A new study indicates that 10 amino acids believed to exist on the early Earth were capable of forming foldable proteins. The research done by Michael Blaber, FSU College of Medicine biomedical science professor, suggests that these proteins could have been used in biological reactions in the first living cells.

First-year Florida State University College of Medicine students will visit rural communities today as part of the school’s Rural Education Opportunity Program (REOP).

Reductions to Medicare funding for graduate medical education account for some of the $370 billion that President Obama’s 2014 budget proposes to cute from the Medicare program over the next decade. Dr. Alma Littles, senior assistant dean at FSU's College of Medicine, shares her opinion on the budget cuts.

Erwin and Stefanie Jackson made a $1-million gift to the College of Medicine’s Center for Brain Repair to establish a fund to support The Brian Jackson Dystonia Research and Discovery Program. Dr. Julie Gladden, a College of Medicine alumnus, was inducted into the Godby High School Hall of Fame earlier this month.

Doug Carlson, director of public affairs and communications at the FSU College of Medicine, gives some very convincing points for why FSU should to be in the top tier for primary care medical training.

Experts say early education and improved health care are ways to reduce infant deaths and end racial disparities. Alma Littles, senior assistant dean at FSU's College of Medicine, and Joedrecka Brownan, associate professor with the Department of Family Medicine and Rural  Health at the FSU College of Medicine, are quoted in this story. 

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Florida State University welcomed Pauli Bruns, a student in the College of Medicine. She won a $2,000 grant to further her education and plans on becoming a geriatrician in Seagrove Beach.

Dr. Armand Cognetta Jr. recently presented findings from his research using a less invasive form of skin cancer treatment in the Dermatology Service of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Dr. Cognetta is the founder of Dermatology Associates of Tallahassee and a clerkship faculty member at FSU’s College of Medicine.

Doctors can't predict all birth outcomes, despite advances: While about one in 10 infants end up spending time in the neonatal intensive care unit, early warnings mean adequate care can accompany potentially complicated deliveries. Dr. Joedrecka Brown, an associate professor with the Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health at the FSU College of Medicine and alumna/clerkship faculty member Dr. Tanya Evers are both quoted in this article

The Protein Society, the leading international society devoted to furthering protein research and the publishers of the journal Protein Science, announce the first annual selection of two junior investigators to give talks at The 27th Annual Symposium of The Protein Society. The Blaber Lab at Florida State University is the Doctoral Candidate.

Tuesday is National Healthcare Decisions Day. Florida leaders in medicine, nursing, hospitals, hospices, long-term care and the law are seeking a third step for proper planning for advance care. The Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form will allow doctors to complete a set of medical orders to ensure that your wishes are followed, even if you move from one site of care to another. Ken Brummel-Smith is the chair of the Department of Geriatrics at the FSU College of Medicine and Marshall Kapp is director of the Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine and Law.

A new study indicates that 10 amino acids believed to exist on the early Earth were capable of forming foldable proteins. The research done by Michael Blaber, FSU College of Medicine biomedical science professor, suggests that these proteins could have been used in biological reactions in the first living cells.

Florida Hospital is partnering with Florida State to boost medical education in Orlando. The gift will establish the Florida Hospital Endowed Fund for Medical Education to help the College of Medicine support its faculty of nearly 600 Orlando-area physicians.

On March 20, Florida Hospital announced a $2 million gift to support the Florida State University College of Medicine’s educational program in Orlando. The gift will establish the Florida Hospital Endowed Fund for Medical Education to help the College of Medicine support its faculty of more than 550 experienced physicians from the Orlando medical community.

Michael Blaber, professor of biomedical science at the Florida State University College of Medicine,  and his team have made discoveries that could lead scientists a step closer to understanding how life first emerged on Earth billions of years ago.

A structural biologist at the FSU College of Medicine has made discoveries that could lead scientists a step closer to understanding how life first emerged on Earth billions of years ago.

