence of muscle changes. “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,” says Vandenborne.

Chen’s group plans to incorporate advanced semiconductor technologies and artificial intelligence into a millimeter-wave radio system. This system widens bandwidth for each user, but also increases energy consumption. To address this, they will develop advanced millimeter-wave power amplification circuits using highly efficient wide-bandgap semiconductors. The team will also collaborate on AI to allow for autonomous control of advanced power amplification circuits for faster processing.

Researchers used state-of-the-art climate models and “offline” radiative flux calculations to analyze the effect increasing CO2 has on the upper part of the atmostphere, known as the stratosphere, which cools with increasing CO2 concentrations. They found that this stratosphere cooling causes subsequent increases in CO2 to have a larger heat-trapping effect than previous increases.

“With the power of AI, our interdisciplinary team is going to explore how we can equip these systems with autonomous resilience," says researcher M. Hadi Amini. In addition to supporting research, the grant will support the establishment of the Advanced Education and Research for Machine Learning-driven Critical Infrastructure Resilience (ADMIRE) Center.

The team replaced some of pumps directly and then expanded their impact by training local technicians to do so themselves. They also worked with local health practitioners to measure blood lead levels of children that drank water from the pumps. The combined efforts helped decrease the blood lead levels of 87 percent of the children tested during the study.

About 60 percent of the patients followed up with their primary care provider. Of those, 72 percent received a fall assessment and 56 percent adopted a fall prevention strategy. This reflects an urgent need to promote fall assessment and prevention strategies, says researcher Richard Shih. “When referred to physical therapy, patients may be more likely to adopt fall prevention interventions and home safety modifications that have been shown to reduce recurrent fall, hospitalization and mortality.”

The team is developing lightweight, compact inverters for solar power plants. The inverters help regulate the flow of electricity from power plants to the electric grid. The sub-modules are small enough that a team of two people can set them up without heavy equipment, allowing solar power plants to quickly restore electricity in the wake of hurricanes and other disruptions.

They identified outdated and invisible markings by comparing the locations of school zones with other geometric features, such as crosswalks. The procedure eliminates the need for manual inventory data entry, prevents errors, and speeds up results. The goal was to improve the process of planning, designing, and maintaining relevant roadways, which will pay dividends for children and drivers, said RIDER’s Eren Ozguven.

They identified outdated and invisible markings by comparing the locations of school zones with other geometric features, such as crosswalks. The procedure eliminates the need for manual inventory data entry, prevents errors, and speeds up results. The goal was to improve the process of planning, designing, and maintaining relevant roadways, which will pay dividends for children and drivers, said RIDER’s Eren Ozguven.

They identified outdated and invisible markings by comparing the locations of school zones with other geometric features, such as crosswalks. The procedure eliminates the need for manual inventory data entry, prevents errors, and speeds up results. The goal was to improve the process of planning, designing, and maintaining relevant roadways, which will pay dividends for children and drivers, said RIDER’s Eren Ozguven.

Previous MagLab research has focused on fire impacts in Colorado and the African Congo. However, in Maui’s unique landscape, with its volcanic soil, the impacts could be quite different, notes chemist Amy McKenna. Researchers will use the lab’s 21 Tesla Ion Cyclotron Resonance system, the world’s most powerful mass spectrometer, to measure toxins, carcinogens, and other compounds to gauge the environmental impacts and implications for recovery.

They’re also hoping to increase awareness of the disease’s symptoms so practitioners will be able to recognize and treat it early. “Good clues for leprosy include a patch of skin that is lighter in color or numb to the touch,” says Kartik Cherabuddi of the UF College of Medicine. “Fortunately, someone with leprosy can be cured …. an early diagnosis can lead to a straightforward recovery.”

The team found that the river’s tributaries continue to be badly polluted, and wetlands continue to be lost due to development. Salinity has increased, and the water column is contaminated by pharmaceuticals such as acetaminophen and hydrocodone. On the upside, most fish and invertebrates are not in danger of overfishing, and protected species are faring well.

The new inventions put technologies such as computer vision, augmented reality, virtual reality, and AI to work instead. For example, the Collective Intelligence Framework blends human-centric AI with mixed reality to fast-track inspections and keep costs down while ensuring accuracy. Another invention, the Generative Adversarial Network, uses AI to actually predict damage in advance.

“We found that white matter worsening was more likely for individuals in lower-greenspace/lower-income neighborhoods, says Besser.” Residential neighborhoods become increasingly important as individuals move into retirement, reduce their driving, and face new medical issues. “Greenspaces can provide quiet moments for older adults to refresh their brains, reduce chronic stress, and increase physical activity.”

“Restoration is key because when water can once again move north to south, more clean water can fill up the Everglades and the aquifer, allowing fresh water to push back the salt water,” explains Crowl. Restoration would safeguard Floridians, attract tourists, protect the home of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, and ensure animals and plants found only in the Everglades would still have a place to live.

“The corals housed at KML came from nurseries where they were growing out in the ocean. Unfortunately, many of the corals that could not be relocated to land-based facilities and remained in the ocean died from the hot waters,” said KML’s director, Cynthia Lewis. Ultimately, the corals will be reattached to grow on natural reefs using epoxy, cement, zip ties, and nails.

“Cybersecurity is very multidisciplinary,” says El-Sheikh. “While there are some jobs that require coding or technical experience, there are also jobs that focus on cyber policy or cyber management, or, cyber forensics and intelligence analysis ... You really can't beat the mission, because you're helping ... your organization and your community, and ... you're also helping our country with national security.”

“This invention will increase advanced underwater imaging techniques and equip underwater unmanned vehicles with the capability of identifying and extracting or neutralizing threatening underwater objects or devices,” said Ouyang. The compact imaging device could also assist divers during deep diving exercises, inspections of the underside of vessels, and underwater robotic operations.

“If you want to deliver a rescue or support package in an area not easily accessible, such as a warzone, you may have to do so at fast speed, so you don’t get shot down,” Kumar said. “Manned or unmanned, whatever you are dropping should not hit the parent aircraft during flight.” The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory is funding the study through FSU.

Given this reality, Zaremski and co-authors of an editorial in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine have called for a reassessment of risk factors for these elbow injuries. They suspect that the lack of improvement in injury rates may be due in part to the focus on increased pitching velocity in the past decade, which puts increased torque and stress on young arms.

Kirtman received grants from NSF and NOAA to collaborate with researchers across the country to study the impacts of the El Nino climate pattern. “When you watch your weather forecast on TV...“they’re going to not only talk about how hot and humid and chances of rain, they’re going to start talking about, ‘What’s the flood forecast for this coming week?’ This is the kind of research that will inform that.”

LSST is expected to discover many dwarf galaxies that are much smaller than our own but are orbiting the Milky Way and thus are excellent targets to search for dark matter. They will assess if the new dwarf galaxies likely to be discovered by LSST will be able to confirm if dark matter is responsible for the surplus of gamma rays emanating from the center of the Milky Way.

“Cancer cells ... need to survive, grow and get nutrients,” says researcher Annette Khaled. “If we can target those basic needs of cancer cells, then we have a therapy that not only works for breast cancer but works for many other cancers.” UCF’s breast cancer research team is relatively small, but they have been awarded more than $2 million in grants for their work.

Dozens of UF faculty participate in FSI, along with partners from other Florida universities, so it is well-positioned to boost Florida’s research and development in this sector. FSI will also launch an education program to serve universities, state and career colleges, and private industry. “Our vision is to double the state’s semiconductor workforce within a few years,” said Mark Tehranipoor, chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Kerr’s team is focusing on how proteins called inflammasomes are transported from the brain to the gut through extracellular vesicles—small particles released into bodily fluids, such as blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and stool. In people with Alzheimer’s disease, inflammasome activation in the brain and gut increases. Once inflammasome pathways are activated, they can trigger a form of cell death in both brain and gut.

The folding antenna designs take inspiration from origami. “Satellites in space must deploy large antennas to communicate down to earth. Once an antenna is in space, there’s plenty of space for it. That’s not the problem,” Georgakopoulos notes. “It’s how do you get it there?” His next goal is to radically upgrade the frequencies on the antennas with the addition of ultra-wideband systems.

“We’re calling them inert zombies due to their lack of life,” says USF’s Sarina Ergas. “If you look at the difference between a stormwater pond in a wealthy neighborhood and one in a low-income neighborhood – it’s day and night in terms of how they benefit the community.” USF is collaborating with UF’s Mary Lusk, the local community development corporation, and others on the project.

“We’re calling them inert zombies due to their lack of life,” says USF’s Sarina Ergas. “If you look at the difference between a stormwater pond in a wealthy neighborhood and one in a low-income neighborhood – it’s day and night in terms of how they benefit the community.” USF is collaborating with UF’s Mary Lusk, the local community development corporation, and others on the project.

Such systems included the telephone, postal system—even railroad timetables. “Detection is an information behavior,” Kazmer said. “You are seeking information, figuring out what to keep and what to get rid of, organizing what you keep and then drawing a conclusion. In the case of these stories, the detectives use information to determine who committed the crime and why.”

The team analyzed data from two studies that together included more than 30,000 people. Although there was evidence of decline in feelings of purpose in the time leading up to cognitive impairment, the decrease sped up after diagnosis. “It is critically important for individuals to maintain their purpose in life to prevent or at least delay this apathy, which can reduce quality of life,” added Sutin.

“Most hypersonic engines are structurally fixed due to the challenging flight environment,” says Ahmed. “Our research will show the performance gains from an adaptable engine configuration that would self-optimize its surfaces to maximize performance power, thrust and travel distance which is the first of its kind for hypersonic engines.”

Johns has been involved for years in two projects that deploy arrays of deep-ocean moorings for continual monitoring of the AMOC. “These observational programs are intended to provide benchmarks for global climate models…. The observations also help to understand the physics of the natural variations in the AMOC so that they can be separated from the long-term AMOC variations associated with climate change.”

“My research in eating disorders has expanded my understanding of the human condition by probing the biological, psychological, and social factors that influence behaviors critical to survival and yet so malleable to social context,” Keel said. “I most enjoy the process of discovery and then sharing new findings with others, including writing articles and books and giving plenary and keynote addresses

Fossez’s work examines specific theories on the composition and variations in stability of atomic nuclei that make up the matter of the world around us. “The question is: which combinations of protons and neutrons gives you a nucleus that does not break apart? That’s what my work aims to investigate so we can better understand the universe’s total molecular design,” says Fossez.

