鈥淭he study, funded under the name Project Harmony, aims to enhance relationships and empower careers,鈥� said Sejal Barden, who is the lead investigator and a counselor education assistant professor.

Other 麻豆原创 relationship programs in the past have had success.

Crystal Cedeno, 28, and her fianc茅 Miles Wiseman, 26, participated in a similar relationship education program a few years ago at the institute. They both had different upbringing experiences鈥擟edeno grew up in a single-parent household and Wiseman was raised by both of his parents.

Cedeno expects to graduate with her bachelor鈥檚 degree in international and global studies in May.

Wiseman graduated from 麻豆原创 with his bachelor鈥檚 degree in nursing in Dec. 2014 and is an emergency-room nurse at Florida Hospital Altamonte and works part time at the UF Health Cancer Center in Orlando.

The couple will marry in October.

They were balancing school and taking care of their son Levi when they found out about the relationship education program. The program provided them with the tools for creating a stronger bond and to be better parents.

鈥淐ommitment and safety were very important to me, especially with having a family,鈥� said Cedeno. 鈥淲e also learned what were the most important things that we wanted to pass down to Levi and what kind of person we wanted him to be.鈥�

鈥淭he program definitely improved our communication,鈥� said Wiseman. 鈥淚t taught us how to avoid communication traps like mind reading and projecting. I thought the program was invaluable.鈥�

Project Harmony recruitment specialist Ada Diaz, 30, also participated in the previous federally-funded program and is giving back to other couples.

Her husband had a scheduling conflict, so she attended the sessions by herself. They were raising two children with a third on the way while Diaz was majoring in psychology at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach.

She was fascinated with the research and psychology aspects of the program and thought it was a great opportunity that would benefit her in the long run.

The experience had a lasting effect on her family.

鈥淚 learned how to communicate and listen better,鈥� Diaz said. 鈥淢y kids are a lot more expressive and they鈥檙e talking about their feelings. Our family is a lot closer now.鈥�

Barden said research has shown that low-income couples experience greater chronic stress. Counselor education and social work students at the institute are making a difference by giving couples enrolled in the Project Harmony program the essentials for developing healthy relationships.

鈥淚ndividuals and couples from economically disadvantaged households encounter additional barriers beyond being in relationships and parenting,鈥� said Barden. 鈥淣ot only do they have economic hardships, they have less access to resources focused on building healthy relationships and finding ways to communicate daily stressors and resolve conflict.鈥�

The stressors lead to a higher prevalence of relationship problems, domestic violence, substance abuse and poor parenting.

麻豆原创 has a long history serving the community in the areas of marriage and parenting. The institute launched with grant money in 2003 to generate research and clinical initiatives that ultimately have helped thousands of couples and individuals.

For example, volunteer families sign up and receive meals, bus passes, retail gift cards and childcare as incentives to alleviate participation barriers, with the goal of helping participants support healthier relationships. The workshops are also conducted in English and Spanish.

Project Harmony aims to engage more than 6,000 people in relationship- and career-related workshops at no cost, Barden said. The curriculum is focused on effective communication, conflict resolution and relationship commitment. A new component is career services, with participants receiving help by creating or revising resumes, and coaching on building skills and selling their strengths in a job interview.

Barden hopes Project Harmony makes a difference in the participants鈥� lives.

鈥淭he MFRI鈥檚 mission is to see you leave better than when you arrived,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his may be the only time our participants seek intervention, so it鈥檚 critically important that we build a relationship with each participant grounded in safety and trust, as we know this is imperative to facilitate a positive learning environment. Relationship skills are life skills. We鈥檙e all in relation to one another whether you鈥檙e partnered or single. Everyone needs to know how to be in a relationship.鈥�

The NIH provided the total $1.2 million grant for four years. RO1 or Research Project Grants provide support for health-related research by a sole investigator that addresses a public health need with an innovative approach. Only about 12 percent of new investigator RO1 applications are actually funded, making the grants highly competitive.

Dr. Deborah German, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the College of Medicine, applauded Dr. Jewett鈥檚 accomplishment. 鈥淩esearch is the heart of academic medicine because medical research is an invisible safety net for all of us,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his grant is an exciting and well-deserved validation of Dr. Jewett鈥檚 research and the spirit of discovery that she models.

