That dedication and her passion for research recently earned Kramer the inaugural Dean Deborah C. German, M.D. FIRE (Focused Individualized Research Experience) Impact Award, an honor named after the founding dean of 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Medicine who created the FIRE course, which requires every student to conduct a two-year research project.

German announced earlier this year that she is transitioning from her role and will remain at 麻豆原创 for a year as an advisor to the president and provost on health affairs. FIRE leaders created the award to honor German鈥檚 legacy of scientific discovery as part of medical training, an educational component that makes 麻豆原创鈥檚 medical school unique nationally.

鈥淚 want our students to develop a spirit of inquiry. I want every 麻豆原创 physician not to be afraid to seek answers to medicine鈥檚 unanswered questions.鈥� 鈥� Deborah German, College of Medicine dean

鈥淚 want our students to develop a spirit of inquiry,鈥� German told Kramer as she presented her with the award. 鈥淚 want every 麻豆原创 physician not to be afraid to seek answers to medicine鈥檚 unanswered questions.鈥�

After earning an undergraduate degree the University of South Florida, Kramer decided to attend 麻豆原创 in part because the FIRE course was one reason she came to 麻豆原创.

鈥淚 wanted to combine research with clinical care,鈥� she says.

Her FIRE project focused on glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer with a five-year survival rate of only 5% to 7%, according to the Mayo Clinic. Even if surgery, chemotherapy and radiation initially stop the cancer, it usually returns and becomes stronger. Kramer says she wanted to know why.

With support from her FIRE mentor, Kiminobu Sugaya, head of the College of Medicine鈥檚 neuroscience research division, she discovered that extracellular vesicles responsible for cell-to-cell communication may influence non-cancer cells to take on cancer-like properties.

The new award goes to the student whose research shows the greatest potential impact to medicine and/or biomedical research. College of Medicine faculty and fellow students chose Kramer for the award during the FIRE Conference.

鈥淚t is our privilege to establish this award in honor of Dean German,鈥� say Robert Hines and Lane Coffee, co-directors of the FIRE course. 鈥淲hen establishing this medical school, she realized the importance of rigorous scientific inquiry, and our students have benefited from 鈥� and will continue to benefit from 鈥� this course within the curriculum.鈥�

He鈥檚 an experienced skydiver, private pilot and scuba diver whose hero since childhood has been moon-walker Neil Armstrong. And now Melchor Antu帽ano is a 麻豆原创 Knight.

After 34 years with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 鈥� the longest term for any senior executive in the agency鈥檚 history 鈥� Antu帽ano has joined the College of Medicine鈥檚 team as a professor, and chief technologist and medical innovation officer. In these roles he鈥檒l help design new procedures and technologies to keep astronauts, pilots and airplane passengers safer and help create a new 麻豆原创 master鈥檚 degree in aerospace medicine and a residency program for aerospace medicine physicians. He鈥檒l also teach across 麻豆原创 colleges.

鈥淏eing part of this outstanding visionary team gives me the opportunity not only to help advance the field I love, but also to inspire, educate and mentor the next generation of physicians, scientists and innovators.鈥� 鈥� Melchor Antu帽ano, 麻豆原创 aerospace medicine medical innovation officer

Antu帽ano says a career in aerospace medicine has given him the 鈥渙pportunity to continually learn, adapt and contribute to a specialty defined by innovation, exploration, and discovery.鈥�

鈥淛oining the 麻豆原创 College of Medicine represents a new and exciting chapter in that journey,鈥� he continues. 鈥淏eing part of this outstanding visionary team gives me the opportunity not only to help advance the field I love, but also to inspire, educate and mentor the next generation of physicians, scientists and innovators.鈥�

He is the newest leader to join 麻豆原创鈥檚 new Center for Aerospace and Extreme Environments Medicine , a multidisciplinary center includes faculty experts in medicine, engineering, computer science, psychology, arts and educational leadership who will work together to research and develop new technologies for keeping space travelers healthy as well as soldiers on military missions, deep sea explorers, and mountain climbers.

鈥淒r. Antu帽ano brings to 麻豆原创 an extraordinary combination of operational experience, scientific leadership, innovation and a lifelong commitment to aerospace medicine,鈥� says Emmanuel Urquieta, vice chair for aerospace medicine and director of CASEEM. 鈥淔or more than three decades, he helped shape aerospace medicine and safety at the national and international levels. Having someone of his caliber join our team is transformative as we build a comprehensive aerospace medicine program that integrates clinical care, education, research and technology development.鈥�

A Resourceful First Responder Before Medical School

Born in Mexico City, Antu帽ano had two dreams as a child: to be a doctor and fly airplanes. Before entering medical school at the National Autonomous University of Mexico School of Medicine, he volunteered with the Red Cross and the country鈥檚 rescue squad as a paramedic, rescue worker and EMT. He couldn鈥檛 afford to buy a red emergency light for his car. So he made one using a pot.