Professor Michael Blaber and his team produced data supporting the idea that 10 amino acids believed to exist on Earth around four billion years ago were capable of forming foldable proteins in a high-salt (halophile) environment. Such proteins would have been capable of providing metabolic activity for the first living organisms to emerge on the planet between 3.5 and 3.9 billion years ago. The results of Blaber’s three-year study, which was built around investigative techniques that took more than 17 years to develop, are published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

Member Spotlight on Dr. Alma Littles, Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education and Academic Affairs at Florida State University College of Medicine

MIchael Blaber, a professor of biomedical sciences in the college of medicine, has made discoveries that could lead scientists a step closer to understanding how life first emerged on Earth billions of years ago.

A new discovery made by Professor Michael Blaber, a structural biologist at the Florida State University College of Medicine, takes scientists closer to determining the origin of life on Earth billions of years ago.

April is National Autism Awareness Month and national data highlight the importance of early detection and intervention. It is crucial that children with autism gain as many skills as possible as early as possible, because they grow up to be adults with autism on increasingly long waiting lists for supported residential placement. Research done by Amy Wetherby, director of the Autism Institute at Florida State University, and her colleagues are noted in this article.

MIchael Blaber, a professor of biomedical sciences in the college of medicine, has made discoveries that could lead scientists a step closer to understanding how life first emerged on Earth billions of years ago.

A new report published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reveals that self-reported feelings of well-being — that is, overall happiness and satisfaction with life — tend to increase with age, but that a person’s overall level of well-being depends on when he or she was born. Angelina R. Sutin, assistant professor of medical humanities and social sciences at the Florida State University College of Medicine, conducted the study.

Michael Blaber, professor of biomedical science at the Florida State University College of Medicine,  and his team have made discoveries that could lead scientists a step closer to understanding how life first emerged on Earth billions of years ago.

Michael Blaber, professor of biomedical science at the Florida State University College of Medicine,  and his team have made discoveries that could lead scientists a step closer to understanding how life first emerged on Earth billions of years ago.

In the past five years Leon County’s infant mortality rate —a key indicator of a community’s health —is at a near all-time low but racial disparities remain. Not since 1996 have fewer infants died in Leon County. Dr. Alma Littles, senior associate dean at Florida State’s College of Medicine, is quoted in the article.

A dozen years after its creation, the FSU College of Medicine has insights backed by data that support novel approaches to producing more of the primary-care physicians needed in Floridian and across the U.S.

Currently Florida allows 3 pharmacy technicians to work under every 1 pharmacist, but some lawmakers want to increase that ratio.  Bills in both the Legislature would up the number of technicians that a single Pharmacist can supervise from 3 to 6. Dr. Leslie Beitsch, associate dean for health affairs at the College of Medicine, is quoted in the article.

Florida Hospital has made a $2-million gift to support the FSU College of Medicine’s educational program in Orlando. The gift will establish the Florida Hospital Endowed Fund for Medical Education to help the medical school support its faculty of more than 550 experienced physicians from the Orlando medical community.

Big Bend Hospice and Florida State University College of Medicine are holding a screening of an award-winning documentary on end-of-life issues.

Florida Hospital and Florida State University announced a $2 million donation to benefit the Florida State University College of Medicine’s educational program in Orlando. The sizable gift will help establish the Florida Hospital Endowed Fund for Medical Education. This fund helps support the College of Medicine’s 550 plus faculty of physicians in the Orlando medical community.

The grand total of $701,493 eclipsed last year’s $584,023. This year’s event had more than 2,000 participants with 1,800 dancers. A portion of the funds from the event go to the FSU College of Medicine’s Pediatric Outreach Programs.

Autism Speaks is awarding more than $500,000 in grants to researchers around the nation, and a Florida State University graduate student, Whitney Guthrie, will receive a portion of those funds.

The marathon in support of Children’s Miracle Network hospitals— specifically, Shands Hospital for Children in Gainesvile and the FSU College of Medicine’s pediatric outreach program— was the largest, by student participation, ever in the Southeast.

Florida State University’s 18th annual Dance Marathon shattered personal records, boasting a staggering total of $701,493.16, and it’s all “for the kids,” the event’s motto. Half of all funds raised will go to Shands Children’s Hospital in Gainesville while the remaining half will directly benefit Tallahassee area hospitals through the FSU College of Medicine’s pediatric outreach program.