Dr. Jewett鈥檚 research focuses on Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, and ways to diagnosis the disease earlier and better. Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne illness in the United States and is on the rise nationwide, yet definitive diagnosis of the disease remains a challenge. That means sufferers can go untreated 鈥� increasing their chances for lifelong complications, including joint inflammation, heart and brain/nervous system problems.

Lyme disease results from a bacterial infection spread through the bite of a blacklegged tick but because the ticks are so tiny, many sufferers never notice they had been bitten. Tick bites and infection can occur when people are participating in popular outdoor activities, including gardening, hunting and hiking. You also can get Lyme disease from walking in high grasses or having a pet that may carry ticks into your home.

Dr. Jewett likes to use a fishing analogy to explain her research. She has used magnetic beads to 鈥渇ish鈥� for specific antibodies that people produce after they are infected. The RO1 grant will fund new innovative efforts to 鈥渇ish鈥� for the unique genetic components of the Borrelia burgdorferi important during an infection. 聽This research is especially important because compared to other bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi 鈥渇lies under the radar,鈥� without obvious toxic or virulent properties that make it difficult to understand how it makes people sick, Dr. Jewett said.

Dr. Jewett called the RO1 鈥渢he pinnacle of my career thus far. It鈥檚 a life changer.鈥�

The NIH grant is the latest recognition of her work by the public and the research funding community. In February, Dr. Jewett presented her research at the College of Medicine鈥檚 first Luminary Series Lecture of 2013. Days after the Luminary Series, the National Research Fund for Tick-Borne Diseases (NRFTD) announced she had received a $60,000 grant to further her research into mechanisms of Borrelia burgdorferi gene regulation, and how the bacteria functions during an infection.

The first grant, worth $3.6 million over five years, is aimed at determining whether a green technique pioneered at 麻豆原创 will help make treatment of hemophilia A more effective. The second grant, worth $2 million聽over four years, is for similar research for hemophilia B. The grants were awarded to 麻豆原创 and UF, which applied for funding jointly thanks to a longtime collaboration between scientists at both institutions. Duke University also is a partner for the research on hemophilia A.

Hemophilia is an incurable bleeding condition that affects about 400,000 adults and children worldwide. Hemophilia is characterized by defects in the gene that produces proteins required for blood to clot. Hemophilia A, the most common type of hemophilia, is characterized by prolonged or spontaneous bleeding, especially in the muscles, joints or internal organs.

Treating hemophilia is challenging and dangerous because many patients suffer fatal allergic reactions to the protein that doctors use to facilitate blood clotting.聽 The scientists are working on a way to make patients resistant to any deadly allergic reactions caused by the protein.

Treatments with the protein are also expensive. They must be provided in a hospital setting under supervision, and they can cost up to $1 million over a patient鈥檚 lifetime because of the required hospital stays and blood transfusions. Average annual treatment costs are $60,000 to $150,000, according to the National Hemophilia Foundation.

鈥淚 am confident we will achieve success sooner than you think,鈥� said 麻豆原创 Professor Henry Daniell. 鈥淲e are hopeful that this technique will potentially save thousands of lives.鈥�

The researchers are using genetically modified plants to encapsulate a tolerance-inducing protein within plant cells so the protein could be ingested and safely travel through the stomach before being released into the small intestines, where the immune system can act on it.

In mice with hemophilia B, when blood clotting factor IX bio-encapsulated within plant cells was delivered to the gut, it prevented fatal anaphylactic shock and complex immune reactions. The new NIH funding, which came through the National Lung, Blood and Heart Institute, will help propel the research to determine if the technique can work in other models and potentially to clinical trials thereafter.

鈥淭he collaboration has an excellent chance of developing treatments that improve the lives of people with hemophilia and, at the same time, help lower health care costs,鈥� said Roland Herzog, a professor at UF.

After Daniell mentored Herzog at Auburn University, Herzog went on to develop his career. He has received multiple awards for his research in hematology, including several NIH grants, a career development award from the National Hemophilia Foundation, an outstanding investigator award from the American Society of Gene Therapy and a Bayer Hemophilia Award.

Both researchers are hopeful that if future research bears out, this approach would be much safer and potentially deliver less expensive treatments to thousands who live with this disease.

While the approach is cutting edge, the NIH funding has come after Daniell and Herzog鈥檚 research was featured last year in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a highly acclaimed scientific journal. Bayer Healthcare of Germany, the world鈥檚 largest funder of hemophilia research, also gave Daniell a $200,000 grant in 2010 for research exploring the novel concept.

