College of Medicine News
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UF's work on NIH "glue grant" expands to clinical studies
(02/07 2008)The University of Florida College of Medicine and its affiliate hospital Shands at UF will serve as a clinical study site through a national research consortium aiming to uncover the biological reasons why burn and traumatic injury patients often have dramatically different outcomes. More...
Scientists rebuild ancient proteins to reveal primordial earth's temperature
(02/06 2008)p>Using the genetic equivalent of an ancient thermometer, a team of scientists has determined that the Earth endured a massive cooling period between 500 million and 3.5 billion years ago. More...
Moffitt Cancer Center, Shands, UF to partner to improve cancer care
(01/23 2008)
Kim Jamerson, Shands HealthCare
jamerk@shands.ufl.edu
(352) 265-0373 More...
Moffitt - Shands HealthCare - University of Florida Question & Answer
(01/23 2008)b>What is the vision for an alliance among Moffitt, Shands HealthCare and the University of Florida? More...
Moffitt Cancer Center, Shands Healthcare and University of Florida fact sheet
(01/23 2008)he burden of cancer in Florida is the second highest in the nation and the multiple challenges that cancer presents will not be solved by one entity alone. Alliances are needed among superior health care providers across the state to personalize and improve cancer care. More...
UF research snuffs out notion that smokeless tobacco is lesser of two evils
(01/15 2008)ons of Americans make the New Year's resolution to stop smoking, but far too many break ranks before Jan. 2. Their dismal success rate has health officials scrambling to come up with easier ways to quit, and many have toyed with the idea that smokeless tobacco could ease the transition off cigarettes. But research by University of Florida scientists suggests that tactic would be a catch - 22, especially in younger smokers. More...
Protein power: Researchers trigger insulin production in diabetic mice
(01/08 2008)Photo available in the Image Gallery!
If the human body were a stage, then proteins would rank among the lead actors in the play we call "Life."
These large biological molecules hold many starring roles, and their lines are dictated by information encoded in our genes. They are production powerhouses, regulating the basic processes of living and controlling countless functions. Many are enzymes that produce or use energy. Others regulate genes.
Researchers are increasingly studying proteins as potential therapies for a variety of dread diseases because they can influence cell behavior by fueling or dampening certain molecular signals.
Now University of Florida researchers have coaxed liver and pancreatic cells within diabetic mice into churning out insulin by injecting the animals with a naturally occurring protein called Pdx1, opening up a new research avenue that someday could lead to safer treatments for type 1 diabetes. Pdx1 activates the genes controlling the development of the pancreas cells that make and release insulin to maintain safe levels of glucose in the body. The UF research team's novel approach is described online in the journal Diabetes.
"Pdx1 is so special because it possesses a unique amino acid sequence that acts as a sort of molecular passport, allowing it to pass freely into cells, enter the nucleus and activate insulin production and release," said lead scientist Li-Jun Yang, M.D., an associate professor of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine at UF's College of Medicine.
Earlier research has shown that inserting the Pdx1 gene into liver or pancreas cells can induce insulin production, but most gene therapy methods use viruses to introduce a piece of genetically engineered DNA into cells. The disadvantage of such approaches is that researchers can never be certain the viruses are entirely harmless, Yang said.
The idea with protein therapy is that eventually a person's own cells could be reprogrammed to naturally produce the hormone, restoring the body's ability to properly regulate blood sugar levels without having to use a potentially hazardous virus to slip corrective genes into the body or having to transplant pancreatic cells from someone else. That could eliminate the adverse effects sometimes associated with gene therapy and eliminate the need for lifelong suppression of the immune system so transplanted cells are not rejected, Yang said.
"We sought to see what happens if we inject highly pure Pdx1 protein into (the abdomens of) diabetic animals," said Yang, who is also a founder and head of the scientific advisory board for Transgeneron Therapeutics Inc., which seeks to develop Pdx1 as a treatment for diabetes. UF holds a provisional patent on Pdx1 protein therapy. "Amazingly, the treated mice did all the rest. Upon daily injection of this protein for 10 days into diabetic animals, their blood glucose levels became normalized within two weeks following the first injection. We repeated the experiment six times, and we got the reproducible result every time. What is remarkable is that the protein also promotes regeneration of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, allowing the diabetic mice to become normal."