鈥淢y parents always instilled in my sisters and me the importance of doing our best, persevering in the face of adversity, planning ahead and learning from our mistakes,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 learned from my parents the importance of being kind, fair and respectful to everybody.鈥�

He learned about aviation medicine during medical school and volunteered at the Mexican Government鈥檚 National Center of Aviation Medicine, where he learned about aviation physiology (including altitude chamber operations), human factors in aircraft accident investigation and pilot medical certification.

Impact Fueled by Taking Initiative

Next came residency. Antu帽ano says he came to America because the only civilian aerospace medicine residency program was at Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio.

He learned about this program by writing letters to senior U.S. federal government officials 鈥� including then President Ronald Reagan 鈥� inquiring where to pursue postgraduate training in aviation medicine in the U.S. He was accepted into the residency.

鈥淭hat opportunity allowed me to pursue my professional dream and meet aerospace medicine physicians from all over the world,鈥� he says.

Antu帽ano also earned a master鈥檚 in aerospace medicine at Wright State. His research was using a portable head cooling system to protect U.S. Air Force personnel from heat exposure. He built his lab in the kitchen of the residents鈥� lounge. He turned up the heat, then added oil and air heaters to create a thermal chamber. His experimental subjects were his classmates. He earned the Aerospace Medical Association鈥檚 Young Investigator Award for his initiative.

After residency, he received a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship from the National Research Council of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. After that, he was hired as a contract scientist for the school to work on personal cooling technology for individuals wearing nuclear, biological and chemical protective suits.

Antu帽ano joined the FAA in 1992 and served as manager of the Medical Education Division and the Medical Certification Division at the agency鈥檚 Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City. The institute is responsible for medically certifying that the nation鈥檚 pilots are physically fit to fly, training the physicians who perform the physical exams in the U.S. and in 90 countries worldwide, and conducting safety-related aerospace medicine and human factors research. He became CAMI鈥檚 director in 2001 and retired earlier this year as the longest serving director in history.

Steering the Future of Aerospace Medicine at 麻豆原创

鈥淎 leader has the responsibility to make more leaders,鈥� he says. 鈥淟ook for stars in the making 鈥� encourage them, support them and help turn them into future leaders.鈥� 鈥� Melchor Antu帽ano, 麻豆原创 aerospace medicine medical innovation officer

As the commercial space industry expands and humans prepare for longer missions to the moon, Mars and beyond, 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Medicine is charting a new frontier in healthcare. The goal: explore how factors such as microgravity, radiation and isolation impact the human body in space and how that knowledge can drive innovation into diagnostics, treatment and disease prevention for patients on Earth.

As part of that effort, the aerospace medicine team is developing courses for students across the university and building a lab that will design, create and test the next generation of medical equipment to keep space travelers healthy. The team just opened the 麻豆原创 Aerospace Medicine Clinic to provide medical certification exams for astronauts and pilots across the region.

Antu帽ano says he is excited about the future and his role in advancing aerospace medicine research while training the next generation of aerospace physicians.

鈥淎 leader has the responsibility to make more leaders,鈥� he says. 鈥淟ook for stars in the making 鈥� encourage them, support them and help turn them into future leaders.鈥�

Medicine can treat infections after people get sick, but 麻豆原创 infectious disease expert Mollie Jewett is seeking to halt Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which causes Lyme disease, in its tracks without relying on general antibiotics. Her goal: 鈥渟tarve鈥� the bacteria of the nutrients they need to function before they spread through the human body.

Jewett, professor and head of the Immunity and Pathogenesis Research Division at 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Medicine, is supported by a recently renewed five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

She is entering a third consecutive federally funded research cycle with $513,314 received this year. Jewett鈥檚 research builds upon more than a decade of discoveries that have narrowed the search for ways to stop B. burgdorferi from triggering Lyme disease, one of the nation鈥檚 most common vector-borne diseases. Her team includes a 麻豆原创 undergraduate who occasionally struggled to walk because of pain from Lyme disease.

The disease is spread by blacklegged ticks that become infected after biting mammals or birds carrying the bacteria. The ticks are so small, humans often don鈥檛 notice they have been bitten. Symptoms include fever, chills, headache and fatigue, which often are misdiagnosed as a virus or the flu. Even after treatment, Lyme disease patients can face complications including nervous system and heart issues, severe fatigue and arthritic pain.

The disease is most commonly found in Maine to Virginia and in the upper Midwest but is spreading as suburban growth enters wildlife areas. Florida reports few cases of Lyme disease annually, but travelers who go to endemic areas like New England are at increased risk.

A New Approach to Battle Borrelia

麻豆原创 researchers are focused on how B. burgdorferi manages to survive and thrive as it spreads in ticks and mammals to humans.

