CONTACT: Mark Blackwell Thomas, University Communications 
(850) 644-2065; mbthomas@fsu.edu 
  
As the rate of monkeypox infections continues to grow, a pandemic-weary public again finds itself with questions swirling. 
  
The federal government has declared monkeypox a public health emergency and has made vaccines in its strategic national stockpile available for national distribution. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has said the virus spreads mostly through close, intimate contact with someone infected with the virus.  
  
As the virus continues to spread, experts at Florida State University are ready to help provide perspective on the virus and the threat it poses.  
  
Dr. Jonathan Appelbaum, professor of internal medicine, College of Medicine; chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences 
jonathan.appelbaum@med.fsu.edu 
Dr. Appelbaum’s research focuses on aging and HIV, LGBTQ+ health disparities, undergraduate and graduate medical education of LGBTQ+ health care and transgender medicine. 
 
Dr. Alan Rowan, teaching professor, Public Health Program  
arowan@fsu.edu      
Dr. Rowan has held multiple public health positions in federal and state government, including a lead role for the Florida Department of Health during the 2003 U.S. monkeypox outbreak. More recently, he was tapped by the state’s COVID-19 task force to help track and prevent virus spread. He teaches courses on infectious and chronic disease epidemiology in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy.   
 
Dr. George Rust, professor, College of Medicine; director, Center for Medicine and Public Health 
george.rust@med.fsu.edu 
Dr. Rust teaches primary care, community health and population health. His education includes a master’s degree in public health. His research focuses on health equity including achieving optimal and equitable health for all. As the director of the Center for Medicine and Public Health, he seeks to build collaborations between professionals and academic programs across the continuum from medicine to public health, from community health and behavioral health to population health. 
  
Dr. Daniel Van Durme, professor, family medicine and rural health, College of Medicine; senior associate dean for clinical and community affairs; associate director for the Center on Global Health  
daniel.vandurme@med.fsu.edu 
Dr. Van Durme serves as the lead medical officer for FSU’s COVID response. His background includes extensive work in international humanitarian efforts in numerous countries, including ongoing work in Nicaragua. His education includes a master’s degree in public health. His research includes a wide variety of family practice-related research while his particular interests are in global health, rural health and skin conditions. 
 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State University researchers have developed a promising strategy for producing therapeutic particles in stem cells, work that could help patients with neurological diseases such as stroke or multiple sclerosis.
 
The technique developed by researchers from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and FSU College of Medicine combines three-dimensional growing platforms with a wave motion. The research was published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles.
 
The particles released by cells — known as extracellular vesicles — are chemical messengers that affect the behavior of cells. They can be used to carry medicine to target organs within the body. Improving the production and effectiveness of these particles is a major field of research.
 
The FSU researchers combined two techniques for producing these particles. The first was to grow stem cells within a 3D culture rather than a two-dimensional one. The second was to suspend the growing cells on the platform that was rocked back and forth in a gentle motion, producing small waves that helped deliver oxygen, glucose and other nutrients to the cells. Their combined method led the stem cells to produce twice as many particles as those grown in a 2D platform. 
 
“Just like a river’s flow will move more matter than a static lake, our use of dynamic waves in the growth of these stem cells will deliver more nutrients to the cells than if they were just suspended in the culture media,” said senior author Yan Li, an associate professor of chemical and biomedical engineering in the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. 
 
The extracellular vesicles from the 3D-grown stem cells also exhibited more therapeutic properties than the 2D version. They contained higher amounts of micro ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules that help protect the brain against neurological diseases and in cases of spinal cord injury, and they also had more anti-inflammatory proteins.
 
The work also could help treat patients with neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. Those diseases disrupt the cell-to-cell interactions needed to repair the brain. Extracellular vesicles harvested from manufactured stem cells mimicking human neural cells could provide the molecules that tell a patient’s damaged cells to begin repairing. 
 
“The vesicles contain a lot of micro-RNAs and proteins, and those change how the cells behave,” Li said. “They don't speak or write a word, but they deliver signals. They put out what are like packages — the particles. They send those, other cells receive them, and they change what those cells do. The engineering approach is to make the cells deliver the desired signals.”
 
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Florida Department of Health’s Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer's Disease Research Program, the National Institutes of Health and Synergy Biologics, LLC.
 
 

William C. Boyer, associate dean for graduate medical education at the Florida State University College of Medicine, has been selected for membership in the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) in the affiliate category. He will be inducted Sept. 30, in Chicago.

Boyer, who also serves as an associate professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences, has extensive experience as both a senior healthcare executive and in medical education leadership on both the graduate and undergraduate levels. He joined the College of Medicine faculty in May from the Drexel University College of Medicine, where he was an assistant professor of surgery.