“The green turtle was heavily exploited for its meat, and local populations were likely small decades before the ESA went into effect,” said turtle researcher Erin Seney. “The nest numbers we now see on the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge and elsewhere highlight the importance of conservation efforts that have occurred both in the water and on land.”

“For years we have been developing the infrastructure capacity to support reef restoration efforts that enable KML to temporarily house corals during emergencies such as this,” said Cynthia Lewis, director of KML. “Typically, water temperatures at this time of year are in the mid 80s, but we are already recording temperatures of 90 degrees. It is very alarming.”

“We believe that with clear-eyed perspectives, people will have a greater chance of producing meaningful policy and other progress on the environmental challenges facing us, rather than continued stalemate and gridlock,” stated Polsky. “The time for blaming and shaming in climate discussions is over. The bipartisan path is the only way forward. Today this path is more accessible for climate than ever before.”

“Current antimalarials don’t completely stop transmission, meaning patients can continue to infect mosquitoes before they recover,” said lead author Masafumi Yoshinaga.  “Developing new potent multi-stage drugs is imperative to ensure malaria elimination and eradication. We found AST is a promising lead compound for developing a new class of potent multi-stage antimalarials.”

“By integrating research on different levels spanning basic principles by which the brain operates, different large-scale networks, and psychological processes and behavior, we are translating basic science in the lab to treatment at the clinic,” Li said. “By isolating specific neural mechanisms and inventing non-invasive techniques to target these mechanisms, we are developing new treatments for these debilitating and hard-to-treat conditions.”

“Our design is significantly simpler than most designs as all the actuators and sensors are combined into a single molding process,” said Engeberg. “Importantly, although this study’s application was for playing a song, the approach could be applied to myriad tasks of daily life and the device could facilitate intricate rehabilitation programs customized for each patient.”

According to the World Health Organization, these infections are widespread, with the flu causing 3 to 5 million severe cases of illnesses and up to 650,000 deaths every year.  “Interventions that can improve the outcome of serious viral infection without interfering with effective anti-viral immune responses are urgently needed,” said Strutt.

“We found that the more time people spent in space, the larger their ventricles became,” said Rachael Seidler, a researcher in physiology and kinesiology at the University of Florida. “Many astronauts travel to space more than one time, and our study shows it takes about three years between flights for the ventricles to fully recover.”

“We’d thought the glacier retreated back to where it is now but it went back well beyond that, which indicates the ice is a lot more dynamic than we realized. Now we need to incorporate this new understanding into models so we can better predict what may happen in the future as the planet warms,” said Rosenheim.

Saeed and team have been working on developing a seizure prediction model using data analytics and machine learning. The research uses continuous EEG recordings and has been conducted through a clinical trial at Baptist Health South Florida to provide patients with epilepsy an early warning system to prevent seizures and improve quality of life.

Traylor-Knowles and team are studying the mechanisms of coral stress responses to identify key factors responsible for coral survival. Using genetic sequencing to identify genes responsible for stress responses, they are studying the interactions between corals and their symbiotic algae. They hope their findings can help develop strategies to protect and restore coral reefs.

The algorithm compresses data and shares it across very large machines, high-performance supercomputers. It was created to help scientists that use mass spectrometry to study proteomics (i.e., proteins in a cell, tissue, or organism). While scientists are already able to produce vaccines quickly, with this algorithm that process could be even more streamlined.

Reeves and team used DNA analysis to identify the mosquito. This species is typically found in Central America/Northern South America, contributing to transmission of West Nile and St. Louis encephalitis viruses, among others. Every year, Florida faces the dangers of mosquito-transmitted diseases, and research can help determine if this mosquito will exacerbate those challenges.

The team developed a technique for creating porous, bioabsorbable materials that mimic the structure of bone. The screws, pins, rods, and other medical implants are then coated with a compound called hydroxyapatite, which encourages bone growth. The implants are customized to fit a patient's specific needs and provide better bone healing.

Parsons is using the underwater classroom to conduct research on marine life and ecosystems, including fish behavior and migration patterns. Understanding the way fish forage for food is essential to preserving their habitats, explains Parsons. They aim to develop strategies for managing marine resources, promoting sustainable practices, and helping protect oceanic ecosystems.

Solid-state batteries store energy and release it to power devices, using solid electrodes/a solid electrolyte, allowing for a higher-than-average energy density. But this causes supply chain difficulties because each battery relies on only one element, such as lithium. Ouyang and his team have discovered ways to combine more common elements, possibly changing the electric vehicle or aircraft industries.  

“Since typical red tide cell sizes are well within the instrument resolution range, all bloom phases can be monitored and tracked, including initial bloom development,” said Nayak. The system, which is being tested off the Florida coast, uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to predict and alert authorities about red tide events, helping to prevent health risks and economic losses.

Kercheval's research aims to address the challenge of estimating population parameters from high-dimensional data by reducing sampling errors using a combination of machine learning and statistics. Kercheval uses a method called "randomized low-rank approximation" to analyze the data and shrink the sampling error, leading to more accurate estimations of population parameters.

“Without diversity in the workforce, minority communities are negatively impacted because research areas – such as health disparities among Latino, Native American and Black communities – are underrepresented,” Johnson said. “An example of this is the opioid epidemic, where the lack of African American researchers was directly reflected in how little research was available to help the African American community.”

“Impairment in an individual’s cognition and behavior stems, at least partly, from impairments in the ability of brain regions to communicate with each other effectively. Since networks vary across people, it’s important to look at how Parkinson’s affects brain networks in individual people,” said Gratton. 

Hou’s work focuses on supporting aging-in-community, rather than in nursing homes and other institutions. “Aging-in-community is a global issue,” said Hou. Her mixed-method research integrates quantitative data analysis with qualitative (narrative) stories of research participants.

Ma has built upon previous research by using both organic and inorganic materials to create a new class of scintillators. This allows for higher resolution and contrast in images. “Using a hybrid material made up of both organic and inorganic components means each component can be used for the part of the process where it is most effective,” says Ma

“Sea turtle sex, fitness, and hatchling success is influenced by temperature,” said Mariana Fuentes, a researcher at the FSU Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science.  “Understanding how changes to the environment could affect the temperature of nesting grounds is important for monitoring the future of these keystone species.”

“Other parasites similar to this one are known to cause disease in other organisms but have not been implicated in urchin disease outbreaks, in the Caribbean or elsewhere,” said Behringer. “It appears to act in a micropredation mechanism where it swarms the urchins and starts multiplying and rapidly eating away at them.”

The device uses transfluthrin, an organic insecticide considered safe for both humans and animals. “Our device eliminates the need for applying topical repellents and for insecticides that are sprayed across an open area, which can contaminate surrounding plants or bodies of water and have a negative impact on beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies,” said Batich. 

“This study shows that there are some unusual reefs that may be able to survive for several decades as a result of their ability to shuffle symbionts,” said Andrew Baker, a researcher at the Rosenstiel School. “Coral reefs are incredibly valuable natural assets, providing coastal protection and fisheries benefits, and supporting many local communities.”

UWF’s Guillermo Francia is part of the Transatlantic Working Group on IoT/CPS Cybersecurity Research. Their connected-vehicle security research highlights the need for better encryption/authentication methods to keep sensitive data secure and ensure that unauthorized access to these systems does not put drivers at risk.

The clinical trial is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Insightec’s ExAblate Model 4000 Type 2.0 System as a tool for disrupting the blood-brain barrier in probable Alzheimer’s patients.  “The treatment … represents a significant advancement for potential drug delivery and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders,” said Fields.

At 260 actions per second, the physical and digital buildings adjust to one another’s movements to remain in sync, creating a realistic simulation. This method, known as real-time cyber-physical modeling, links a building model at FIU’s Wall of Wind with a model on a computer to create realistic simulations of how skyscrapers face powerful winds.

The team is using highly realistic simulation scenarios to foster inter- and intra- disciplinary care within public health nursing to medically underserved communities. “When social workers, nurses and other healthcare professionals work together, they can combine their knowledge to focus on the patient care from various perspectives

“Understanding the science of salt concentrations and formation of evaporites will bring new insight into identifying where water may have existed,” said Dangi. “Water is a critical source NASA researches and explores to better understand other planets’ surface geology and the potential future of lunar and Martian exploration.” The project brings together the team’s expertise in ultrasonic levitation, spectroscopy, and astrochemistry.

Bhide’s team had mice drink water containing aspartame at 15% of the FDA-approved daily human intake for 12 weeks. Prominent anxiety-like behavior appeared in the mice across multiple generations. The researchers are planning an additional publication on how aspartame affected memory. Future research will identify the molecular mechanisms that influence the transmission of aspartame’s effect across generations.

The FINDER (Fireball Early Warning Network with Electro-optic Recognition) system uses a network of algorithms and high-speed cameras to capture and analyze lightning strikes in real-time. The system is being tested in Florida and may aid in quickly detecting wildfires and alerting first responders.

Stroke is the number one cause of long-term disability around the world.  Regaining independent, safe walking is the most common rehabilitation goal of stroke survivors, which is exactly what Balasubramanian’s research focuses on. Their research continues to make a profound impact on the lives of stroke survivors and their families.

"Parents of children with developmental delay and behavioral problems face many barriers as they seek care, including transportation obstacles, language barriers, financial challenges, shortages of mental health clinicians and fear of stigma," Bagner said. "We hope this study shows telehealth can be an effective strategy to address many of these barriers."

“Valuable chemical reactions convert cheap and abundant starting materials (reactants) into more valuable products. Life in the universe and civilization on our planet depend on this simple fact,” Alabugin said. Everything around us was formed via chemical reactions. These reactions sustain our existence and fuel our progress. Our life and death are the consequences of chemical reactions.”

The team examined U.S. deaths between 2000-2019 using SaTScan/ArcGIS software to analyze geographic information and create cluster/heatmaps. Nine significant clusters were found: six were suicide and opioids, and three were opioids only. Based on this information, interventions could be implemented to attempt to reduce elevated rates of suicides in areas of concern.

Heather Agazzi of USF Health has adapted the program for parents of elementary school age children. With DOCS K-5, each cohort of adults attends sessions focusing on everyday hassles and behavior issues. “We adopted the program to be more relevant for the types of social, emotional and behavioral challenges that children age five to age 11 present in everyday life,” says Agazzi.

Agoulnik and their team discovered a new drug compound that can reverse osteoporosis in mice by increasing bone density. The researchers designed and synthesized the drug, named SR9009, and tested it on mice with induced osteoporosis. The compound increased bone formation and density and could potentially be used to treat osteoporosis in humans. It may be the first step toward cheaper, easy-to-take treatments for osteoporosis and other diseases associated with bone loss.