Daniell is conducting similar research on a polio vaccine funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and on diabetes funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

鈥淭he clinical translation of our work is closely tied with other projects in our lab, and all are showing promising results.聽 So I am very hopeful that this concept and technology will move forward soon,鈥� Daniell said.

Daniell joined 麻豆原创鈥檚 Burnett School for Biomedical Sciences, a part of the College of Medicine, in 1998. His research led to the formation of the university鈥檚 first biotechnology company. He has published more than 200 academic research papers, speaks at conferences around the world and has received many prestigious honors for his pioneering work. Daniell is only the 14th American in the last 222 years to be elected to the Italian National Academy of Sciences. He also is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.

Daniell has spent the last 20 years genetically splicing tobacco and lettuce plants to grow vaccines. As part of the grant, Konstantin Chumakov, the associate director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation & Research at the Food and Drug Administration, will be a collaborator on the grant.

Chumakov will start developing the protocols that could be used for drug companies to get FDA approval to use vaccines made from the genetically engineered plants. Vaccines created from genetically spliced plants are cheaper and easier to make than traditional vaccines.

鈥淚t really opens up a whole new world for developing vaccines,鈥� said 麻豆原创 spokeswoman Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala. 鈥淸Daniell] is setting up the protocol for how another company could do this.鈥�

Source: Orlando Business Journal, , by Abraham Aboraya, Staff Writer. Date: Wednesday, May 4, 2011, 10:00am EDT

“Our ultimate goal is to reduce pregnancy and sexually-transmitted disease among the young Latina population,” Norris said.

The schoolgirls will interact with realistic computer-generated characters that speak and respond to them in real-life scenarios. To make the game as realistic as possible, the avatars are controlled by the actions of a skilled “interactor” using motion-capture technology. The interactor remains hidden, often in a remote location, during game play.

Norris cites many reasons for focusing on young Latina adolescents, age 12-15. Low-income Latinas have higher teen birth rates and higher rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases than their white peers. The best time to teach girls abstinence and peer-resistance skills is during middle school — those approaches are less effective once girls become sexually active. And many Latina girls may lack role models who can help them learn how to resist peer pressure.

“In lower- income communities, there is often a lack of clear role models for adolescents,” Norris said. “Parents are concerned and want to help, and teachers try to intervene and make a difference, but there needs to be more for these girls.”

Young mothers also often struggle to stay in school while they are pregnant or caring for a baby. And families with younger adolescent mothers can be hit harder financially. On average, it costs up to $5,000 out-of-pocket to have a healthy baby with health insurance. But hospital bills skyrocket to $190,000 or more for a pre-term infant, and those babies are often born to mothers younger than 16.

The game will be designed to improve girls’ skills in responding to peer pressure to engage in sexual behavior. A girl should become better at handling social interactions and answering sensitive questions — for example, why she doesn’t have a boyfriend or why she and her boyfriend aren’t having sex.

The game is intended to be played in after-school and youth outreach programs run by trained teachers and counselors.

To develop the game characters, Norris and her team are collecting data from focus groups of Latina students participating in the City of Orlando After-School All-Stars program based at Stonewall Jackson Middle School. In April, two groups of girls each came to 麻豆原创 twice to participate in games and other activities supervised by Jeff Wirth, director of the Interactive Performance Lab at 麻豆原创’s Institute for Simulation and Training.

The girls provided the 麻豆原创 researchers with real-world scenarios, as well as words, phrases and gestures they actually encounter at school and in social circles.

“Our researchers role play, and the girls often laugh as they give us feedback,” Norris said. “They might tell us, ‘We’d never say that!’ The girls are comfortable, even though the topic is sensitive.”

The researchers also visited the school to explain the study to parents and recruit participants. Before students could participate in the research, parents signed consent forms. Students and parents were informed that they can decide to stop participating at any time during the project.

After the game is developed, it will be tested on a small group of Latina girls. Their progress will be studied three, six and nine months after they start playing the game.

While the peer-resistance computer game is focused on young adolescent Latinas, all middle schoolers could benefit. If the game is successful for these girls, Norris plans to develop a similar game for boys and girls of other ethnicities.

Norris credits the City of Orlando’s After-School All-Stars program with its partnership and support. Eileen Smith, of 麻豆原创’s Institute for Simulation and Training, also is assisting with the development of the game.