鈥淭he bacteria need to adapt to two different environments, and so we want to know how it does that,鈥� Jewett says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at what the bacteria eat and what it needs to survive. In our lab, we call Borrelia a wimpy pathogen because it can鈥檛 make a lot of the nutrients it needs on its own, and so it scavenges what it needs from wherever it is.鈥�

The first iteration of the NIH grant allowed the scientists to screen all of the bacteria鈥檚 genes that might be important for the infection. With the second grant, Jewett targeted three genes that appeared to play a role in spreading the infection from a bite on the skin to other parts of the human body.

“One of these three genes we found is important to the ability of the bacteria to consume riboflavin. We want to target this gene and see if we can starve the bacteria.” 鈥� Mollie Jewett, 麻豆原创 infectious disease expert

Now they have focused on riboflavin, commonly known as vitamin B2, after discovering that B. burgdorferi salvages the vitamin from each host to sustain itself.

鈥淥ne of these three genes we found is important to the ability of the bacteria to consume riboflavin,鈥� Jewett says. 鈥淲e know that riboflavin is a precursor for other cellular activities that are important to the metabolism of the bacteria. Essentially, we want to target this gene and see if we can starve the bacteria.鈥�

If their theory is successful, it could lead to therapies specific to B. burgdorferi that would prevent successful bacterial infection by limiting its riboflavin uptake. An advantage of such potential treatments would be that patients don鈥檛 have to take general antibiotics that can also harm the body鈥檚 good bacteria and increase risks for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The 麻豆原创 team is collaborating with Baylor University scientists to trace exactly how riboflavin is used by the bacteria.

Students Driving Discovery

Biomedical sciences doctoral student Anna Schulz 鈥�25MS played a key role in pinpointing specific ways the bacteria use riboflavin to generate energy. She served as first author on a recent publication examining these processes, and says she鈥檚 looking forward to growing as a researcher in this next phase.

鈥淎s a first author, I took more ownership over the experiments and the writing process,鈥� Schulz says. 鈥淸Jewett] was really great about letting me lead the project as a student. Borrelia is so unique, and there鈥檚 still so much we don鈥檛 know, and that鈥檚 what keeps me engaged with this research.鈥�

“… I couldn鈥檛 treat it until years after I got infected. So, I truly care about finding new treatments for Lyme disease.” 鈥� Grace Easterling, 麻豆原创 biomedical sciences student

Third-year biomedical sciences undergraduate Grace Easterling says she was drawn to Jewett鈥檚 lab because she previously developed Lyme disease and suffered tremendous joint pain. She was determined to find a way to protect others.

鈥淚t was something that, because we live in Florida, wasn鈥檛 caught early because it鈥檚 not as common,鈥� Easterling says. 鈥淚 struggled for a long time to get diagnosed, and I couldn鈥檛 treat it until years after I got infected. So, I truly care about finding new treatments for Lyme disease and understanding the bacteria.鈥�

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01AI099094. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

鈥淚 saw what she means to her community,鈥� says Dostal, who comes to 麻豆原创 from the University of Washington. 鈥淎nd I wanted to do the same thing for my community.鈥�

Dostal was one of 120 new 麻豆原创 College of Medicine students who received their white coats Monday in a traditional celebration that welcomes them as partners in healthcare.

Chosen from 5,422 applicants, the 120 new M.D. candidates received their undergraduate degrees from Yale, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Duke, Case Western and Emory in addition to 麻豆原创. They include scientists, artists, musicians, athletes, global volunteers and EMTs.

Monday was the 18th White Coat Ceremony in the history of the medical school, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. In his welcome, 麻豆原创 President Alexander N. Cartwright described 鈥渨hat began as a bold vision on undeveloped land in Lake Nona has grown into a thriving Academic Health Sciences Campus and a community focused on improving lives.鈥�

And he credited that growth to Deborah German, vice president for health affairs and founding dean, who has announced her transition from both roles. Monday was her last White Coat Ceremony.

鈥淒r. German helped transform an ambitious vision into the college you join today,鈥� he told students, parents, faculty and staff. 鈥淏ecause of her leadership, hundreds of physicians have begun their careers here, thousands of patients have been served, and new partnerships, discoveries, and opportunities have taken shape across Lake Nona and our state. Dr. German, your remarkable legacy will always hold a special place at 麻豆原创.鈥�

The Good Doctor

For every White Coat Ceremony, German has conducted the first class of medical school called 鈥淭he Good Doctor 鈥� A 麻豆原创 Tradition.鈥�

She asks first-year students to imagine the person they love most in the world is seriously ill with an undiagnosed condition. What are the traits they want to see in the doctor caring for their beloved? As students name attributes, German writes each word on a blackboard that is displayed in the College of Medicine atrium for the entire year.