Those who uploaded photos had negative thoughts about weight and shape and higher anxiety levels. They also wanted to exercise more and eat less. “Just posting a photo, whether or not it’s edited, caused increases in body concerns,” says Keel. “But editing photos before posting caused an even greater increase in those concerns.”

“Almost one in five is a very large number,” says Scheffers. “What’s surprising and important about this work is that, for the first time, we know the sheer magnitude of the global wildlife trade.” He also found that traded species are significantly more likely to be endangered than nontraded ones.

Romano developed NeuroEyeCoach, a visual rehabilitation therapy that improved vision in over 80 percent of stroke and traumatic brain injury patients in the study. Of those patients, 79 percent said they had less disability after doing NeuroEyeCoach. “Up to recently, there was very little treatment available to restore vision loss in this population,” says Romano.

“Our simulation approach is helping us to understand how the human mind goes from one specific trust-state to another one in a sequence of events as we gauge various levels of trust and distrust in real-time,” says Nojoumian. The results show that aggressive autonomous driving diminishes trust, while defensive autonomous driving builds trust.

Having fewer birds to perform these tasks will affect “how well our natural world can support life, including our own,” says biologist John Albert Uy at the University of Miami. Habitat loss and wider use of pesticides may be primarily affecting bird populations since insects are their main food source.

Hohlmann says scientists have not directly detected dark matter particles yet. “The only effect that we know of is the gravitational effect…but it doesn’t emit light…, so it’s hard to observe.” To better detect the particles, Hohlmann and Yumiceva are upgrading a compact muon solenoid detector to make it operate at higher intensities.

"It’s important to think about the human factors of evacuation, especially in Florida, where many…evacuees may be older adults,” says psychologist Walter Boot, also of FSU. The researchers developed models to help emergency managers account for vulnerable populations’ needs. “Thinking about their particular needs can allow for less stressful evacuations, and that ultimately saves lives,” says Ozguven.

In the undersea lab, D’Agostino worked with NASA for a 10-day study called NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO. He collected data on various physiological factors, such as pressure-related changes in sleep, skin microbiomes, metabolic markers, strength, and decision-making. “The NASA NEEMO mission was the most intense, amazing experience of my life,” D’Agostino says.

“Enteroviruses are…very common…, sometimes causing fever, sore throat, rash or nausea. A lot of children get them, but not everybody that gets the virus will get T1D,” said Vehik. Additionally, Vehik found contracting adenovirus C, a virus causing respiratory infections, early in life correlates with a lower risk of developing autoimmunity.

The algorithm continuously monitors Parkinson’s patients wearing sensors and measures their tremors while they freely move around in their natural environments. This method can measure the full spectrum of tremor changes over time. “The method… will provide clinicians with vital information to effectively manage and treat their patients with this disorder,” adds FAU’s Stella Batalama.

Jails often do not have the tools to effectively treat inmates’ trauma symptoms. FSU’s Carrie Pettus-Davis, Stephen Tripodi, and Tanya Renn are testing a flexible, short-term trauma intervention called “Skills Training on Affective and Interpersonal Regulation,” or STAIRS, that addresses the needs of these individuals. STAIRS encourages group-based work during and after incarceration.

This may make ketamine a tool for treating depression. Kabbaj’s research is a step toward learning more about ketamine and its interactions with alcohol, the number one drug abused by depressed patients. Ketamine did not affect high-alcohol female rats. Clinical studies for men and for women are needed before ketamine is used as a therapy for alcoholism in either sex.

“Children can’t learn what they don’t hear. So if their parents or other adults speak to them with a very simple, limited vocabulary, that is all that they can learn,” Hoff said. “Parents who are more proficient in English use a richer vocabulary and produce longer sentences, even when they are talking to a toddler.” The findings have broad implications for immigrant

The bistrategic group, those that are feared and loved, were the most popular and ranked above average on physical and relational aggression, as well as prosocial behavior. They were seen by peers as disruptive and angry, but were otherwise well adjusted. “Bistrategic adolescents are noteworthy…for the way they balance getting their way with getting along,” said FAU psychologist Brett Laursen.”

The device generates a backward motion in the patient’s good leg, which exaggerates the existing step. That uncomfortable movement strengthens their stroke-impacted leg, leading to a more symmetrical gait after shoe removal. “Unlike many of the existing gait rehabilitation devices, this device is passive, portable, wearable and does not require any external energy,” says Reed.

The foam was originally developed by Zeng to create a more comfortable prosthetic sock for amputees, but Li and Zeng thought it could also be used to build 3D brain scaffolds on which stem cells can grow. “As we get more and more data exploring this, it looks more likely that it works,” Li says.

The foam was originally developed by Zeng to create a more comfortable prosthetic sock for amputees, but Li and Zeng thought it could also be used to build 3D brain scaffolds on which stem cells can grow. “As we get more and more data exploring this, it looks more likely that it works,” Li says.

Findings show that the echo chamber, a metaphorical environment where people only pay attention to information supporting their own beliefs and opinions, plays a major role in spreading misinformation. “While there are actual benefits to our innate trusting behavior, such as reinforcing our social bonds, these instincts can be easily turned against us,” Anagnostopoulos says.

This discovery is groundbreaking for marine biotechnology. “Sponge cell lines could be used as models to understand the role of secondary metabolites in sponges, to use this information to develop new models for drug discovery, and to scale-up production of sponge-derived bioactive compounds for novel medicines,” says Pomponi.

Coral reefs protect the coastlines from storms. Their destruction could gravely harm Miami’s environmental and tourist economies. Baker and UM’s dive team are removing healthy colonies from the Dry Tortugas to bring to UM’s Key Biscayne lab temporarily for protection and to use as seed stock for breeding the next generation of coral.

FAU’s Adam Schaefer partnered with the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds to research ways to optimize rehabilitation efforts for African penguins. Results showed the need for marine protected areas and fisheries management. The researchers recommend developing methods to lessen the effects of malnutrition and treat parasites.

These findings build upon Yang’s previous research demonstrating ways to reduce the amount of the expensive platinum needed in metal-air batteries. Metal-air batteries are safer and last longer than the fire-prone lithium metal batteries that are often used in electric cars. 

“We found one in five patients admitted to the hospital for a psychiatric condition end up being readmitted within 30 days and almost half require inpatient care within six months,” says Winterstein. Bussing notes that comprehensive discharge planning to ensure that patients have medical and social support can make a big difference in readmission rates.

Breast milk transfers beneficial gut bacteria from mothers to infants, and NICU babies often consume more formula than breast milk. Two years later, Groer followed up with 24 of the children she observed previously and found that their microbiomes remarkably improved. She attributes that improvement to eating regular diets and being outside of hospital settings.

Settlers built their homes atop the mounds, ignoring the many uses those mounds had for indigenous people, such as protection from raiding and flooding, as well as social and ideological benefits. “These places deserve our attention, our efforts, and preservation, just as much as we would strive to preserve colonial Williamsburg or Jamestown,” Mehta says.

The study was the first on this matter to analyze data collected at the village-level rather than the national level. It was also one of the most diverse investigations of the non-random medicinal plants selection theory, because it includes analysis by gender, age, and exposure to outside influences from working with ecotourism projects. The study’s results strengthen the non-random medicinal selection theory.

“This histone mutation seems to cause a collaboration to make a more aggressive, angrier group of cancer cells,” Licht says. “This suggests that this mutation may amplify the effects of other cancer mutations.” He also discovered that the mutation was most commonly found in tumors with high rates of mutations, such as cervical cancer.

The whales are heavily affected by human impacts like vessel strikes, energy exploration and development, oil spills, fishing gear entanglement, and ocean noise. “The goal of the study is to generate new information that would lead to changes in conservation and management,” says marine biologist Jeremy Kiszka.

Dysregulated anger results in negative emotions, verbal and physical aggression, and hostility. Children with dysregulated anger are at greater risk of becoming bullies and bully-victims—bullies that are victimized by other bullies. “Parents’ belittling and critical interactions with adolescents thwart their ability to maintain positive relationships with peers,” says Laursen.

“This is a solution that should be beneficial for many people. For instance, managers of wastewater treatment plants could potentially earn revenue by selling the biosolids instead of paying disposal fees for [them] to be dumped [in] landfills,” says Chen. “Farmers would also benefit from cheap organic fertilizers that could replace the chemical synthetic ones...”

“This is a solution that should be beneficial for many people. For instance, managers of wastewater treatment plants could potentially earn revenue by selling the biosolids instead of paying disposal fees for [them] to be dumped [in] landfills,” says Chen. “Farmers would also benefit from cheap organic fertilizers that could replace the chemical synthetic ones...”

Everham and former graduate student Gianna Diaz studied how hurricanes and roads compound to affect mangroves. As sea level rises, mangroves can migrate landward to keep from being inundated, but roads through mangrove forests might prove fatal for some forests. “Forests that are cut off by roads have nowhere to go,” Diaz said. “When the water gets too high, they’re going to die off.”

Ormsbee found that overnight belly fat metabolism and whole-body fat burn were not affected whether the women consumed protein during the day or before bed. Ormsbee and the team hope this research and future follow-up studies will help discredit myths about women’s nighttime eating.

Currently, oil production facilities burn off gases such as methane, a process that is inefficient and leads to the release of excess, unburned methane into the atmosphere, as well as additional carbon dioxide. The USF-developed technique could allow oil producers to better manage their impact on the environment and produce valuable compounds like ethylene glycol and glycolic acid – molecules used in the production of plastics, polymers, and much more.

“These results… [suggest] that the use of low-intensity behavioral intervention as a first-line treatment for children with ADHD reduces or eliminates the need for medication,” says Erika Coles, clinical director at FIU’s Center for Children and Families. Additionally, the researchers found no significant cost difference between treating ADHD with behavioral intervention versus medication.

“Our results provide compelling evidence that nitrogen loading from the Florida Keys and greater Everglades ecosystem caused by humans… is the primary driver of coral reef degradation at Looe Key Sanctuary Preservation Area,” says Lapointe. Nitrogen loading to the coast is expected to increase by 19 percent globally, suggesting a need for urgent management actions.

“A lot of people don’t know what exists in their community,” Felke says. The map details where the closest open food pantries are to users in real-time. It also collects user data to help decisionmakers strategically place new food pantries where they are needed most. Felke hopes to expand the map across southwest Florida.

