Florida State University's Raise the Torch fundraising campaign surpassed its $1 billion fundraising goal by the June 30th deadline. The top four areas designated for giving were Athletics, the College of Business, The Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship and The Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota. The colleges of arts and science, law and medicine also ranked high in money raised.

FSU Autism Institute Director Amy Wetherby and Emory University researcher Lindee Morgan were co-principal investigators on a three-year, 60-school study measuring the effectiveness of a curriculum, called SCERTS, designed for teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). According to the research, SCERTS may mean big results for students with ASD.

Wendi Cannon, director of information technology at the College of Medicine, was recently elected to the AAMC Group on Information Resources (GIR) steering committee. The GIR promotes excellence in the application and integration of information resources in academic medicine.

A new study conducted by researchers Lindee Morgan and FSU Autism Institute Director Amy Wetherby uncovered a classroom intervention that can make a big difference for students with autism spectrum disorder.

First-year FSU College of Medicine students recently took part in the Rural Learning Experience (RuLE). They explored rural health care facilities throughout north Florida and south Georgia as an introduction to cutural health factors in rural areas.

Emily Kintzele, a senior at Vanguard High School in Ocala, was one of 60 students selected to attend the FSU College of Medicine's 2018 Summer Institute.

Christine Certain, a nationally board certified counselor and licensed mental health counselor, wrote an op-ed piece for the Tallahassee Democrat about the need for telehealth to treat mental health conditions in rural areas where access to health systems and health practitioners is lacking. She cited a recent piece about the College of Medicine's Rural Learning Experience as the inspiration for her op-ed submission.

Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education Joan Meek is quoted in a SELF Magazine article giving advice to women who need to pump breast milk on the go.

Diseases transmitted by ticks and other insects have tripled in recent years, and a relatively recent discovery has found that one type of tick bite is causing an allergy to red meat. The ailment, known as galactose-alpha, is transmitted by the Lone Star tick, which is widely distributed in the Southeastern and Eastern United States. College of Medicine clerkship faculty member Ronald Saff comments on the unique trends behind the allergy.

FSU announced this week that the College of Medicine's acceptance rate of 2.4 percent for the new class ranks third on the U.S. News & World Report's list of "10 Medical Schools with the Lowest Acceptance Rate."

The Cleveland Clinic and Indian River Medical Center are entering the final stretch of partnership negotiations. Talks are also underway for Cleveland Clinic to take over Martin Health's three hospitals where FSU med students train. Fort Pierce Regional Campus Dean Juliette Lomax-Homier and clerkship faculty member George Mitchell comment on how the partnership could benefit FSU College of Medicine students.

Citrus County commissioners voted 4-1 to spend up to $30,000 retrofitting the former Fort Island Trail fire station to house four FSU medical students who will be shadowing physicians and other medical professionals in six-week intervals. The hope is that it will lead to more physicians practicing locally in Citrus County.

FSU and the College of Medicine's Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences program were featured in the May 2018 edition of Delta Skymagazine.

The FSU College of Medicine hosts an annual Rural Learning Experience, or RuLE, to expose first-year medical and physician assistant students to rural health care and give students an early look at how rural health care differs from health care in more urban settings. This year, Byron Dobson from the Tallahassee Democrat followed the students along as they visited medical centers, small rural practices, and more. Read more

Music and music therapy have become a widely used and important part of treatment for people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. A recent U.S. News & World Report article discusses the collaborative research about the benefits of music therapy conducted in part by Amy Wetherby and the FSU Autism Institute.

 Paul Katz, chair of the Department of Geriatrics, is the recipient of the AMDA- The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine 2018 William Dodd Founder's Award.

FSU College of Medicine clerkship faculty member Antonio Crespo authored an opinion article for The Hill about the start of the 2018 hurricane season and renewed concern about the potential spread of mosquito-borne infectious disease, including the Zika virus.

First-year students in Florida State's College of Medicine spent a full day experiencing rural health care across north Florida and south Georgia. The purpose of the Rural Learning Experience (RuLE) is to show new students how rural medicine and care differs from larger hospitals and care in more urban settings they may be used to. Read more

Due to an aging population and increasing prevalence of rheumatic disease, there are growing demands on clinicians who specialize in rheumatology. Benjamin Smith, director of didactic education at the FSU College of Medicine School of Physician Assistant Practice, was the lead author of a formal curriculum for nurse practitioners and physician assistants for the American College of Rheumatology. Read more

 The FSU College of Medicine has partnered with Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) to help med students get necessary hands-on experience. Two students, Karolain Garcia and Marvin Dieujuste, went to VIM to a chronic care course. Students are assigned a new patient each week.

Students in the FSU College of Medicine's Okaloosa County SSTRIDE (Science Students Together Reaching Instructional Diversity and Excellence) program got to experience a taste of life as an emergency medical professional. EMS professionals taught students techniques to help during emergencies and discussed opportunities in their career field.

Two faculty members from the FSU College of Medicine School of Physician Assistant Practice - Benjamin Smith and James Cawley - along with the school's Founding Director James Zedaker compared and complied information from a national survey to understand how many physician assistants work in geriatrics and identified a geriatric workforce shortage that can create opportunities for PAs.

The Florida State University College of Medicine Fort Pierce Regional Campus recently honored its tenth graduating class.

Aimee Pragle, assistant professor in the School of Physician Assistant Practice, co-authored an article recently published in the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Her research suggests that individuals with both coronary artery disease and depression have significanly poorer health outcomes, suggesting that early depression diagnosis is very serious for patients with coronary artery disease.