“I am very pleased the American College of Surgeons recognized Dr. Boyer’s accomplishments and service, which are reflected in the unique skill set he brings to our students,” College of Medicine Dean John P. Fogarty said. “He has a previous history of significant leadership of surgery training programs, both as an assistant clerkship director and assistant program director. It is very exciting to see him accepted into this exclusive group.”

The ACS launched the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators in 2017 and inducted its first cohort in 2018. Its mission is to identify and engage thought leaders from the field of surgical education and to translate innovation into action. The affiliate category, for non-physicians, was added in 2019. Boyer has been a member of ACS as an affiliate since 2010.

“Being inducted into the Academy is a true honor and humbling experience,” he said. “I have been fortunate to have a number of amazing surgeon mentors over the last decade support my surgical education endeavors and who have assisted me in reaching this milestone.”

Wade Douglas, M.D., who directs the college’s General Surgery Residency Program at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, is the only other faculty member in the Academy.

Boyer earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and behavioral medicine from Wilkes University, a master’s degree in exercise science and performance enhancement from California University of Pennsylvania, and a doctorate in Health Sciences from Nova Southeastern University.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A new partnership between the Center for the Study and Promotion of Communities Families and Children at Florida State University and UF Health at the University of Florida aims to improve outcomes for pediatric transplant patients and their families.  
 
The Initiative for the Advancement of Pediatric Transplant Health Research maximizes the interdisciplinary nature of research in pediatric transplant health through a collaboration of a statewide network of health researchers and clinicians.  
  
“This initiative aligns well with the mission of the College of Social Work and our institutes and centers to apply research to the social issues that plague vulnerable populations we seek to assist,” said Craig Stanley, interim dean and teaching professor at FSU’s College of Social Work. “Evidence-based research is a cornerstone of ethical and effective social work practice.”  
  
Rates of patient survival after receiving an organ transplant continue to be high for pediatric patients and continue to improve. Despite improvements, concerns remain about rates of hospitalization, organ rejection and poor post-transplant health outcomes for these children and adolescent patients who experience greater challenges. 
  
Michael Killian, an associate professor at the College of Social Work and a research scientist with the center, will lead the initiative’s research efforts. Dr. Dipankar Gupta, an associate professor in pediatric cardiology, pediatric heart failure and transplantation at the UF Health Congenital Heart Center, will co-lead the research. 
  
Through the initiative, Killian, Gupta and interdisciplinary collaborators will enhance existing research and methodologies, expand research partnerships beyond FSU and UF and establish new research opportunities to improve health data and outcomes for pediatric transplant patients and their families.  
  
“This initiative is an opportunity to advance research on pediatric organ transplants and develop collaborations across multiple pediatric transplant centers,” Killian said. “We know the importance of supporting these patients and their families, and we hope these research efforts can help us identify at-risk patients and families and inform our efforts to improve their quality of life and post-transplant outcomes. Pediatric transplant health research benefits not only the health and lives of patients and families but has far-reaching implications for improving quality of care in multiple pediatric health settings.”  
  
He added: “We are extremely thankful for the joint support from the Center for the Study and Promotion of Communities, Families and Children at the FSU College of Social Work, the FSU College of Medicine, UF Health and our joint Clinical and Translational Science Institute.” 
  
The initiative will focus on three research areas: advanced biostatistical modeling around patient adherence to immunosuppressive medications; machine learning/health informatics in the prediction of post-transplant health outcomes; and mobile health/technology-based intervention research promoting medication adherence and improved health outcomes in adolescent heart transplant recipients.  
  
The effort addresses the need for consistent pre- and post-transplant care data that incorporates psychosocial assessments to improve medication adherence, which then leads to improved post-transplant outcomes.   
  
“Despite medical and surgical advances, we have room for improvement in post-transplant outcomes,” Gupta said. “The impact of psychosocial aspects and family dynamics on outcomes after transplant is complex and should not be underestimated. Therefore, it is prudent that we continue to further our understanding of non-medical factors like social determinants of health, which impact outcomes in pediatric transplantation.” 
  
“We are excited at the center to be at forefront with this initiative, supporting Dr. Killian, Dr. Gupta and their colleagues to continue developing live-saving research for children and families across Florida and the nation, even worldwide,” said Ellen Piekalkiewicz, the center’s director.  
  
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The Center for the Study and Promotion for Communities, Families and Children generates and sustains transformational knowledge development with the goal to inform effective policies, services and usable research for the promotion of communities, families and children.