“Research [has demonstrated] that near-infrared light applied to neurons and other cells can increase…the energy metabolism of the cells,” Woods said. “Many different brain-based disorders have a major component of brain metabolism or brain energy being altered. Being able to improve brain energy could have [a] wide-spanning impact on [several] behavioral and brain functions.”

The team estimated that 5,707 Zika cases went unreported in Cuba in 2017. To get that number, they combined travel surveillance and sequence analyses of Zika virus genomes from infected travelers. “This approach could be used to track other future outbreaks,” says Isern. Why did the Cuban outbreak lag a year behind? The answer might be Cuba’s aggressive mosquito-control program.

Liao says that the fish hair cells “translate sound and movement from the environment and send signals to the fish’s brain, telling it when and where to swim. The cells are identical to the ones we have in our ears that help us hear. But, unlike fish, we can’t regenerate them.”

FSU meteorologist Zhaohua Wu researched historical weather data in highly populated northern regions and found that extreme weather fluctuations during autumn months kick-started the flu. These findings implied that “the lapsed human immune system in winter caused by rapidly changing weather makes a person more susceptible to flu virus,” Wu says.

However, Travis and his colleagues found that something else is driving the rapid evolution of upstream guppies—living in an overcrowded world. They evolved to have fewer offspring since there is less food available due to a higher population. The team tracked every aspect of the life of more than 40,000 guppies over a decade, noting how fast they matured and how large they grew.

Dinglasan tried a different approach--repurposing antimalarial drugs to directly treat mosquito vectors. They laced sugar traps with a known antimalarial, which treated infected mosquitos by disrupting the malaria parasite’s reproductive process. Those mosquitos can no longer infect humans. “If we remove that humancentric lens and think more broadly about treating all mosquitoes, we could potentially get rid of these parasites,” he says.

“It is important that we develop green aviation for the future because our highway infrastructure just won’t be able to keep pace with population growth,” Zha says. The United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization predicts aviation emissions could triple by 2050. Zha’s green aviation technology produces lower greenhouse gas emissions to help combat global warming.

The new drug, called DT2216, helps cells break down BCL-XL instead of merely suppressing it. The risk of bleeding is lower when taking DT2216 than it is with other anticancer drugs because it is less toxic to blood platelets. “These findings support the potential of DT2216 to be developed as a first-in-class BCL-XL-targeting antitumor agent,” says Zheng.

Schaefer obtained pathogens isolated from bottlenose dolphins and found that the overall resistance to at least one antibiotic for these pathogenic isolates was 88.2 percent. “These isolates from dolphins [likely] originated from a source where antibiotics are regularly used, potentially entering the marine environment through human activities or discharges from terrestrial sources,” says Schaefer.

Jones found that, among 1,503 diverse breast cancer patients, less than half completed hereditary breast and ovarian cancer genetic testing, but that percentage increased over time. Also, the results of those genetic tests differed depending on race and ethnicity. “Our study…highlights the need to increase genetic testing completion among racially/ethnically diverse populations,” says Jones.  

"If medical professionals, whether consciously or unconsciously, believe that African Americans feel less pain than others, clinicians may be less inclined to alleviate the pain of their African American patients," says Losin. She believes that the increased pain sensitivity in African Americans may be due to stressful experiences, such as discrimination and mistrust of doctors.

“Generally, the difference in mortality between the affected and unaffected groups dissipated over time,” says Quast. “However, we found that this trend did not apply to those in the affected group who moved to a different county after the hurricanes.” Those who moved sustained higher mortality rates for reasons that still need to be determined.

“In my experience in southeast Florida…, the private sector leaders are, regardless of party affiliation, not only actively concerned about challenges linked with our changing climate but also committed to meaningful actions,” Polsky said. “Now through this survey, we may be seeing similar support statewide for climate solutions grounded in innovation and entrepreneurship.”

FSU biologist Kathryn Jones studied a sister bacterium—Liberacter cresens—that also has difficulties growing in labs. Findings showed that the bacteria themselves were changing the pH level of the solution they were being cultured in and then dying off as a result. This “extreme reaction demonstrate[s] just how intricate these bacteria are,” says Jones.

The two UF researchers are part of a $12.8 million USDA grant to broaden the nation’s blueberry breeding capabilities. “Fruit with exceptional flavor will improve fruit consumption satisfaction and hopefully, increase purchasing frequency,” Muñoz says. “All these will be beneficial to … the nurseries producing the plants, to the producers of fruits, supermarkets selling the fruit and consumers of blueberries.”

Physicians often recommend adding a LABA to the regimen for children with severe and poorly controlled asthma. Cardet says that this standard was based on studies that historically included too few black individuals, who suffer higher rates of serious asthma attacks, hospitalizations, and asthma-related deaths than white individuals. 

“Persistent anxiety is associated with distress, impairment in functioning, and [an] elevated risk for other psychiatric disorders and suicide," Pettit says. He used computer-based attention training to reduce anxiety in youths that had already received CBT. After four weeks of attention training, 50 percent of participants no longer met the criteria for their primary anxiety diagnosis.

Kimmerle tested bone fragments found on Nikumaroro Island, Kirbati, in the western Pacific, three years after Earhart’s final radio signal was transmitted. Kimmerle reconstructed a skull that likely belonged to a female and also considered Earhart’s known sinus condition. Bone fragments were then DNA tested to determine if they match Earhart’s relatives. 

Walter Boot, Neil Charness, and Shayok Chakraborty are the FSU portion of the CREATE consortium. One CREATE project will look at using virtual reality technology to foster cognitive and social engagement among aging adults. Another will focus on using innovative technologies to assess cognitive decline in those with mild cognitive impairment. The third will focus on developing digital assistant tools to help older adults with cognitive impairments manage tasks such as enrolling in Medicare.

Microcystin exposure can lead to symptoms such as nausea, allergic reactions, and even tumor progression. FAU’s Adam Schaefer analyzed urine samples from south Floridians and detected low-dose exposures to microcystins. “This research is a critical step in developing and interpreting clinical diagnostic tests for harmful algal bloom exposure around the world,” says Schaefer.

Taylor-Clark used a rat model for high blood pressure and simulated effects of inhaling air pollution. “The speeding up of heart rate and abnormal heartbeats (in the hypertensive rats) were due to the switching on of this ‘flight-or-fight’ nervous system not seen in the healthy animals exposed to noxious agents,” says Taylor-Clark. 

Paragraph 2: Eirin-Lopez designed the Bottlenose Dolphin Epigenetic Age Estimation Tool, which can determine a dolphin’s age through a small skin sample. Knowing the ages of dolphins is a critical part of understanding the overall health of a population. “A more even distribution of different ages means the population will be more effective,” says Eirin-Lopez.

These brain dysregulations include dysphoria associated with negative emotional states like depression and anxiety, as well as impaired motivation, judgment, and decision-making. Walker says these dysregulations can “extend to all drugs of abuse, whether it be opiates like heroin, or psychostimulants like cocaine,” because they cause similar brain changes.

Researchers often use animals with cancer or inject them with cancer cells for testing, which is an expensive and controversial practice. 3D bioprinting cancerous samples would be a cost-effective, efficient, and humane way to test cancer cells. Mitra hopes his findings will lead to researchers using 3D printed cancerous samples for drug testing.

Cornea transplants are among the most successful tissue transplants. However, due to a lack of donors, only one cornea is available for every 70 needed. Sachdeva’s research could increase cornea supply not only for transplants but also for drug testing, virtually eliminating the need for animal testing for cornea research.

“Our results say this cloud radiative feedback is important for tropical cyclone development,” Wing said. “We know weather and climate models sometimes have a hard time simulating clouds correctly.” This research may aid in hurricane forecast model improvement and understanding of how the greenhouse effect warms the atmosphere of a developing storm.

No current measurement system has the ability to detect the full light emission of marine organisms. “We are not only developing a next generation ‘gold standard’ sensor that will be compact and versatile in deployment but continuing a legacy of research in oceanic bioluminescence and its role in ocean ecology,” said Twardowski.

Fox says a lack of treatment and support for inmates and former inmates contributes to over 40 percent of inmates returning to jail. High re-incarceration rates are problematic not only in Pasco County but across the country. “We’re willing to spend money every year to keep people in jail, but… [not] to help with recidivism.” 

Tuesta and the Miller School will receive $2.3 million over the next five years. This will allow Tuesta’s lab to further their treatment research with a novel approach to understanding opioid addiction. “Ultimately, we want to manipulate the root of the craving with a drug to change the behavioral course of addiction,” Tuesta said.

“This is one of the great examples of ‘science without borders,’ in which multiple different Institutes of the NIH and multiple different NIH-funded projects all come together under one mission — to help patients heal,” said Tomic-Canic. This initiative will build on prior research from Tomic-Canics’s lab and help develop therapeutic approaches.

Sneed, dean of the Taneja College of Pharmacy and member of the USF Sports Medicine division, highlights that the USF laboratories have the capability to provide results within one day. Sneed says this “is a very innovative endeavor that supports our student-athletes’ desires to continue competing in as safe a manner as possible.”

This grant assists in UM’s mission to help end systemic racism in the U.S. “There is no greater or more pressing issue of societal importance than that of anti-Black racism,” said Erin Kobetz, UM’s vice provost for research and scholarship. Shearer’s research weighs children’s resilience and how to get children the resources they need in the future.

After a dog died while swimming in Zion National Park, Rosen was called on for his water expertise. Rosen is fulfilling The Water School’s mission by applying lessons learned in Florida to cases around the world. “I do extremely applied work,” said Rosen. “I personally love the beauty of the organism.”

Newer materials, such as resin, show promise for use in military planes, but additional research is needed. “We are asking the question of why and how things happen,” Ramakrishnan said. “We want to know how to develop novel materials and help to advance design rules for processing them.”

These patents are an important development for the Florida grape and wine industry. “The long-term sustainability of the state and national grape industry depends on new genetic resources that carry adaptive traits capable of overcoming the existing and future challenges in grape industry sustainability,” said Tsolova.

“This is an important opportunity for me to present my work to an international audience and get feedback from the world’s experts in vascular biology,” she said. Her research is aimed at developing a treatment for high-risk patients, so they do not develop calcifications. “Go for it. Don’t be afraid of failure,” Ng advised other researchers.

“Climate change and extreme heat waves strongly affect sea urchin populations. When their numbers explode, sea urchins can devastate ecosystems by eating everything in their path,” Okamoto said. The NSF grant will help Okamoto and his team understand how warming events can lead to harsh outcomes for some populations.