The class of 2030 suggested 38 traits, including聽humble, trustworthy, dedicated, knowledgeable, ethical, determined, compassionate, resilient and innovative.

鈥淭his is your聽contract聽with your聽faculty,聽friends,聽family, community聽and聽each other,鈥� German said, pointing to the board. 鈥淎lways remember, The Good Doctor lives in each of you. With the聽guidance of the faculty聽and聽your own hard work, you will become The Good Doctor.鈥�

Inspired to Care for Others

As a 麻豆原创 undergraduate, Nelson Jones earned the Order of Pegasus, the university鈥檚 top student honor. Today he is a physician-in-training. Both of his parents are nurses, and he described how their care of others 鈥� especially in communities of need 鈥� inspired him. So did the opportunities 麻豆原创 provides.

鈥淚鈥檓 feeling extremely grateful and excited,鈥� he said after receiving his white coat. 鈥淭his university has built me into the person I am and will continue to build me into the physician I strive to become.鈥�

Vivian Silva-Dallenbach graduated from the University of South Florida with degrees in biomedical sciences and astronomy. She chose 麻豆原创 for medical school because of the college鈥檚 new aerospace medicine program. She鈥檚 researched how space flight affects the human body.

鈥淥nce I saw that 麻豆原创 has an aerospace medicine program, I knew it was a match,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 particularly interested in women鈥檚 health and how we can provide specialized care for female astronauts.鈥�

Dev Patel, another 麻豆原创 alum, says his dreams are inspired by the College of Medicine鈥檚 founding dean. 鈥淚 would like to take a page out of German鈥檚 book. She started with almost nothing to work with and she built something amazing here. So as we have such a long road in front of us, I鈥檓 hoping to follow in her footsteps and even have a fraction of the impact she did.鈥�

Studies have shown the condition affects nearly one in four women worldwide and is linked to dozens of potential disorders involving multiple organ systems. Yet many healthcare providers receive only limited training in diagnosing the source of pain, often leaving patients facing years of uncertainty, repeated testing and ineffective treatments before receiving the right diagnosis.

A yearlong collaboration between a 麻豆原创 physician-scientist and two biomedical sciences undergraduate students aims to create a better environment for doctors and patients to reach an understanding together. Biomedical sciences students Sarah Gabriela Nieto Chavarro and second-year Juliana Dimetry interned with Georgine Lamvu, a 麻豆原创 College of Medicine volunteer professor of obstetrics and gynecology, to transform years of international research into a practical tool to help clinicians evaluate patients more quickly and confidently.

The team is developing an AI-assisted clinical questionnaire application that guides physicians through a patient’s symptoms and identifies which organ systems and conditions should be examined. Rather than replacing a physician鈥檚 judgment, the application compiles patient histories quickly to help guide physicians toward making a clearer diagnosis.

From International Research to a Practical Tool

Despite the prevalence of CPP, many healthcare providers lack specialized training in diagnosing the underlying condition because symptoms often overlap with gastrointestinal, urinary, musculoskeletal and reproductive disorders.

鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping that this can become easy to use and can take a detailed medical history that could take an hour to get through down to just 5 to 10 minutes.鈥� 鈥� Georgine Lamvu, volunteer professor and Orlando VA practitioner

鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping that this can become easy to use and can take a detailed medical history that could take an hour to get through down to just 5 to 10 minutes,鈥� says Lamvu, who practices at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Orlando and directs its gynecological surgery fellowship program and center. 鈥淭hat allows physicians to have a more efficient evaluation and spend more time with the patient.鈥�

The center is a pioneering program designed to address the growing demand for specialized gynecologic care among women veterans. As the number of women veterans using VA healthcare services is expected to increase significantly, this fellowship and center aims to train highly skilled gynecologists to meet their healthcare needs within the VA system and beyond.

As part of that initiative, this project builds upon nearly five years of work led by Lamvu alongside an international coalition of physicians, researchers and patient advocacy groups.

Their research culminated in an international consensus called R U MOVING SOMe, an acronym that categorizes the broad range of symptoms associated with chronic pelvic pain and is the basis of the AI-tool Lamvu and her team developed.

Finding a Definitive Diagnosis

Lamvu says the team translated the clinical research into the logic behind a chatbot-style application that asks fewer than 20 targeted questions. Physicians enter a patient鈥檚 symptoms and history into the program, which then suggests the organ systems and conditions most likely responsible for the pain, helping clinicians focus their evaluation.

The team plans to expand the application beyond patient questionnaires by incorporating physical examination findings into the same scoring system. Ultimately, the researchers say they hope it can be used in any practice that serves women, but it may be years away from being realized.