An opinion piece in the Tallahassee Democrat discusses the urgency of the opioid epidemic in Florida. Three FSU colleges - Social Work, Medicine, and Nursing have partnered with Allied Against Opioid Abuse and presented a prevention panel on May 18, bringing together many perspectives on the issue.

The FSU College of Medicine graduated its 14th class on Saturday, which included 108 new physicians. 

Jeff Latimer, associate director of information technology at the FSU College of Medicine completed the Association of American Medical Colleges' (AAMC) Group on Information Resources Leadership Institute. The four-day institute is designed to help participants fulfill their responsibilities as information and education technology leaders.

 The FSU College of Medicine held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday for its new primary health clinic located in southwest Tallahassee. The clinic, called FSU PrimaryHealth, will include 15 patient exam rooms, two rooms for behavioral-health services, two health-procedure rooms and a community room.

The Florida State University College of Medicine will graduate its 14 class of medical students on Saturday. Michael Sweeney, associate professor of clinical sciences will deliver the commencement address.

 Aimee Pragle, assistant professor in the School of Physician Assistant Practice co-authored an article about depression and its serious implications for coronary artery disease patients. The article was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants.

 FSU College of Medicine professor Heather Flynn helped start both the Florida Maternal Mental Health Collaborative and Leon County's Maternal Mental Health Coalition/Advisory Board in 2015. Both initiatives are helping bring awareness and attention to maternal mental health including postpartum depression and other postpartum needs.

 In April, more than 400 kids in pre-K through second grade brought their teddy bears to a Teddy Bear Clinic hosted by first-year FSU College of Medicine M.D. students. The clinic took place at Killearn Lakes Elementary School. Future physicians conducted exams, tests and procedures on the kids' teddy bears to familiarize kids with medical equipment and procedures and make them more comfortable around doctors.

College of Medicine professor Alice Pomidor was quoted in a Philadelphia Inquirer article discussing when senior drivers should think about giving up their keys. Often times, drivers outlive their ability to drive by six or seven years, she says.

Scientists have known for decades that cells can secrete chemicals into their surrounding, releasing free-floating messages for all to read. More recently, scientists also discovered that cells could package their molecular information into what are known as extracellular vesicles. FSU College of Medicine professor David Meckes discusses these vesicles and how there are powerful similarities between vesicles and viruses.

With their bites, the Lone Star tick can spread a distrubing and potentially deadly allergy to red meat and other mammal products. With most food allergies, it takes only 15-20 minutes after exposure for reactions to occur. But with this reaction, it can take hours according to FSU College of Medicine clerkship faculty member Ronald Saff.

Deepak Nair, clinical associate professor at the FSU College of Medicine, has been elected president of the Sarasota County Medical Society.

Deepak Nair, clinical associate professor at the FSU College of Medicine, has been elected president of the Sarasota County Medical Society.

Joel Thomas, president and CEO of the Winter Haven Hospital Foundation was recently inducted into the Polk County Schools Hall of Fame. Among his accomplishments, Thomas helped facilitate the Florida State University College of Medicine Family Medicine Residency Program at Winter Haven Hospital. 

Scientists have known for decades that cells can secrete chemicals into their surrondings. More recently, scientists discovered that cells could package their molecular information in what are known as extracellular vesicles that can be delivered to a recipient. FSU College of Medicine Assistant Professor David Meckes comments on this discovery.

Light stretching can make a big difference for elderly people with low mobility, according to a new study from a Florida State University-led team of international researchers including lead researcher and College of Medicine professor Judy Muller-Delp.

On Friday, April 20, the University of West Florida celebrated the grand opening of University Park Center, a multi-use facility that will now house the College of Medicine's Pensacola Regional Campus in addition to UWF's athletics program and College of Health.

The Florida State University College of Medicine and Sarasota Memorial Health Care System have received approval to launch a new Emergency Medicine residency program to meet healthcare and physician workforce needs in Sarasota and surrounding communities.

Approval to launch a new residency program in emergency medicine -- designed to build up the local supply of doctors trained in this field -- has been granted to the Florida State University College of Medicine and Sarasota Memorial Health Care System by the the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Tallahassee Community College honored 10 community members and five TCC students at an annual Women's History Month program in March. Suzanne Harrison, professor of family medicine & rural health and director of clinical programs, was the event's featured speaker.

The FSU College of Medicine is moving ahead with plans to open a primary health center in southwest Tallahassee. If things go as planned, the 10,000-square-foot complex could be completed by March 2019. The comprehensive care center will be staffed by pediatricians and family physicians currently on faculty at the College of Medicine, in addition to others who will be hired in the next several months.

In a recent study, FSU College of Medicine professor Judy Muller-Delp and her team found that 30 minutes of leg stretches every day could restore mobility and fight frailty without the injury risks of other workouts. Performing the half-hour routine five times a week helps improve blood flow to the limbs and could preserve older adults' ability to walk.

College of Medicine researcher Jude Muller-Delp had a study published in the Journal of Physiology showing that daily leg muscle strestches may benefit seniors and people with mobility problems.

Sandeep Rahangdale, the College of Medicine's Tallahassee Regional Campus dean, was recently published in the Journal of Regional Medical Campuses (JRMC). His article is entitled, "A Comparison of Two Regional Campus Systems and their Impact on Addressing Health Care Needs of the Underserved."

According to U.S. News & World Report, the FSU College of Medicine is the third-most selective M.D. program in the country. The average acceptance rate for 2017-18 U.S. and Canadian M.D. programs was seven percent. The College of Medicine was at 2.6 percent, with acceptance offers to 151 of 5,866 applicants.

College of Medicine faculty members Joedrecka Brown Speights, Yi Ren and Elena Reyes and their research are highlighted in a Women's History Month feature from FSU News.