These molecules can provide information on pathways between specific neurons and behavior. “Given that one human brain has billions of neurons and interconnections, our molecules provide clues on the connectivity of this vast, complex network,” Nesnas said. Nesnas’s approach allows for molecules to remain inactive until a selected portion of brain is turned on using light.

The research began with a trip to Greenland in 2011, which actually failed. “When we realized there were no accessible springs, we decided to switch the sampling plan to collecting water from two unique kinds of streams we found in the region,” says Martin. The grant will also allow Martin to collaborate with researchers based in Greenland.

The award recognizes technology with the potential to positively affect national security. Liu developed the pollutant removal technology for automakers, who need to meet increasingly strict government emissions standards. However, the technology has the potential for many applications beyond the scope of the auto industry, including national defense and security.

The compounds were tested in non-human brain tissue. “That was the breakthrough,” Lepore said. “These compounds almost serendipitously exerted this protective ability, and they do so in extremely small amounts.” Lepore and team are looking to grow their group of collaborators in hopes of improving medical outcomes.

“The young adults with disabilities who will complete the PEDI-PRO are in that stage where they’re preparing to say, ‘What do I want from my life as an adult?’ ‘What’s important to me, what are my goals and aspirations, whether that is for work or being a community member or living on my own or not,’” said Kramer.

“It’s amazing that you can transform a lot of the area,” Kominoski said. “We’re starting to see vegetation change and declines in phosphorus in some wetlands as a result of the water being there longer. That’s good. That’s what restoration is trying to do.” Researchers will keep exploring how releases of water change the Everglades.

After using telescopes to collect data in Chile and Spain, the research team saw that the supernova was hitting material surrounding it. “These supernovae can be particularly troublesome because they can mix into the sample of normal supernovae used to study dark energy,” Hsiao said. This finding will guide future research of dark energy.

The current optical technique is slow, but if he’s successful, Han will be able to target proteins in just 24 hours. This tool could be extremely important to researchers, providing insight into diseases like cancer. “That’s why I study optics,” Han says. “My background, how I got into this, is biophysics and biochemistry. I recognize the potential.”

“The goal of the project is to understand how team members implicitly and explicitly learn as they collaborate on convergence science,” Fiore says. “When we work with people from different fields, to be successful we need to be continually learning from each other.” Fiore believes that team interactions are essential to solving the world’s challenges.

Providing an integrated food safety system for fresh produce is a goal for UF researchers. “This proposal was specifically developed to respond to a critical national problem that is dramatically affecting specialty crop producers and processors: food safety and implementation of new federal food safety regulations,” said Danyluk.

“Current climate models are a reliable tool to predict future water availability,” said Chen. “What we are lacking is having enough data to make those models as effective as they can be.” This research could be important for a state like Florida, facing a limited water supply resulting from population growth, development, and climate change.

“Current climate models are a reliable tool to predict future water availability,” said Chen. “What we are lacking is having enough data to make those models as effective as they can be.” This research could be important for a state like Florida, facing a limited water supply resulting from population growth, development, and climate change.

When the climate changes, the combination of species that grow together create new groupings. “That is another really important message for us: as we change climate, we are going to change the combinations of species around us,” Bush said. This study allowed researchers to learn more about the Andes and understand the climate engine.

“Our data provide clear evidence of a biochemical foundation for the reinforcing properties of home cage return. This simple environmental manipulation can provide a minimally-invasive approach to peel away aspects of reward circuitry connected to natural reinforcers – one that is critical to an animal’s survival,” said Blakely. 

“We need to talk to the community leaders to see what they perceive as barriers and how to overcome them,” Baum says. Another goal of this project is to evaluate the success of community leaders’ efforts to encourage testing in their neighborhoods. The sites will test up to 200 people per week.

“Antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) strains of bacteria are increasing and if we want to develop new antibiotics and diagnostic tools to effectively identify and control their spread, we need to better understand what physical forces drive their drug resistance,” Ali said. The research aims to determine the role fluid flow plays in the development of bacterial communities.

“Our research examines the correlation between interannual variability of potential intensity, which is the maximum possible intensity a tropical cyclone can reach or theoretical ‘speed limit’ of tropical cyclone intensity, and the actual intensity of tropical cyclones across all global ocean basins,” Wing said. This could help researchers interpret the tropical intensity theory.

“Automated personnel-selection systems have been widely implemented in our society for hiring employees,” Wang said. “However, the automated process is not immune to bias and unfairness. It is time for us to take a careful look at the structural bias that exists in such automations and figure out ways to eliminate its impact.”

“The protection afforded by face masks has emerged as a particularly important issue in the COVID-19 pandemic, and the flow physics of these types of masks is extremely complex and not well-studied, especially when it comes to the facial topology of the user,” Shoele said. The study could yield important findings for face mask design.

“COVID-19 has really changed the way in which we have to look at sexual health among those who may be living with or at risk for HIV,” said Safren. Researchers found that sexual minority men experienced anxieties, depression, sleep difficulties, substance use, loss of income or employment, and fears about how others are managing COVID.

“I am excited that Florida Tech is a key player in this development effort, which is revolutionizing the way natural hazard scientists and engineers operate,” Pinelli said. DesignSafe is advanced in its capacity to store and process massive data sets, leading to opportunities for collaboration and sharing among researchers worldwide. 

“These findings are consistent with reports from many other conditions. Racial health disparities are driven by socio-economic disadvantage and not by biological or genetic differences,” said Palacio. The study offers a potential explanation for COVID-19 disparities in these areas, including comorbidities and socio-economic factors that affect minorities’ ability to socially distance.

“We found that even if lightning was striking the ground nearby there were upward leaders produced from the tower, and they remained unconnected to the main discharge from the cloud,” Nag said. “These have significant amounts of electric charge and currents in excess of 100 amps associated with them and can pose a threat.”

“Big-headed ants were absolutely thrashing the native insect community in three different conservancies in Laikipia,” Milligan said. “I noticed that many of these whistling-thorn acacias had leaves that just looked drab, limp, or damaged, and it sparked the idea that this invasion was killing off enough influential insect species to possibly cause changes in the plants.”

“The most common way to raise dairy calves from birth is in individual pens, but providing early social contact may improve the long-term welfare of these animals. This should benefit sustainability of the dairy industry as a whole, improving consumer perceptions and having economic benefits for producers,” Miller-Cushon said. 

“Aggression is common in insects, including fruit flies, where single-pheromone receptors or single genes have been shown to trigger their aggression,” said Keene. Monarchs present a model for studying molecular mechanisms underlying behavior and welcome future investigations into aggression. Researchers believe that aggression caused due to limited food supply is present throughout the animal kingdom.

“I’m really excited about this because if we crack this nut, and we have, I think, a very promising approach, then that means robots will be able to reason in a way that is really impressive in real-life situations, as opposed to being very rigid in their thinking, or some might say, robotic,” said Hubicki, based at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering.

“The ability to now remotely track how animals are behaviorally responding to changes in environmental conditions over several months and across vast expanses of open ocean really opens up a lot of new research opportunities,” said Hammerschlag. “This is especially important for understanding if and how these species respond to climate change.”

“The fact that these simple animals have figured out how to achieve a ‘ground effect’ type boost in open water, away from any solid surfaces, has the potential to open up a range of new possibilities for engineered vehicles to take advantage of this phenomenon,” Gemmell said. These findings could enhance development of ocean monitors.

CogTracer is anonymous and private and does not ask for any personal information. This provides a way for those who would normally not engage in the process to do so on their own terms. The online interview method assists non-English speakers, speeding up the tracing process for those that may have needed an interpreter.

Limbitless Solutions is a UCF nonprofit that creates bionic arms for children. “This opportunity for various creative mediums to unite to create a positive impact in our world is truly amazing,” said Dombrowski. As a part of the collaboration, Microsoft is donating $85,000 to support adult clinical trials for the bionic arms.

“There is only a certain amount of this vaccine made every year, and it’s very hard to ramp up production quickly enough to address an emerging outbreak,” said Cummings. The results will assist public health experts in responding quickly to yellow fever outbreaks with a limited supply of the vaccine.

“We now have experience in building small satellites and getting them into orbit,” said Colwell. “It’s pretty exciting, and now we have to get in touch with the satellite and get the experiments running.” The mission will last up to three years, with the satellite eventually falling into Earth’s atmosphere and burning up. 

“The main battle in battery science is in new materials,” said Chung. “Depending on what kind of material we use, we can improve the capacity of the battery and the safety of the battery substantially.” Lignin is cheap and abundant, with most of the supply coming from paper waste.

“The main battle in battery science is in new materials,” said Chung. “Depending on what kind of material we use, we can improve the capacity of the battery and the safety of the battery substantially.” Lignin is cheap and abundant, with most of the supply coming from paper waste.

“This award comes at a crucial time in U.S. history, where we are facing more storms of increasing intensity impacting vulnerable coastal communities,” said Chowdhury. Research at the Wall of Wind has helped scientists from across the country refine designs for repair of existing and new buildings, systems, and components.

“If we can develop compounds to shut down or significantly reduce both processes – viral entry and viral replication – such dual inhibition may enhance the potency of these compounds in treating the coronavirus infection,” said Chen. “Metaphorically, it’s like killing two birds with one stone.”

“There is some awful irony in that exercise, a known health benefit for the heart, leads to cell death in ACM subjects,” said Chelko. “Now, we know that endurance exercise, in particular, leads to large-scale myocyte cell death due to mitochondrial dysfunction in those who suffer from this inherited heart disease.”

“There are certain community enclaves in Miami that are more isolated, and they’re getting information from sources that are harder for us to tap into and to counteract,” said Carrasquillo. “In addition to conspiracies, there are also the legitimate questions that we can address: How were the vaccines developed so quickly? What are the side effects?”

“The high sensitivity of our protocol may be useful in testing patients with low viral titers such as asymptomatic patients or testing individuals prior to quarantine release. Our method also enables several patient samples to be pooled, decreasing the number of tests required for larger populations,” said Caputi.

The new system will require new agreements and partnerships with Indian Ocean rim countries, allowing them to enhance their monitoring system and forecasting ability. Many of the rim countries have economies that are particularly vulnerable to climate effects, such as sea level rise and extreme weather events.

“Following the bonefish on their offshore spawning migration was a marathon for the science team as well as the fish,” said Adams. “Most importantly for conservation, now that we know the conditions bonefish require to spawn we can better focus our efforts for habitat conservation.” The research will support the Bonefish Reproduction Project at FAU.