鈥淧hysicians just need a way of processing all the information that comes from the patient to narrow it down to a differential diagnosis,鈥� Lamvu says. 鈥淩ight now, it鈥檚 all too common to see healthcare workers panic a little when they hear a patient has chronic pelvic pain because it’s considered a complex condition.鈥�

An Inspiring Internship

The students sifted through years of research and developed the logic for the AI in less than a year. Given the complexity of CPP and the vast amount of data, Lamvu says she is impressed by Dimetry and Nieto Chavarro.

鈥淭hey learned valuable lessons, like if you see a problem that seems unsolvable to everyone else and that directly and negatively impacts patients, you have the power to do something about it,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hese are experiences not every student gets to have, especially this early on in their life.鈥�

Dimetry says she challenge intrigued her, and that she was drawn to the project for the opportunity to be at the forefront of medicine and emerging technology.

鈥淚 think that adapting the field of medicine to AI in ways such as this project is necessary to keep medicine growing and advancing,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 also saw how impactful this project could be if done successfully, and I wanted to be a part of that and make a difference,鈥�

For Nieto Chavarro, who graduates Summer 2026, the experience showed her how to use technology to help deliver compassionate patient care.

鈥淥n a personal level, this experience has taught me to keep going and to never give up,鈥� Nieto Chavarro says. 鈥淎ll of this has ultimately reinforced how essential it is to genuinely listen to patients so they feel safe and understood鈥�

Students in the , with support from the American Association of Venezuelan Engineers (AAVE), are producing 3D-printed orthopedic devices 鈥� including splints, neck braces and animal immobilizers 鈥� for people and pets injured in the disaster.

The initiative, called Bracing Venezuela, began after BMES leaders contacted Greco Pinz贸n, president of AAVE. Pinzon鈥檚 dad, who has been volunteering in Caracas, Venezuela鈥檚 capital, connected the students with physicians on the ground who identified the types of orthopedic devices most urgently needed.

“… before we knew it, we had a campuswide humanitarian project taking shape.”

鈥淔rom there, everything snowballed,鈥� says Jannah Barakat, a mechanical engineering major and president of BMES. 鈥淲e started test printing, organizing volunteers, building a print tracker, reaching out to other student organizations, and before we knew it, we had a campuswide humanitarian project taking shape.鈥�

Since launching the effort, BMES has produced more than 350 devices that have been shipped to clinicians in Venezuela. Smaller items, such as finger and wrist splints, take only a few hours to print and are manufactured flat so they can be easily transported. Once they arrive, clinicians soften the material with hot water and mold each device to fit each patient. Larger devices, such as neck braces and animal leg braces, are printed in multiple sizes and can take up to 10 hours to complete. With volunteers printing from across 麻豆原创 and beyond, multiple devices can be produced simultaneously.

Bracing Venezuela has received support from Mohsen Rakhshan, an assistant professor in and BMES faculty advisor, who opened his lab鈥檚 3D printer for the project. While many volunteers are engineering students, faculty members, 麻豆原创 alumni and 3D-printing hobbyists have also come forward to help.

鈥淥ne of the coolest things about this project has been watching people from so many different backgrounds come together around one goal,鈥� Barakat says. 鈥淲hether you’re printing a brace, packing a box, donating supplies or simply helping us spread the word, every contribution helps get these devices into the hands of the people and animals who need them.鈥�

“I hope this initiative becomes a model for how engineering students can quickly mobilize to respond to humanitarian needs.”

Those interested in joining the initiative don鈥檛 need to own a 3D printer. BMES supplies filament to volunteers who have printers, while others can still make an impact by donating materials, connecting the organization with additional volunteers or helping spread the word.

For Barakat, Bracing Venezuela demonstrates what鈥檚 possible when engineering students come together for a greater good.

鈥淚 hope this initiative becomes a model for how engineering students can quickly mobilize to respond to humanitarian needs,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hether it’s supporting communities after natural disasters, helping [less fortunate] populations locally or partnering with organizations in other countries, I’d love to continue using engineering as a way to make healthcare more [widely available] wherever it’s needed.鈥�

To join the Bracing Venezuela initiative, email Jannah.barakat@ucf.edu.

麻豆原创 has the most inductees among universities in Florida in the 2026 American Academy of Nursing Class of Fellows, which includes influential healthcare leaders from across the U.S. and around the world. The induction ceremony will be held on Oct. 10, 2026, during the organization鈥檚 annual Health Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.

Fellows are selected through a rigorous nomination and review process, and recognized for substantial contributions to improving health outcomes. With the new cohort, the American Academy of Nursing will have more than 3,600 fellows worldwide dedicated to advancing nursing leadership, innovation and science.

The four new inductees, whose collective works have advanced care across the lifespan from pediatrics to older adults, will join 11 fellows of the American Academy of Nursing on faculty at 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Nursing.