Yang said there is now reason to believe normal blood sugar levels can be maintained for long periods, suggesting that an infrequent Pdx1 injection might someday replace daily insulin injections. Even more importantly, the reprogrammed and regenerated cells should make and release insulin, automatically maintaining safe blood sugar levels, she said.
"Right now, promoting beta cell regeneration has become such a hot topic," she added. "The trick is to figure out how to trigger glucose-regulated insulin-producing cells to regenerate."
Still, the approach will have to be tested in studies that assess its safety before scientists could conduct patient trials to determine whether it works in people, studies that are still years away.
"What's so innovative about UF's approach is the ability to normalize blood glucose levels in diabetic mice simply by delivering Pdx1 protein in the target cells, thus effectively eliminating the side effects associated with gene therapy," Yang said.
Joel Habener, M.D., a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School whose research team was one of three groups that discovered Pdx1 and identified it as an important regulator of pancreas development, said using viruses as vectors for gene therapy in humans can pose problems because of the body's immune reaction to them. He heralded the UF findings and said the idea of using a protein to correct a condition like diabetes is appealing because it is naturally occurring, "not a chemical compound that's been synthesized from the mind of a chemist that's a foreign substance."
"What these findings teach is there is promise for a therapeutic approach to the treatment of diabetes," he said. "I think one of the really major breakthroughs here is the demonstration of principle that the naked protein in and of itself can get into cells and cause changes that are remarkable in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes, the regeneration of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas."
More...UF scientists test the safety of experimental drug for vision loss
(01/03 2008)first-of-its-kind safety research study, University of Florida researchers have injected an anti-inflammatory compound into the eye of a person with a sight-robbing disease. More...
James McLamb, M.D.-Jacksonville
(12/19 2007)James McLamb, M.D., a retired associate professor of community health and family medicine and senior vice president for planning and development, was recently recognized for his years of distinguished service to UF. The UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville Executive Committee honored McLamb with a special resolution celebrating his achievements. McLamb joined the UF faculty in 1986. He was instrumental in establishing the UF Primary Care Physicians Advisory Board and served as medical director of the UF Primary Care Network. He also served as senior vice president for planning and development for Shands Jacksonville and the UF Health Science Center-Jacksonville; as chairman of the Planning and Development Committee of Shands Jacksonville and University of Florida Jacksonville Healthcare, Incorporated; and as a member of SJ/UFJHI Managed Care. More...
Robert McKenna, Ph.D. - College of Medicine
(12/19 2007)Robert McKenna, Ph.D., an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, received the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Distinguished Mentor Award in honor of his continued work in mentoring outstanding undergraduate students in research. Past recipients of the award include faculty members Michael Bubb, M.D., Barbara Battelle, Ph.D., and Mavis Agbandje-McKenna, Ph.D., all professors in the College of Medicine. More...
Curtis Tribble, M.D. - College of Medicine
(12/19 2007)Curtis Tribble, M.D., the vice chair of the department of surgery and chief of the division of cardiothoracic surgery, was recently elected to be a director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. There are 12 directors at any given time, and Tribble is only the second director ever elected from Florida. The board’s purpose is to ensure that new surgeons entering the field of thoracic surgery meet the high standards expected of professionals in this specialty. More...
Rebecca Rainer Pauly, M.D, - Health Affairs
(12/19 2007)Rebecca Rainer Pauly, M.D., the associate vice president for equity and diversity, was recently selected as co-chair of the Florida Alliance, an organization that was established to increase diversity in the health professions and reduce disparities in health care. The Florida Alliance consists of health-care and university leaders, including those from the state's other major research universities. More...
Why Diversity Matters
(12/19 2007)>The grandmother, a black woman in her 70s, seemed surprised when Donna Parker, M.D., walked into the room at the Alachua County Health Department. It was 14 years ago, but Parker still remembers the woman's exact words: More...
Too much fructose could leave dieters sugar shocked.