This summer, to encourage participation in science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) careers and to ignite an interest in science, UBP will be hosting a science camp themed 鈥淢ission to Mars.鈥� Scholars will learn from three experts: Thomas Brueckner, a 麻豆原创 physics faculty member (an astrophysicist), Sigfredo Chiclana, a high school Science Olympiad & Robotics Coach, and Kara Hartage, a high school biology and chemistry teacher. The camp will be bookended by presentations by 麻豆原创 Physicist Daniel Britt and Russell Romanella from NASA.

It will also include a day of science exploration of mechanical and electrical design provided by the Girl Scouts of West Florida. 鈥淚nspector Gadget鈥� will allow students to design and build working catapults and build electronic circuits. Students will engage in classroom-based laboratories that will integrate hands on science and, in teams, they will design and build robots. The camp will also include a visit to the Robinson Observator (an opportunity to see a electron microscope); a field trip to Wonderworks; and several STEM-focused job shadowing experiences sponsored by Junior Achievement of Central Florida.

An anticipated outcome of the summer camp is that it will allay students鈥� fears of science and that they will:

1. Participate in more rigorous advanced courses
2. Progress toward college and career ready standards. The camp is aligned with the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, Grades 9-12, Physical Science, Standard 10: Energy and Standard 12: Motion.

鈥淚t is my goal to provide our scholars with every opportunity I can to explore careers in STEM,鈥� said McCloud.

The Upward Bound聽is a program in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services.

麻豆原创鈥檚 Center for Public and Nonprofit Management will improve the ability of nonprofits to provide services and promote the economic recovery of people with low incomes thanks to an award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 麻豆原创 is the only institution in Florida to receive an award from the department鈥檚 Strengthening Communities Fund.

The Strengthening Communities in Central Florida Program will target nonprofits in west Orange, south Lake and south Sumter counties. Both secular and faith-based nonprofits in these county regions will be eligible to apply for management training and technical and financial assistance offered by the center.

鈥淲e鈥檒l focus on communities where there are high rates of unemployment and poverty,鈥� said Naim Kapucu, the center鈥檚 director and principal investigator for the grant. 鈥淲e want to empower nonprofits in these areas to help individuals secure and retain employment, earn higher wages, obtain better jobs, and gain greater access to state and federal benefits and tax credits.鈥�

Over the next two years, the center will provide training to 80 nonprofits in five critical areas: organizational development, program development, collaboration and community engagement, leadership development, and evaluation of effectiveness. Twenty of these nonprofits also will receive extensive one-on-one assistance in strategic planning, financial management, and human resources policies and procedures, as well as an average of $30,000 in financial assistance.

鈥淭he nonprofits receiving financial assistance will be counseled to make investments that improve their efficiency and capacity,鈥� Kapucu said. 鈥淲e want to promote healthy financial practices.鈥�

The program is a natural extension of training and assistance programs completed by the center鈥檚 faculty, staff and graduate students over the past six years, Kapucu added. 鈥淲e鈥檝e already worked with more than 159 small nonprofit organizations across 麻豆原创鈥檚 11-county service area, all of which exhibited growth in their budget; numbers of staff, volunteers and clients; and sustainability,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his new program is a perfect fit with the capacity building mission of the Center for Public Nonprofit Management.鈥�

For information, visit or contact cpnm@mail.ucf.edu.

Fernandez-Valle鈥檚 efforts to fight Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), which affects one in 50,000 people, go beyond the laboratory. She regularly volunteers with a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health of children with the disease, and she also helped to establish two nationally affiliated clinics in Florida that bring together physicians with the best expertise.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a devastating disease,鈥� Fernandez-Valle said. 鈥淚t makes a big difference to my research and daily motivation to meet individuals who live every day with NF2. When the research results are discouraging, you think of your NF2 friends and how much they need you to succeed and you keep going.鈥� Continue

The Upward Bound Program will be developing a formal mentoring program designed to connect its participants with key faculty, staff, peer mentors, alumni, and community mentors. Mentoring will be used to enhance academic advising, aid with retention and provide social integration for the program鈥檚 participants. Additionally, an e-mail/Online Mentor program will be established.

The Tiger Woods Foundation grants program has supported an average of 100 charities annually and more than 10 million young people have benefited from the Tiger Woods Foundation since its inception in 1996. Through programs and annual events, the Foundation continues to make a difference in the lives of youth around the world.

麻豆原创 Upward Bound Program is in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services.