Jean Davis 鈥�19PhD

Nursing Associate Professor Jean Davis is advancing public health through her interdisciplinary scholarly work. By working with a collaborative team of public health, psychology, kinesiology and artificial intelligence experts, she has developed and continually improved upon a physical activity habit-forming intervention that tailors cues for movement and optimizes responses to ultimately improve outcomes. This intervention is improving health for veterans and pregnant women, and influencing providers, educators and health systems. Davis is also dedicated to advancing nursing science through active mentorship of 麻豆原创 nursing students and early career scholars.

Jacqueline LaManna 鈥�13笔丑顿

For more than three decades, Family Nurse Practitioner and Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program Director Jacqueline LaManna 鈥�13笔丑顿 has made substantial contributions to advancing diabetes care and self-management education as a provider, educator and researcher. Her scholarly works have been cited more than 250 times and are included in the American Diabetes Association Standards of Care in Diabetes shaping care for pregnant women. In addition, LaManna has helped establish national frameworks for telehealth education for nurse practitioner graduate students that have been accessed more than 4,000 times.

Kimberly Navarro

Lecturer Kimberly Navarro is a certified nurse midwife and board-certified women鈥檚 health nurse practitioner who has pioneered community health initiatives to increase healthcare access and improve quality of care for children, adolescents, and pregnant women in the U.S., Guatemala, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. As program director of the Hispanic serving healthcare professionals graduate certificate at 麻豆原创, Navarro has increased access to the program, strengthened curriculum, and mentored future healthcare professionals. In addition to her faculty appointment Navarro maintains a clinical practice as founder and president of a technology-driven midwifery-led birth center in Orlando.

Kaitlyn Rechenberg

Associate Professor Kaitlyn Rechenberg is advancing standards of behavioral healthcare for children and adolescents living with complex chronic medical conditions through design and implementation of technology-driven interventions. She pioneered the development and validation of the first precision instrument to differentiate diabetes-specific anxiety symptoms from general anxiety symptoms. She also created a mobile health application to deliver tailored mindfulness training to adolescents living with diabetes. Her scholarly work has been cited in seminal position statements by both the American Diabetes Association and International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes and has been cited nearly 800 times across 26 countries.

After years of research and development聽led by聽experts at聽麻豆原创聽in collaboration with researchers聽from聽universities across the U.S.聽and in Europe, the Virtual Experience Research Accelerator (VERA) has reached two major milestones: powering its first full-scale study to address one of virtual reality鈥檚 most persistent barriers to adoption and awarding its first use grant聽to enhance immersive learning and information聽across industries.

VERA, a聽platform funded by the聽U.S.聽National Science Foundation, is the first, large-scale system for extended reality human subjects research and designed to advance the speed, scale and scope of immersive research. The platform enables immersive researchers to design, deploy, and manage virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) studies with remote participants therefore significantly improving the quality of the science, while reducing costs, lowering logistical barriers and expanding participant reach.

鈥淣o one has built anything like VERA before,鈥� says Pegasus Professor Gregory Welch, lead principal investigator on VERA. 鈥淭he team was really starting from scratch to create this national platform, integrating AI technologies and establishing policies and procedures that will produce methodologically rigorous behavioral data.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e excited for VERA to聽now聽start聽to run聽in an open beta mode and reach these two firsts,鈥澛燱elch continues.

Accelerating Understanding of Cybersickness

For its first major large-scale study聽leveraging聽remote participants, VERA is helping researchers address one of the most persistent challenges in virtual reality: cybersickness.

Cybersickness occurs when symptoms such as nausea, dizziness and discomfort are caused by a mismatch between visual motion in a headset and the user鈥檚 physical motion. Associate Professor of Computer Science Gerd Bruder, who is an affiliate researcher in the Institute of Simulation and Training, is leading the research study in collaboration with other 麻豆原创 researchers and external partners.

鈥淯nderstanding聽who is聽susceptible聽to cybersickness is critical to improving VR accessibility,聽making聽VR聽more comfortable for all users聽and聽enabling聽broader adoption across research, education and industry,鈥� Bruder聽says.

Early data collection highlights the聽powerful聽capabilities of the VERA platform to accelerate VR research at an unprecedented scale.

In just 15 cumulative days, VERA had more than 250 participants聽complete聽the full study protocol. In comparison, the聽original in-lab study collected data from聽just聽30 participants聽and in traditional VR research聽settings,聽studies with hundreds of participants often require several months to complete.

For the study, each participant experiences a controlled VR rollercoaster ride on their own headset and provides sickness ratings at periodic intervals, a pre- and post- exposure questionnaire, an in-VR visual acuity assessment, and continuous head-tracking data. Each session is completed in approximately 30 minutes at home.

鈥淭he sectors where VERA can make an impact聽are聽expansive, from healthcare to workforce training to accessibility to learning.鈥�

Enrollment is ongoing with a target of 2,000 participants. Preliminary analyses already suggest meaningful individual differences in how quickly and severely participants experience cybersickness.