“Don't give up on your dreams and goals; instead, have confidence in yourself and work towards them while still giving yourself space to have fun and explore different opportunities,” Wing advises. “It's important to continually remind yourself and remind others that you are qualified and you are meant to be where you are.”

Walters has written nine children’s books and organized learning opportunities for young people interested in the environment. She has educated thousands of students that are now biologists throughout the world. “I have spent my career at UCF trying to balance research with community engagement while ensuring my students have high impact experiences,” said Walters.

“This isn’t going to replace the physician’s decision making; it’s just meant to be another tool in their toolkit,” Vaillancourt said. “The goal is that clinical trials will be better because they will focus on specific variants. Patients will be able to know their diagnosis earlier.”

“We are one of the first in the world to identify cryptojacking,” says Uluagac. “As Bitcoin technology becomes more prevalent, we will need these types of protections. We are becoming a hub for Bitcoin, so it’s very important that we understand the dangers that come with this and what we can do to solve these problems.”

“Given the unanticipated, sudden, and sustained disruption due to COVID-19, youth are faced with growing uncertainties, new sources of anxiety, and added burdens related to daily routines and schooling, all within the backdrop of family and personal health concerns,” Trucco said. Gaining a better understanding of COVID-19’s impact could help inform interventions and policies.

“Our research shows that in Miami-Dade County, large populations live in low-greenness blocks, often in the poorest neighborhoods with the most vulnerable populations,” Szapocznik said. “If we can improve their cardiovascular health by 20 percent by planting trees – even without requiring major lifestyle changes– we could have a remarkable impact in our neediest populations.”

“The mechanisms regulating vertebrate blood vessel growth are remarkably conserved (across species) from zebrafish to humans,” Sumanas said. “Even drugs that suppress new blood vessel formation, like the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors used to treat tumors in patients, work the same way in zebrafish as they do in humans.”

Schwenkler explore’s beliefs humans hold concerning their own future actions and practical capacities, such as beliefs about finishing projects before a deadline and overcoming temptations and bad habits that might prevent them doing so. “Psychologists studying self-confidence have reached quite divergent conclusions about what accounts for it, and whether it’s better to be more or less confident in oneself,” Schwenkler said.

“I was raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated cities in the world. We were accustomed to scheduled blackouts every day due to the lack of electricity generation compared to the electricity demand,” Reza said. “I was concerned about the future of energy sector in Bangladesh.”

“I’m beyond excited for this patent," says Ramella-Roman. "It’s great to have recognition, and I’ve always thought that conducting research that may help other human beings is a valuable way to spend your life and career. Light has so many properties and can be used to see so many different things in the human body.”

“Our center is testament to the spirit of collaboration within our college and across the university and is designed to position our researchers to help unlock the potential of artificial intelligence and autonomy together with our partners across industry, government and community,” said Pados. “The center also aligns with our vision to produce meaningful research.”

“Molecular stability, small size, solubility, intravenous delivery, and no immunogenic response make conotoxins excellent blockade-therapy candidates,” said Oleinikov. “Further investigation is likely to yield breakthroughs in fields continuously toiling for more efficient therapeutic approaches such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, novel emerging viral diseases as well as malaria.”

“These findings show that there is a risk of airborne transmission from people ill with COVID-19 who are not wearing a mask,” Morris said. “It really underscores the importance of mask-wearing, especially in small spaces with poor ventilation, or even wearing two masks as the CDC has recently recommended.”

“Middle meningeal arterial embolization represents a fundamentally different approach to managing this complex condition – one that shuts down abnormal blood vessels to break the vicious cycle of continued subdural hematoma growth,” said Mokin. “If it proves to be as effective as preliminary data indicates, this less invasive procedure may offer the potential for a cure.”

“A big emphasis for me going forward is to stay really focused on the areas where we can have the greatest improvement in the health of the constituents in the communities that we serve,” Mitchell says. “We want to leverage the data infrastructure that’s been built and developed over the last 10 years.”

“I was just interested in science because doing science and research is always fun,” Mebel said. “It is creative. It’s rewarding in terms of feeling that you solved some problem and you feel good about that — especially if the problem is related to something important like cleaning our environment.”

“The study underscores the importance of testing. If you do no testing and send kids back between days 10 to 14 of quarantine, a substantial portion of high school kids will go back to school infected. High school students may need to fall under different policy guidelines than elementary school students,” McKune said.

“The results show that the trust between a doctor and a patient is a strong bond, but it emphasizes that it is important that physicians practice evidence-based care,” said Mainous. “Patients look to their physician to act in their best interest and so physicians need to take that trust and provide the best care possible.”

“The success of axiVEND is another example of the impact we can have on our region by helping to nurture these companies,” says Logue. “This company will be creating high-wage, specialized jobs in our local area for years to come, the exact reason why our community is investing in these programs.”

“I was selected for my research and advocacy on gun-violence prevention, my work with law enforcement and the Florida Violent Death Reporting System [a data collection system exploring the details of violent deaths in the state], and for the development of the Activist Lab,” Liller said. The lab provides opportunities for individuals to learn public health advocacy skills.

“The diversity of tools—in this case, multiple forecasts—is critical,” said Kirtman. “The diversity of prediction tools is important here because any one model has biases. If we had used only one tool that wasn’t very good at predicting the breakdown of the polar vortex, we would have missed accurately forecasting this event.”

“Prevention of idiopathic preterm birth by extending gestation even two or three weeks can benefit the newborn, because it provides critical time needed for the fetus’s lungs and brain to mature,” Guzeloglu-Kayisli said. “Our research indicates the importance of investigating the potential use of FKBP51 inhibitors as a targeted therapy.”

“Not only could it revolutionize the field of neuroscience, but it could potentially change many other aspects of our health care system,” Khizroev said. “We will finally learn how the computing architecture of the brain works. Such knowledge will help enable neuromorphic computing in which computers mimic the way the brain works.”

“It was very much the interaction of the science and the arts that allowed me to go there in the first place,” said Jeffrey. “Some of the things that captured my eye have some scientific underlining that made them interesting.”

“Immunity to the virus after being infected or having the vaccine is not well understood,” Hoffer said. “For example, for those who have the vaccine, are we going to have to vaccinate people annually? Every six months? Every 18 months? Once in a lifetime? We don’t know.” This NIH-funded study will try to answer these questions.

“One of the reasons we did this study is because we think it’s important to be thinking about how everything is linked and sometimes those linkages are surprising,” said Rob Nowicki, a member of the research team. “They show climate resilience is not something that happens on its own. It happens in conjunction with species conservation.”

“Natural systems like photosynthesis and millions of years of evolution have been able to control the orientation of molecules to make energy and electron transfer very efficient,” Hanson said. “We would love to attain the same level of structural control with human made assemblies.” Hanson seeks to make more efficient solar cells with these findings.

“If we also can predict how hurricanes might alter the distribution or spread of invasive plants, then we can plan for when, where and how much more of the invader there might be after a storm,” said Flory. “If resources can be allocated ahead of time, then we can more effectively and efficiently manage invasions.”

“Space has always been our portal to innovation and ingenuity in all fields of science and engineering,” says Elgohary. “Space is our gateway to understanding our universe and our planet. Having sustainable access to space has always been key to innovation and ingenuity in all fields of study.”

“Many of the existing malaria vaccines and drugs have failed because the Plasmodium parasites have co-evolved with mosquitoes and people. They know how to dodge our immune system and live within mosquitoes, and that’s a hard game to circumvent. What we’re doing is completely different,” said Dinglasan. 

“This is very special to me, not only because it is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a scientist or engineer, but all of the work that is being recognized has been done here at UCF with graduate students,” Delfyett says.

“In the midst of a pandemic, our team of experts representing academic medicine, health care delivery systems, and the medical device industry put aside boundaries to quickly work together toward a common purpose,” Decker said. “It’s rewarding that the novel design for a 3D swab we created has been adopted around the world.”

“The same type of selection behind mimicry could be important for driving diversity even in groups that don’t have those mimicry traits. For example, the black cap and collar aren’t mimicry traits, but they are genetically connected to the red and black bands that are seen in coral snake mimicry,” said Cox.

This study is the first of its kind and allows scientists to understand the importance of skeletal muscles in the body’s ability to fight infection. Orlando Laitano, study team member, said, “This may also help us to understand why physical fitness is so critical in successfully surviving septic shock in humans.”

“The main battle in battery science is in new materials,” said Chung. “Depending on what kind of material we use, we can improve the capacity of the battery and the safety of the battery substantially.” Lignin is cheap and abundant, with most of the supply coming from paper waste.

“The worry for us scientists is that unless the leaders of governments and corporations take action to reduce CO2 emissions, ecological portfolios that can maintain coral resilience will be increasingly eroded under current and ongoing climate change. This is concerning because coral reef ecosystems provide economic, health, cultural, and ecological goods,” Burgess said.

“Throughout these years I had to overcome that I was a foreigner, a woman and also considered a minority,” Beltran says. “So that was three strikes against me. And I was entering, especially back then, the male-dominated field of aerospace medicine, and a lot of the older generation had a very macho attitude.”

“Research findings from this NSF-funded project may contribute to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s post-quantum cryptography standardization process, guide the parameter selection, and provide a systematic tool to the users of lattice-based cryptography," said Bai.

“After someone gets victimized and hurt, what is that process like for them and how can our responses be improved?” Backes said. “I look at how they seek help, how our services are set up to respond and how we can make that process better not only for them in the short-term but also across the lifespan.”

So Hinduja has suggested some messages adults can share with teens about how to prevent avoidable fallout from sexting.  “This is not about encouraging sexting behaviors,” said Hinduja. “It simply recognizes the reality that young people are sexually curious, and some will experiment with various behaviors with or without informed guidance, and sexting is no exception.”

“Studies indicate firebrands are responsible for most of the wildfire spreads into communities, referred to as wildland-urban interfaces,” Yaghoobian said. “The embers can be carried by the wind by several meters and kilometers ahead of the main fire, so we are trying to understand this phenomenon better, considering different atmospheric flow and land surface conditions.”

“You’ve got to put the structures at the right elevation, otherwise they get flooded too much or they don’t get flooded, so working at low tide allowed us to pick the best location,” Smith said. “Then what happens is we kind of hope, ‘If we build it, they will come.’”

“With changing U.S. demographics, understanding the risk and protective factors for Hispanics and other diverse groups is vital for improving disease prediction, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for everyone,” said Pericak-Vance. “It also champions UM’s commitment to diversity, and hemispheric collaborations.”

