Office of Community Relations

UF Government and Community Relations

Monday, February 12, 2024

Across the University of Florida, our 16 colleges, numerous institutes, and health care facilities embrace our shared mission of outreach and service to improve and enrich our community, nation, and the world. UF in the Community spotlights the impact of UF in our region.

Although UF has students and employees throughout the state, North Central Florida is home to much of our faculty and staff and to our 50,000+ students. Like all area residents, we want a vibrant, safe, healthy, and equitable place in which to live and thrive. Here are some of the ways in which we are enhancing our shared community.?

Join us at the Eye Opener Discover Breakfast on February 21 to hear from Ja’Net Glover, Associate Vice President of Career and Integrative Partnerships, to learn about the University of Florida's proactive approach to preparing learners for a transformative decade ahead. Amidst rapid workforce evolution, UF is committed to equipping graduates with essential skills for life-long learning and growth. Discover how UF is reimagining the talent engagement ecosystem, ensuring our learners are adept, adaptable, and ready to lead in an era that demands reskilling and upskilling in an ever-evolving global community. Don't miss this opportunity to explore UF's visionary strategies for shaping the workforce of the future.

UF achieves No. 1 ranking for online bachelor’s degrees for veterans

For the second year in a row, U.S. News & World Report has ranked University of Florida as the top institution in the country to offer an online bachelor’s degree for veterans and active-duty service members. The rankings organization also named UF as the country’s No. 1 university to earn an online bachelor’s degree in business.

The top veterans ranking recognizes student retention and graduation rates, faculty credentials and UF’s certification for participation in the GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon program, which provide tuition and other benefits for veterans. The ranking acknowledges UF’s tradition of support to U.S. military members, many of whom pursue their degrees from around the world.



“We are deeply grateful for our veterans and active-duty service members, and UF recognizes and honors their unique experiences, contributions, and sacrifices,” said Scott Angle, UF’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “At the heart of the university’s commitment to excellence is a profound belief in the transformative power of education, and we are proud to offer customized opportunities for our veterans and many other students who benefit from the flexibility and access available online.”

University of Florida researchers unlock new frontiers in brain tumor treatments

As a physician-scientist and cancer researcher at the University of Florida, Duane Mitchell, M.D., Ph.D., is providing hope for patients in an area where there is often little: treatment for malignant brain tumors. By pioneering several novel brain tumor immunotherapies, which have been translated into first-in-human clinical trials and multicenter phase two studies, Mitchell is advancing some of the most groundbreaking brain tumor treatments in the country.

Throughout the past decade, researchers at the Preston A. Wells Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy at UF Health (which Mitchell co-directs) have discovered, developed, and received FDA approval to advance 12 new investigational therapeutics to treat malignant brain tumors. This has resulted in 13 novel immunotherapy clinical trials that have been launched at UF.



With the help of a UF Health-led collaboration called the ReMission Alliance, researchers have entered a new frontier: combining the best treatment approaches from these trials (which include cancer vaccines, adoptive T-cell therapy, and immune checkpoint inhibitors) to overcome the limitations of a singular approach. This promises to provide new treatment options for more patients, including those who do not respond to traditional immunotherapy.

World cancer day: how the UF Health Cancer Center is closing the care gap

World Cancer Day is held every year on Feb. 4 to raise awareness of cancer and encourage its prevention, detection and treatment. The international awareness day aims to catalyze collective action to work toward a world where preventable cancer deaths are saved and access to life-saving cancer treatment and care is equitable for all.

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide. Up to 50% of cancer cases can be prevented through lifestyle changes, such as not smoking, healthy diet and exercise.



This year’s World Cancer Day theme, “Close the Care Gap,” is all about making sure leaders make a commitment to prioritizing cancer, creating innovative strategies designed to confront inequity and investing resources to achieve a just and cancer-free world.

The University of Florida Health Cancer Center is closing the care gap through leading-edge research that directly impacts patient outcomes, allowing patients access to the very latest cancer-fighting technologies and drugs.

UF/IFAS Scientists Address Food Security in The Caribbean

At their core, land-grant institutions like the University of Florida focus on how science, research and global partnerships can address food-security challenges, develop innovative solutions and efficiently reach those in need.

To promote food security, a team of University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) faculty recently conducted a three-day training program in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to address the challenges of excess and lack of nutrients used for agricultural production.



The training was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service; U.S. Agency for International Development/Eastern and Southern Caribbean Region; the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labour and the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund.F/IFAS scientists address food security in the Caribbean.

Can we create the molecules of life?

Basic biology textbooks will tell you that all life on Earth is built from four types of molecules: proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids. And each group is vital for every living organism. 

But what if humans could actually show that these “molecules of life,” such as amino acids and DNA bases, can be formed naturally in the right environment? Researchers at the University of Florida are using the HiPerGator – the fastest supercomputer in U.S. higher education – to test this experiment.



HiPerGator – with its AI models and vast capacity for Graphics Processing Units, or GPUs (specialized processors designed to accelerate graphics renderings) – is transforming the molecular research game. Until a decade ago, conducting research on the evolution and interactions of large collections of atoms and molecules could only be done using simple computer simulation experiments; the computing power needed to handle the datasets just wasn’t available. 

Shark bites consistent with recent trends, with small spike in fatalities

There was an increase in the number of unprovoked shark attacks worldwide and an uptick in fatalities in 2023 compared to the previous year. The University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File (ISAF), a scientific database of global shark attacks, confirmed 69 unprovoked bites in 2023. Although this is higher than the previous five-year average of 63 attacks, the data remain consistent with long-term trends. 

Ten of the past year’s unprovoked attacks were fatal, up from five the year before, with a disproportionate number occurring in Australia. Although the country accounted for 22% of all attacks, it made up 40% of fatalities. There were also two confirmed deaths in the U.S., and one each in the Bahamas, Egypt, Mexico and New Caledonia. Other confirmed, non-fatal bites occurred in Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, New Zealand, Seychelles, Turks and Caicos, Ecuador (in The Galápagos Islands) and South Africa.



“This is within the range of the normal number of bites, though the fatalities are a bit unnerving this year,” said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s shark research program.

Florida 4-H receives boost for outdoor education program from AmeriCorps

Florida 4-H has received an AmeriCorps service grant through Volunteer Florida to expand environmental education programs to reach more K-12 students with hands-on, outdoor-based learning. AmeriCorps members will serve at 4-H’s three camp education centers to facilitate programs and classes for students. Members will increase Florida 4-H’s capacity to expand 4-H’s overnight camp and education programs both on-site and through community outreach.

Florida 4-H is run through the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and is the first UF organization to be granted AmeriCorps members.



“Partnership with AmeriCorps will enable Florida 4-H to expand our already robust environmental education program with new offerings and reaching more young people. We are excited to be able to offer these programs to students and families throughout our state as our three 4-H camps provide the perfect setting for hands-on learning about Florida’s land, air and water,” said Stacey Ellison, state 4-H program leader.

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES CONTACT

Brittany Wise

brittany.alana@ufl.edu

(352) 273-3820

Karen Thomas

Director, Community Relations