鈥淰ERA was built to study problems like this with a combination of speed, scale and experimental complexity not previously possible,鈥� Welch says. 鈥淭he sectors where VERA can make an impact are expansive, from healthcare to workforce training to accessibility to learning.鈥�

Groundbreaking Immersive Learning Project

For the first project selected in its Use Grant program, VERA is supporting innovative research to study how different immersive technologies engage learners in different ways. The study will help inform how to leverage emerging technologies in education, cultural institutions, public engagement and more.

The grant was awarded to the聽San Jos茅 State University School of Information Library Technology Integration Lab in Silicon Valley and New Media Learning,聽one of the largest providers of virtual reality programming in public libraries.

The project will support a collaborative virtual reality research environment integrated with VERA with participants from across the U.S. in public libraries, universities and other sites.

Researchers will collect behavioral and interaction data including attention patterns, object interaction, navigation pathways, movement, clicks, engagement metrics, and time-on-task, supplemented by surveys and participant feedback. The resulting research environment will serve a scalable prototype for future applications to make immersive learning experiences more accessible to communities worldwide.

A distinguishing feature of the project is the active involvement of San Jos茅 State University undergraduate and graduate students from the School of Information who will work alongside faculty researchers and technology partners to gain hands-on experience.

鈥淏eing selected as the first VERA Use Grant recipient is both an honor and an extraordinary opportunity,鈥� says Anthony S. Chow, professor in the San Jos茅 State University School of Information and founder of the Library Technology Integration Lab. 鈥淭hrough this collaboration, we hope to generate research that helps libraries, educators, museums and community organizations leverage virtual reality to address some of society鈥檚 most important challenges while creating meaningful research opportunities for students.鈥�

鈥淲e are excited to welcome聽San Jos茅 State University聽and New Media Learning as the first recipients of a VERA聽Use聽Grant,鈥� Welch聽says. 鈥淭heir聽expertise聽in libraries, immersive learning, public聽engagement聽and emerging technologies makes them ideal partners聽for聽demonstrating聽how VERA can accelerate impactful XR research. We believe this collaboration will help聽establish聽new models for studying learning, engagement, and information behavior in immersive environments.鈥�

麻豆原创 College of Medicine Associate Professor Claudia Andl, a throat and oral cancer researcher, is investigating how a simple probiotic could treat and prevent both conditions..

麻豆原创 College of Medicine Associate Professor Claudia Andl, a throat and oral cancer researcher, is investigating how a simple probiotic could treat and prevent both conditions. The research is funded by a one-year, more than $380,000 grant from the Florida Department of Health鈥檚 Florida Cancer Innovation Fund.

Probiotics are live microorganisms 鈥� usually bacteria or yeasts 鈥� that support and strengthen health by increasing the body鈥檚 population of healthy cells. Many people take probiotics to improve gut health and digestion. Andl鈥檚 research is focused on using a healthy bacteria called Lactobacillus spp. to treat esophageal damage caused by acid reflux and improve the microbial environment in the esophagus to reduce the risk of cancer.

In patients with acid reflux 鈥� as well as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a chronic and more severe form of the digestive condition 鈥� stomach acid burns through the lining of the esophagus, causing inflammation and DNA damage to surrounding cells. Over time, those cellular changes can create a condition called Barrett鈥檚 esophagus, which increases the risk for esophageal cancer. In addition, when the throat鈥檚 bacterial environment becomes dominated by stomach acids and salts, healthy bacteria struggle to survive. Harmful bacteria take their place, causing further cell damage and inflammation that increases cancer risk. Introducing Lactobacillus spp. into disease models has solved both issues.

鈥淲e all talk about how important it is to eat yogurt or drink kombucha so that we maintain a healthy bacterial residence in all your organs. And it鈥檚 the same in the esophagus.鈥�

鈥淭he reintroduction of beneficial bacteria works two-fold,鈥� Andl says. 鈥淚t restores a normal environment again, but also these Lactobacilli are known to suppress inflammation and repair the DNA damage.鈥�

鈥淲e all talk about how important it is to eat yogurt or drink kombucha so that we maintain a healthy bacterial residence in all your organs,鈥� Andl continues. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 the same in the esophagus.鈥�

Early results have shown a reduction in Barrett鈥檚 esophagus, and if cancer develops at all, it occurs much later than in models not treated with the probiotic.

Andl says she hopes her research will inform new therapies and provide more information on how to keep the body鈥檚 microbial balance healthy to fight disease. She notes this is especially important as data also shows Barett鈥檚 esophagus and esophageal cancer are increasing in patients under ages 60-70, the average age for these patient populations.

鈥淲e aim to improve outcomes for the large number of reflux patients at risk for cancer,鈥� Andl says. 鈥淧laying a role in that would be incredibly rewarding.鈥�

Andl joined 麻豆原创 in 2016 after receiving her Ph.D. in cell biology from the University Duisburg-Essen in Germany and conducting postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania.