Morris’s research highlights factors that make guest agricultural workers particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. Morris suggests that these employees need stronger health protections to benefit overall public health. H-2A visa workers make up 10% of the US agricultural workforce and require new health strategies to prevent infection spread.

“That green turtles and loggerheads would continue in the currents, but that some might leave the currents and go into the Sargasso Sea was not ever considered or predicted by long-held hypotheses and the assumptions in the field,” Mansfield says. The turtles were tracked with solar-powered tracking devices attached to their shells.

“Current therapies target the symptoms of autoimmune disease, such as inflammation,” said Malek. “This new approach targets and enhances the regulatory process that is defective in these diseases. Our hope is that this research will lead to treatments that can help millions of patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases enjoy a higher quality of life.”

“I believe that it is a smarter approach to start with something in nature because often times the product itself is already a good treatment,” Luesch said. “Products like cyanobacteria are not making compounds to treat cancer, but they target something else in their natural environment that is structurally similar to something in cancer progression.”

“FIU offers prosecutors an evidence-based framework with which to use data to create a more equitable vision of justice. Now is the time for researchers and prosecutors to work closely together as partners, and we look forward to working with the state attorneys in Broward and Orlando,” said Kutateladze.

“There have been questions to surface related to face recognition performance on people with darker skin. From our experiments, we were able to show that African Americans are more likely to be misidentified relative to their Caucasian counterparts. My goal is to enable highly accurate and seamless authentication technology that works for everyone,” said King.

“We don't have to just sit and wait for a call for proposals that we find interesting,” said Ferl. “We can influence science policy, and that puts us scientists in an active, forward-thinking, influential role in the development of science.”

“Host EVs have not been previously studied in the context of fighting enteric bacterial infections. Our study has identified a novel role of exosomes in the protective responses against salmonella, but we also think that exosomes can find broader applications for other intestinal infections and beyond,” said Edelmann.

“With this CDC grant, we will conduct experimental simulation studies that will result in observations and analyses in support of social distancing and other preventative measures for mitigating airborne transmission of viral infections, which will be of particular interest to businesses, schools and the general public,” said Dhanak.

“I think it’s really important ever since 2020 being the first year where we have a global pandemic, which has really increased the complexity of planning for hurricanes because you’ve got social distancing that we should be considering with COVID-19 and that’s in direct conflict with human congregation that might happen in a shelter,” said Collins.

“Knowing where the marine litter released into the ocean by a given country goes and the origin of the litter found on the coastline of a given country are important pieces of information for policymakers,” Chassignet said. “For example, it can help policymakers determine where to focus their efforts for dealing with this problem.”

Ampatzidis suggests that the new tools being used for data collection are changing the face of agriculture. “Artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, big data analytics, the internet of things. This is no doubt the fourth agricultural revolution. We are going to see these technologies in the field very, very soon.”

“This development will open a new window for efficiently producing clean hydrogen fuel from seawater,” said Yang. Hydrogen is a form of clean energy that is relatively inexpensive and easy to produce, a finding that could have major positive outcomes in combating climate change.

“And by asymptomatic, we mean truly without symptoms over the course of the course of their infection,” said Singer. “This is different than people who may not have symptoms when they get tested, test positive, and then later develop symptoms.”

“The idea is to put an infrastructure in place, a consortium of universities and labs that have the know-how, personnel and necessary administrative support to immediately deploy resources in the field as soon as there is a new outbreak — to get samples, sequence them and obtain molecular information about the new circulating virus,” Salemi said.

“This research study can help provide critical information about the safety, reactogenicity and immune responses observed with the vaccine in children and ultimately allow the vaccine to be approved for children,” Rodriguez said. “A vaccine that prevents COVID-19 disease in children would be a crucial public health tool to help curb the pandemic.”

The research could lead to many advances in lightning physics, the global electric circuit, cloud electrification, future thunderstorm warnings, and lightning protection. Observations of lightning will primarily take place at the Lightning Observatory in Gainesville

“Toxic chemicals that may be present in soil and dust can impact the health of younger children, but we don’t know yet how to accurately estimate chemical exposure by soil and dust ingestion,” Quinete said. “We will identify chemical tracers and will also focus on understanding the impacts on underrepresented groups of children living in Florida.”

“So Sylvia basically is a microscope camera,” said Parsons, a researcher with The Water School. “Sylvia will be able to take water samples and look to see if there are harmful algae or other algae present. And then because of this library, it’ll be able to identify and count them.”

“There has been the belief that prior exposure to early lineages of SARS-CoV-2 would protect a population from such introductions. However, as seen with the gamma variant, these variants have the ability to rapidly spread in a region where there have been numerous prior COVID cases,” said Morris.

“Uveal melanoma is a devastating disease with few therapeutic options,” said Licht. “Our group will determine the mechanisms by which this disease metastasizes and will identify which of these may represent new targets for therapy.”

“I’ve watched these invasions become the new normal…turning clear blue waters golden brown. Along with other researchers, I’m trying to understand why sargassum has proliferated into this new sprawling bloom, how to deal with such massive amounts of it, and how affected countries can predict the severity of the next influx,” said Leatherman.

“This study has implications for public health guidance as new COVID-19 variants continue to emerge,” said Kim. “It will help us answer critical questions about whether a person can become infected after vaccination, and if the vaccine will stop the virus from spreading to others.”

“This glassy, thermally stable plastic can be melted and shaped at a higher temperature and cools into a hard plastic at ambient temperatures,” Kennemur said. “One of the next goals is to learn some of the mechanical properties of these polymers. However, this material has many structural features that mirror the plastics we use every day.”

“We need to make sure as we advance that we do so responsibly. There has been concern that as the power generation industry decarbonizes, nitrogen oxides would become a problem; however, the tracker shows that nitrogen oxides have been declining significantly to low levels,” said Kapat.

“It was the common refrain for our work this summer: How lucky we are to be with each other and conducting research in an environment that isn’t a virtual acclimation?” said Hawthorne. The project is funded by the NSF and maps vulnerable coastal areas.

“While a wide array of pharmaceutical approaches have failed to provide effective change in Alzheimer’s prevalence to date, behavioral interventions like cognitive training have shown strong promise for not only remediating age-related declines in thinking and memory skills, but also altering the rate of conversion from healthy aging to mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease,” said Woods.

“This NIH-funded randomized study, which will involve sites in Tampa as well as Miami, could change the standard of care for people who inject drugs,” Tookes said. “Tele-harm reduction uses peers with lived experience to overcome the digital divide by bringing technology directly to people, with the goal to foster engagement in care.”

“These small, inexpensive cameras could be mounted on trucks or drones to help catch the hard-to-find pythons. Using cameras also opens the possibility for automated detection using computer algorithms to search the imagery faster and more comprehensively than the hunters can do on their own,” said Renshaw.

“Nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy provides the spatial resolution and the sensitivity to detect such small systems and study how they evolve. Participating in this initiative could help in advancing the development of new tools that are better suited for problems related to zoonotic threats. I’m very excited about taking part in these conversations,” said Tetard.

“Our work has shown that short-term (three-month) exercise interventions such as circuit resistance training can increase retina blood flow, correlating with a positive change in cognitive capacity,” said Signorile. “Physical activity and exercise are among the most effective, non-pharmacological tools for improving cardiovascular health and cognitive capacity in older adults.”

“The ultimate goal in our research would be to develop a test to predict who will get a cerebral aneurysm and determine why some aneurysms rupture and others do not,” said Starke. “You want to identify people who need intervention earlier rather than later. This specific grant focuses on the role of cigarette smoke.”

“We need plants if we want to be more than just tourists in space,” said Paul. “What we’re trying to do is see how we can understand how to make better adapted, better useful plants in a spaceflight environment, and an exploration environment like going to the moon and Mars.”

“Marine environments are a lot more dynamic because of the water currents, which are much less predictable. They can change seasonally, throughout the day and even minute by minute. Ultimately, the energy seascape helps explains why these animals are in this channel hanging out there during the day. Now we have an answer,” Papastamatiou said.

“We are focusing on how we can achieve resiliency for our communities,” said Ozguven. “And when we say communities, we’re not only talking about cities and metropolitan areas, but we are talking about underserved areas, rural counties—those areas do not have resources like their urban counterparts.”

“This program integrates expertise across many institutions, countries, and disciplines,” said Muller-Karger. “Societies everywhere need exactly this kind of sustained, all-hands-on-deck effort, and we’re beyond thrilled to have our program endorsed by the UN.”

“It is truly a great honor to be chosen to be part of this select group of scientists, particularly given the timeliness and relevance of this topic,” says Almagro-Moreno. “I believe that by gathering early career scientists from disparate backgrounds we can serve as a catalyst toward the development of novel approaches to understand pathogen emergence.”

“Gliders give us the eyes and ears we need 24-7 in the ocean, at a fraction of the cost of a research vessel. They can collect valuable data to help understand ocean circulation, red tides, hurricanes, fish populations and habitats –all at the same time,” said Lembke.

“I like to make a difference. I feel like with this list I can make a difference to help push important issues especially improving beach safety and health,” Leatherman said. “I still got a full tank of gas. I’m not ready to stop. I’m enjoying what I’m doing, so why not keep doing it?”

“The similarities between Mexico and Brazil are poor leadership that refused to use evidence on which to base the policies that were implemented,” said Knaul. “It was politically driven policy-making that was not based on evidence, and that is why these two countries have suffered more than they had to.”

Khoshgoftaar has published more than 800 journal and conference papers in his areas of expertise. He also serves as a mentor to many Ph.D. and master’s level graduate students. Khoshgoftaar is a co-founder of various international research conferences and workshops.

“If a bloom is out on the continental shelf, it is more easily diluted,” said Hu. “The bloom this year is so troublesome because it is both inside Tampa Bay and around the Tampa Bay mouth.” The red tide bloom of the harmful algae is unusual for this time of year and could continue to kill fish on large scales.

“We found that early in development, children who hear two languages take a little longer to acquire each language than children who hear only one language; however, there is no evidence that learning two languages is too difficult for children,” said Hoff.

The model’s computer programs predict how, where, and when hurricanes form and note how the intensity could lead to structural damage. The program began in 2001 and estimates the cost to rebuild. Hamid’s team is also working on a flood risk and loss model, which should be completed in 2022. 

  “There may be an incentive in terms of influence and audience size for a social media user to consistently include controversial and provocative topics on their posts,” Garibay says. “This benefits the person posting the messages. However, controversial comments can be divisive, which could contribute to a polarized audience and society.”