(12/12 2007)s one tip for how to eat at the holidays: Don't take your cues from Santa. The sugary cookies and fat-laden fruitcakes the mythical North Pole resident eats are a no-no. But you don't have to go no-carb to stay fit at the holidays, either, University of Florida researchers say. More...
Breast MRI spots other cancers, may alter treatment plan
(12/05 2007)his study was presented at the 119th annual meeting of the Southern Surgical Association, held Dec. 2-5 in Hot Springs, Va., and will appear in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. More...
Club drugs inflict damage similar to traumatic brain injury
(11/29 2007)hat do suffering a traumatic brain injury and using club drugs have in common? University of Florida researchers say both may trigger a similar chemical chain reaction in the brain, leading to cell death, memory loss and potentially irreversible brain damage. More...
Gatorade inventor dies
(11/27 2007)Photo available in the Image Gallery!
Dr. J. Robert Cade, the legendary University of Florida scientist who led the research team that gave the world Gatorade, passed away Tuesday at Shands at UF medical center. He was 80.
"Today, with his passing, the University of Florida lost a legend, lost one of its best friends and lost a creative genius," said Dr. Edward Block, chairman of the department of medicine in the College of Medicine, where Cade was an emeritus professor. "Losing any one of those is huge. When you lose all three in one person, it's something you cannot recoup."
He had a sense of humor, a quirky one at that, friends and colleagues said. His research, philanthropy and leadership helped countless people during his more than 40 years at UF.
Dr. Cade liked to tell the story of how a football player sampling an early batch of Gatorade compared the beverage's taste to a less-than-savory bodily fluid. An old newspaper article describes how he tested the durability of a hydraulic helmet he invented by hitting an assistant in the head. She was wearing the helmet, and it, of course, worked brilliantly.
"He thought outside of the box," said Dr. Richard Johnson, the J. Robert Cade professor of nephrology and division chief of nephrology. "He was a maverick in his time."
A native of San Antonio, Texas, Cade attended medical school at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He came to UF in 1961 as an assistant professor for the College of Medicine's renal division. He was UF's first kidney specialist and one of the university's first true clinical and translational researchers, said Dr. Bruce Kone, dean of the UF College of Medicine.
"He had a wide range of research interests," Kone said. "He was a very creative scientist. He was the perfect blend of imagination and practicality."
Cade and the research fellows working in his lab began experimenting with Gatorade in 1965. They wanted to create a drink that would help keep UF football players hydrated on the field, but the mixture of glucose and sodium didn't taste like much until his wife suggested they add lemons.
"We got lemon squeezers' cramp after five lemons," Cade joked in 2005. "We liked the taste of it though no one else did. Then we made it sweet and we thought it tastes very good."
After a sports reporter exposed how the invention was helping the football team with the headline, "One Lil'Swig of That Kickapoo Juice and Biff, Bam, Sock — It's Gators, 8-2," Gatorade was no longer a secret.
Gatorade bred a multibillion-dollar sports drink industry and has brought in more than $150 million in royalties to UF since its invention 40 years ago. The money has funded numerous projects and programs in the UF College of Medicine. Cade also used some of his share of the royalties to fund scholarships and an endowed chair in the college.
"Without that funding, the College of Medicine would not be where it stands today," Kone said.
Cade also invented a slew of other creations, namely a beer called Hop N' Gator, which was on the market for about 10 years, a high-protein milk drink called Gator Go! and a nutritional ice pop to help sick children.
"He continued to do research until he was 79," Johnson said. "I had the pleasure of writing a paper with him a few years ago."
Block also described Cade — a man who collected Studebakers, quoted Wordsworth and Tennyson and doted on his six children and numerous grandchildren — as a role model for how to behave like a gentleman.
"We talk about the Gator Nation, Gatorade put the Gator Nation on the map," Block said. "Everybody knows who we are because of that."
Dr. Cade is survived by a wife, Mary Strasburger of Gainesville, Fla.; two sons, Michael of Texas and Stephen of Gainesville, Fla.; four daughters, Martha of Gainesville, Fla., Celia Cade Johnson of Oregon, Emily Morrison of Boston, and Phoebe Miles of Washington, D.C.; 20 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
More...Gene therapy safety trial for childhood blindness under way
(11/19 2007)hree decades have passed since gene therapy pioneer William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the University of Florida began work on a virus that could safely deliver corrective genes into living animals. More...