This research is sponsored by the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund and the Florida Department of Health.

Dinender Singla, professor and head of the College of Medicine鈥檚 Division of Metabolic and Cardiovascular Sciences, developed a system that turns exosomes 鈥� vesicles that cells secrete to communicate with one another 鈥� into delivery vehicles for medical treatments.

This innovative technology, for which 麻豆原创 is seeking patent protection, places therapeutics inside exosomes and coats them with cell-specific markers that direct them to an exact area of the body to deliver the drug.

鈥淚 call these smart tiny bubbles,鈥� Singla says. 鈥淢illions of people have heart disease, and they take multiple drugs in extremely high doses. But we have no way to be certain these drugs are getting to where they need to go. We need innovative technologies to get treatments exactly where they need to go to cure the problem.鈥�

How the Therapy Works

This discovery is part of Singla鈥檚 work to provide therapies to treat and prevent heart disease, including heart damage caused by cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and targeted radiation to the chest. That heart damage seems to be caused by inflammatory factors that treatments use to kill cancer cells. Technology developed by Singla encapsulates anti-inflammatory heart treatments in exosomes and then delivers the drug to the exact area of heart damage.

鈥淭hey can treat cancer and protect the heart.鈥� 鈥� 麻豆原创 Professor Dinender Singla

As part of this research, Singla鈥檚 team also developed technologies to deliver cancer-killing drugs inside exosomes. They chose triple-negative breast cancer for their research, the deadliest form of the disease, with a 77%鈥�78% five-year survival rate. In the lab, the therapy showed significant promise in killing cancer cells 鈥� at much lower doses that are used in chemotherapy 鈥� while also protecting the heart. So the exosome therapy could help cancer patients without the severe side effects of chemotherapy.

鈥淭hese therapies can work hand-in-hand,鈥� Singla said. 鈥淭hey can treat cancer and protect the heart.鈥�

Financial Investment is Key for Drug Development

The next step will be manufacturing the therapy for clinical use and advancing into FDA clinical trials for heart disease and cancer treatment. To help accelerate that path, Singla partnered with Orlando investor and 麻豆原创 donor Chakri Toleti, a healthcare technology entrepreneur focused on building category-defining businesses through AI and agentic platforms, biomedical innovation and ambient intelligence including most recently care.ai, which was acquired by Stryker in 2024.

Through his innovation fund, TCapital, Toleti backs transformative technologies designed to improve healthcare delivery and reduce human suffering at scale. Together, Singla and Toleti invested in and formed Exomic to fund continued research, clinical development, and commercialization of the technology.

鈥淭his was an opportunity to do something truly innovative in cancer and cardiovascular treatment.鈥� 鈥� Chakri Toleti, 麻豆原创 donor

Toleti says his passion for advancing cancer research is deeply personal after losing his father to the disease.

鈥淭his was an opportunity to do something truly innovative in cancer and cardiovascular treatment,鈥� he says. 鈥淒r. Singla鈥檚 work represents a fundamental shift toward new biomedical platforms not only in how targeted therapies are delivered in the human body, but in how we think about treatment and healing itself.鈥�

Such public-private partnerships are one of the goals of , which drives innovation, enterprise, and collaboration across disciplines.

鈥淒r. Singla鈥檚 groundbreaking exosome delivery system perfectly exemplifies how university innovation translates into significant, life-saving benefits for society,鈥� says Winston V. Schoenfeld, vice president for research and innovation. 鈥淎s demonstrated by the creation of Exomic, industry partnership is essential for driving such pioneering technologies towards successful translation and real-world clinical use.鈥�

The effort is also providing exciting learning opportunities for College of Medicine graduate students. Jonatas De Mendonca Rolando 鈥�23MS 鈥�26PhD聽earned his Ph.D. in biomedical sciences earlier this month. He is staying at 麻豆原创 as a post-doctoral researcher to continue creating the exosome therapy.

He helped develop protocols and procedures for the delicate technology and saw its impact in the lab. He鈥檚 excited to have a financial supporter who can help take the therapy from lab to, he hopes, patients.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing to part of a high-tech project and see leadership in science,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 am very excited for my future.鈥�

Researcher Background

Singla is the AdventHealth Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Sciences at the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences and is a faculty fellow with the 麻豆原创 Office of Research. He earned his bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees from Punjabi University, Patiala, India, and his Ph.D. from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and has continually been funded by the American Heart Association and/or the National Institutes of Health since 2004.

About TCapital

TCapital is an AI, Frontier Tech and Life Sciences innovation fund investing in category-defining platforms and infrastructure. Founded by healthcare technology entrepreneur Chakri Toleti, T-Capital invests in companies shaping the future of treatment, care, and biomedical innovation. For more information, visit TCapital.com.