“There may be an incentive in terms of influence and audience size for a social media user to consistently include controversial and provocative topics on their posts,” Garibay says. “This benefits the person posting the messages. However, controversial comments can be divisive, which could contribute to a polarized audience and society.”

“UFAST will provide unique and versatile tools for in-depth scientific investigations and will advance knowledge in multiple research fields that may lead to applications, such as low-cost and efficient solar panels, light-frequency electronics, new laser cutting technology, and plasma synthesis, as well as extend our understanding of our solar system,” said Fang.

“It was fun meeting them and getting started,” Dove says. “They’ve brainstormed some really creative ideas, so it’ll be awesome to see what they develop for their students. For me it was really a great learning experience so far because I’ve never directly worked with K-12 on a project like this before.”

“I think we’re going to see more and more autonomy. The AI we use in our everyday lives may not seem like a teammate, but it is all around us and we are collaborating with it,” Carroll said. The study will also look at situations where trust is violated between humans and AI agents and what causes that to happen.

“This research addresses the assumption that the populations being studied have a relatively constant number of offspring per generation,” Beerli said. “Scientific observation has shown that this assumption is incorrect. For example, some SARS-CoV-2 strains are more successful in infecting people than others, suggesting that the ancestor with a new mutation has more ‘offspring’ than others.”

“We are working on a variety of projects in constructing more efficient and effective post-quantum cryptographic schemes, a mathematical solution to perform a unique function to encrypt or decrypt, as well as looking into their application in secure machine learning,” said Bai.

“We want to develop MXenes by characterizing their electronic and magnetic properties,” Arnett said. “These materials hold great promise for several applications.” MXenes are used in medicine and optoelectronics but could also lead to advances in energy conversion and storage.

“It is a reduction of 90 percent for each user. If we assume that 10 percent of the population all over the world takes advantage of corona discharge mask reuse technology, there will be four- five billion fewer masks disposed,” said Zhong. “It will reduce at least 24 million tons of plastic pollution.

“Understanding how tropical disturbances are represented in global climate models, and whether the models correctly distinguish between those that develop into tropical cyclones and those that do not, is essential for improving model simulation of tropical cyclone frequency,” Wing said.

Copper sprays are currently used to combat citrus canker but utilizing microbes could reduce the environmental impact on citrus groves. Wang is studying the best microbes for growers and how to best apply them for citrus trees.

“Sleep disruption is not only distressful for patients with Alzheimer’s disease, it’s disruptive for their caregivers,” said Varela. “This Alzheimer’s Association fellowship will support the development of non-invasive methods to monitor sleep quality, which will provide a key advance to assess if new candidate drugs truly restore sleep quality in the brain.”

“AI has become an essential part of the modern digital era, especially toward enhancing healthcare systems. Unfortunately, when AI makes headlines, all too often it is because of problems with biases, inexplicability and untrustworthiness,” said Thai. “Now it is time for us to take a deeper look to make AI-based decisions more explainable, transparent and reliable.”

“You know, in some ways light pollution is a nice sort of problem in principle, because we could just solve it. Lighting is simple to solve… Just turn off your lights at night,” Theobald said. “There’s no consequences. There’s actually also human health benefits associated with properly dark nights without lots of artificial lights.”

“Here, we are looking at the neuropathology; that is, the lesions in the brain that tell us about the underlying pathological change. This study shows that even before clinical dementia, personality predicts the accumulation of pathology associated with dementia,” said Terracciano.

“It’s troubling that people are putting their faith in a drug not proven to be effective against COVID,” Teng says. “I wish people would just take the vaccine.” Teng also notes that people taking ivermectin at high doses are likely to be poisoned.

“It means a lot to me to receive funding from the Department of Energy, and I appreciate the value they are putting on the combination of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and quantum computational techniques, which we plan to use to explore mental complexes,” said Schurko.

“The idea was instead of the homeowners who could be struggling to pay for the septage pumping fee, could we convert their burden into something valuable and locally useful. This way we could eliminate the septic tanking pumping fee, with someone coming, taking it and converting it to fertilizer and selling it to the local community,” Reza said.

“The lack of choice mothers feel in the care decisions for their young children during the COVID-19 pandemic is concerning,” Radey said. “We talked to mothers about their care decisions for Fall 2020, and the angst mothers feel likely continues today amid the surge of Delta-variant COVID-19 cases.”

“They have anxiety, they have depression, they have post-traumatic stress disorder, they have sleep disturbances. I find that very concerning. Not just to get people over the difficult, challenging period that they’re in, being acutely ill, but ultimately we want to see them do better,” Peach said.

“There is a significant trend to replace fossil fuels with electric power in propulsion of cars, ships and aircraft,” Gutierrez said. “The study and simulation of eddy currents is more and more important in this context.” Current eddy research also has environmental impacts, being used for underwater metal detection.

“We will cool helium to its superfluid state,” Guo said. “Then we will develop and use advanced 3D flow visualization systems to study phenomenon related to turbulence in this quantum fluid. We aim to implement 3D imaging flow visualization technologies to solve several challenging problems in the quantum turbulence field.”

“We will cool helium to its superfluid state,” Guo said. “Then we will develop and use advanced 3D flow visualization systems to study phenomenon related to turbulence in this quantum fluid. We aim to implement 3D imaging flow visualization technologies to solve several challenging problems in the quantum turbulence field.”

“We know now that COVID infections are primarily airborne,” Goswami said. “So, masks are essential in this pandemic, in fact it might be something we need for a long, long time. It protects the wearer, and others around the wearer, which is what hospitals require.”

Foster hopes to join her squids in space one day: “I think it’s possible in the next decade as low-Earth orbit becomes more accessible. It’s an exciting time. If you have an idea, don’t give up on it. You never know when an opportunity will present itself.”

“Basically, species can tolerate these changes through adaptation or acclimation or, alternatively, they can shift their geographic distributions to minimize the climatic changes they experience,” Feeley explained. “If they fail to do either of these things, then eventually they will suffer and be at risk of extinction.”

“The study suggests that incorporation of adequate ventilation in the design and operation of public spaces would help prevent aerosol accumulation in high occupancy areas such as public restrooms,” said Dhanak. “It might just be a matter of redirecting the airflow based on the restroom's layout.”

“Roots that do not exceed the critical porosity for maximum energy dissipation may have adaptive benefits,” said Curet. “Increasing the mangrove species through pre-restoration grading can potentially increase the likelihood of decreasing erosion success, with a higher energy dissipation that increases the resistance of mangrove roots to the energy in tidal flows.”

“Think of it as a moldable key,” said Chapagain. “The key itself is flexible and it finds the right groove and fits better because of that flexibility. If you can contain it everywhere and vaccinate most of the world’s population, you don’t have the breeding ground for the virus.”

“We are building intelligent algorithms capable of optimizing complex cyber defense infrastructures on demand, and in collaboration with human analysts,” Carvalho said. The patented engine has an interface where users can interact and provide feedback on the proposed defense solutions for the continued improvement of the system.

“We will continue to work with state agencies leading the response effort and other local partners to sample water and sediments potentially affected by the discharge to better understand the transport, transformation, and fate of its chemical constituents, nitrogen and phosphorus in particular,” Buck said.

“Findings from our study suggest that habitat quality, disease state, and immune function are  intertwined, forming a positive feedback loop wherein polluted environments impact the immune  system and make animals more prone to the expression of Green Turtle Fibropapillomatosis, which in turn further compromises the immune system,” said Milton.

“The funded work is important for not only understanding central serotonin signaling in feeding control, but also revealing a potential involvement of serotonin dysfunction in the development of obesity and overeating,” said Zhang.

“The technology demonstrates that data generated from multiple production machines can be shared with each in a timely manner, and manufacturing can be enclosed as online services for meeting diverse market demands,” said Wang.

“Maintaining a satisfying marriage can be tough for anyone, and many of the duties involved with serving, such as prolonged physical separations, can make marriage even tougher for military personnel,” McNulty said. “Family functioning is critical to mental and physical health, and members of our military face challenges that threaten family functioning.”

“We don’t want to over design and waste money to build things bigger than they need to be,” said Wahl. “We don’t want to build things too small to just find out 20 years down the road that we underestimated the design and now we need to pay more money to further adapt our infrastructure.”

“Our goal was to offer a guide to clinicians in managing this complex disease in order to avoid irreversible scarring of the liver that can result in poor outcomes,” said Martin. "Chronic hepatitis B can be setting the stage for liver cancer, even if the disease is not progressing. These studies point to the need for earlier interventions than recommended in the past.”

“We need to understand how climate change and variability affected storm surges in the past because this will be an important guide for the future,” said Wahl. “And in order to do that we need relatively long tide gauge records, which we don’t have in most places.”

“We are very excited for UCF to join the Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions, as they receive extended grant funding from the NSF,” said Leavens. “Thanks to this NSF grant, we will be promoting computer research to our students, which will help them advance both their careers and the field of computing.”

“With this tool in hand, we will be able to dynamically recreate scenarios that are customized to each patient’s unique experience, ultimately helping them process traumatic memories, put them in their place and regain control of their daily lives,” said Beidel.

“This used to be a rare event, but Biscayne Bay is becoming less resilient and more susceptible to these events, so it’s all the more pressing to prevent them,” said Langdon. Langdon has since been surveying the waters of Biscayne Bay twice a week since May to pinpoint causes for fish death.

“Sleep patterns are relatively easy to monitor non-invasively, as compared to blood tests or brain imaging, which are often used in these disorders,” Varela said. “If you can track sleep, then you have a way to monitor the progression of the disease at home, on a daily basis.”

“There is nothing available like it,” said Upshaw. “It’s true point of care. It’s access to care. We think it will revolutionize diagnostics.” The device could inform the ability of public health officials to quickly detect and respond to the virus. UF has entered a licensing agreement with a New Jersey company in hopes of manufacturing and selling the device.

“Scientific research and following the science is the key,” he said. “Without data, we cannot even begin to create educational awareness. So, our approach has been a holistic one. It’s about aiding community members who could be at risk, informing them what kinds of actions they can take to reduce their exposure.”

“The mandatory approach to clean energy and environmental issues may not be welcome in a lot of places and may not be passed in a lot of places. That’s why providing a voluntary program that local governments can opt in according to their needs makes sense,” said Tang.

“When we heard sneezes transported aerosols over 27 feet early in the pandemic, we realized that this has to be small aerosols, similar to what you see in a misting nozzle,” Kinzel said. “Our thinking has been let’s focus on altering those droplets such that they fall to the ground and not travel so far.”