College of Medicine-Leslie Jebson, M.H.A.
(11/15 2007)Leslie Jebson, M.H.A., the associate director of UF's Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute, received the annual "Early Careerist" award at the 2007 American College of Healthcare Executives conference in Orlando. The award is presented each year to a health-care professional who demonstrates outstanding leadership abilities and innovative management skills at the state and community levels. More...
College of Medicine-Ronald J. Mandel, Ph.D., M.H.A.
(11/15 2007)Ronald J. Mandel, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience, has been appointed to the National Institutes of Health Center for Scientific Review's Clinical Neuroplasticity and Neurotransmitters Study Section. More...
For richer or poorer-Why UF ia a safety net for many in need
(11/15 2007)Millions lack health insurance and access to care. The problems are many, but UF faculty and students are trying to break down some of these barriers. More...
Simple reason helps males evolve more quickly
(11/14 2007)The observation that males evolve more quickly than females has been around since 19th century biologist Charles Darwin noted the majesty of a peacock's tail feather in comparison with the plainness of the peahen's. More...
UF researchers track genetic journey of HIV from birth to death
(10/16 2007)niversity of Florida scientists have discovered how HIV evolves over the course of a person's lifetime into a more deadly form that heralds the onset of full-blown AIDS. The findings could pave the way for new therapeutic agents that target the virus earlier in the disease process, before it takes a lethal turn, researchers say. More...
Wayne Goodman, M.D.- College of Medicine
(10/09 2007)Wayne Goodman, M.D., chairman of the department of psychiatry, has begun a three-year term on the state's Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council. "The Suicide Prevention Coordinating Council will develop and implement a statewide strategy to reduce Florida’s suicide rate," said Gov. Charlie Crist in a written statement. "I am hopeful that through their work, fewer families and communities will be affected by suicide." More...
Stephen I. Hsu, M.D., Ph.D.-College of Medicine
(10/09 2007)Stephen I. Hsu, M.D., Ph.D., the R. Glenn Davis associate professor of clinical and translational medicine in the division of nephrology, hypertension and renal transplantation, has been named director of the M.D./Ph.D. program. Hsu came to UF in July from Harvard Medical School, where he was an assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Hsu is an expert in the fields of cell cycle regulation, nephrogenomics and nephroproteomics. More...
Samsun Lampotang, Ph.D.-College of Medicine
(10/09 2007)Samsun Lampotang, Ph.D., a professor of anesthesiology, received the Society for Education in Anesthesia's annual $5,000 award for excellence and innovation in anesthesia education at the association's 2007 meeting. Lampotang, a member of UF's Center for Simulation, Advanced Learning and Technology, was instrumental in designing the Human Patient Simulator, as well as numerous other teaching tools, including the "Simulated Anesthesia Experience" featured in the October issue of the POST. More...
Game on -A play-by-play breakdown of a lab where UF athletes are always No. 1
(10/09 2007)The rising star of the Gator baseball team, freshman pitcher Travis Lawler, stands on the other side of an observation window with quarter-sized reflective markers stuck to his arms, legs and torso. As Lawler raises a baseball to his chest and prepares to hurl an 80 mph fastball across the length of the room, red strobe lights fire at lightning speed, gleaming off the markers on his body. More...
UF study: Even slight cost changes affect SCHIP families
(10/09 2007)Raising monthly premiums by just $5 was enough to push many low-income families out of Florida's State Health Insurance Program in 2003, placing thousands of children at risk for being uninsured, a new University of Florida study shows. More...
UF researchers test stem cell therapy for heart patients
(10/04 2007)niversity of Florida doctors on Wednesday (Oct. 3) treated their first patient enrolled in a new study designed to test whether injecting stem cells into the heart helps restore blood flow to the organ by prompting new blood vessels to grow. More...
UF researchers devise way to calculate rates of evolution
(10/03 2007)"Survival of the fittest" has popularly described evolution for more than a century, but a new study published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters provides further evidence that random genetic mutations over millions of years may also play a powerful role. More...