Florida State University’s 18th annual Dance Marathon (DM) shattered personal and national records, boasting a staggering total of $701,493.16, officially making FSU DM the largest and top-fundraising DM nationwide. Half of all funds raised will go to Shands Children’s Hospital in Gainesville while the remaining half will directly benefit Tallahassee area hospitals through the FSU College of Medicine’s pediatric outreach program.

Dance Marathon at FSU is the largest student-run philanthropy at the university. This year the students raised a grand total of $701,493.16 for Children's Miracle Network at Shands Hospital. Since it was started in 1996, it has raised more than $3.9 million for Shands Hospital and the FSU College of Medicine's pediatric outreach programs.

As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our Orlando campus, we would like to express our gratitude for the more than 550 area physicians and the community partners who educate our medical students in the science and art of clinical medicine. On Wednesday, Florida Hospital boosted our medical-education program in Orlando with a $2 million donation that will help guarantee the continued success of our community-based approach, as well as more educational innovations to come.

The ceremony themed “Match Madness” announced hospital placement of 111 FSU medical students. Andy Hogan, fourth-year medical student, announced  that he'll be doing family medicine with Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton, California. The students’ residencies are a major part of their education in the medical field and depending on their medical specialty, are where they will spend the next three to seven years of their life.

If you have a resilient personality—if you handle tough situations better or snap back well after a setback—you’re more likely to have better aerobic health, too, according to a new study by Dr. Antonio Terracciano, an associate professor of geriatrics at the FSU College of Medicine.

Florida Hospital gave $2 million to the Florida State University College of Medicine's Orlando campus March 20. Brian Paradis, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Florida Hospital, said at a press conference that the $2 million was an investment.

Florida Hospital and Florida State University College of Medicine will make a joint announcement March 20 regarding a “major gift” to support medical education, officials said on March 18.

In Florida, end-of-life care experts are testing a new document — called a Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, or POLST — they say could better ensure a person's final wishes are followed. Marshall Kapp, director of FSU’s Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine and Law, is quoted in the article.

Match Day is an annual event conducted by the National Resident Matching Program, and it is the primary system for pairing medical school graduates with residency programs. One med student is going to the new internal medicine program at TMH.

A new report published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reveals that self-reported feelings of well-being — that is, overall happiness and satisfaction with life — tend to increase with age, but that a person’s overall level of well-being depends on when he or she was born. Angelina R. Sutin, assistant professor of medical humanities and social sciences at the Florida State University College of Medicine, conducted the study while at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Traditionally, medical schools have constructed centralized medical centers where student doctors can train as interns and residents. In the past two decades, that model has proved too expensive for many universities trying to establish a school of medicine. The newer model is for medical students to train at established hospitals in their region. FSUs College of Medicien is noted in the article.

Today is Match Day across the country, when soon-to-graduate medical school students learn where they will go to begin their medical careers as residents at teaching hospitals.

According to one recent study in the journal Psychological Science, led by Angelina R. Sutin of Florida State University College of Medicine, our overall opinions of our own well-being, our relationships and our career status tend to rise later in life.

Study author Dr. Antonio Terracciano, an associate professor of geriatrics at the FSU College of Medicine, said it's difficult to know whether personality traits affect cardiovascular health or if it works the other way around -- if being more heart healthy makes a person more resilient. But what is clear is that the two are linked, the new study suggests, despite not proving a definitive cause-and-effect relationship.

Study author Dr. Antonio Terracciano, an associate professor of geriatrics at the FSU College of Medicine, said it's difficult to know whether personality traits affect cardiovascular health or if it works the other way around -- if being more heart healthy makes a person more resilient. But what is clear is that the two are linked, the new study suggests, despite not proving a definitive cause-and-effect relationship.

The recent culmination of the research project formally titled “Personality, Metabolic Rate and Aerobic Capacity,” fronted by Antonio Terracciano, associate professor in the Department of Geriatrics at the College of Medicine, has examined the correlation between personality and energy rates, concluding that some personality traits are linked to higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels and increased longevity.