FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Doug Carlson, FSU College of Medicine
(850) 645-1255 or (850) 645-9205; doug.carlson@med.fsu.edu
 
By Doug Carlson
Sept. 27, 2012
 
AUTISM INSTITUTE AT FLORIDA STATE  TO LEAD NEW NIH-FUNDED INTERVENTION STUDY
 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Autism Institute at the Florida State University College of Medicine is part of a new $8.3 million study to measure risk and resilience factors for autism in infants and toddlers.
 
The goal is to better understand developmental trajectories in children with autism and to improve early detection, intervention and outcomes. The Autism Institute’s project has the potential to identify autism spectrum disorders (ASD) before an obvious disability has emerged — as early as the first year of life.
 
The Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) grant is one of three in the country funded by the National Institutes of Health. Florida State’s project is one of four within the ACE grant awarded to Emory University. Collaborators include Emory University, the Marcus Autism Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Emory University School of Medicine and the Emory University Yerkes National Primate Research Center.
 
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced the grant Thursday, Sept. 27, in a ceremony at the Georgia Capitol.
 
Among other things, a team of researchers in Atlanta will focus on social visual engagement and social vocal engagement in infants at risk for ASD. The goal is to identify ASD in infants, which is far earlier than has previously been effectively demonstrated.
 
The Autism Institute at Florida State will oversee the intervention study aimed at changing the way children with ASD develop. The Autism Institute already is recognized as a leader in the effects of early intervention on improved outcomes for toddlers and older children with ASD. The Autism Institute has focused on identifying ASD and providing interventions in infants as early as 18 months.
 
“Keep in mind that the average age for diagnosis is after age 4, so 18 months is very early and 12 months of age is incredibly early. It’s very exciting to think about the potential,” said Amy Wetherby, Distinguished Research Professor in Clinical Sciences at the FSU College of Medicine and director of the Autism Institute. “Children at that age have more brain plasticity, and the hope is we can change their developmental trajectories and possibly prevent some of the symptoms,” Wetherby said.
 
Wetherby and Juliann Woods, associate director of the Autism Institute and a professor in the Florida State College of Communication and Information, will lead a team that will teach parents how to implement techniques to improve development in their children with ASD.
 
“If we can demonstrate that parents successfully implemented the techniques we teach them and their children have improved developmental outcomes, it could have far-reaching implications,” Wetherby said. “This is a very cost-efficient intervention that could be offered anywhere, so it could have a huge impact on outcomes for children and families across the country and even around the world.”
 
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 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Ronald Hartung, FSU College of Medicine
(850) 645-9205; ronald.hartung@med.fsu.edu
October 2012

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Kristopher R. “Ryan” Shannon, a second-year student in the Florida State University College of Medicine, has been named one of only 40 students nationwide to receive a 2012 Tylenol Future Care Scholarship. The scholarship will provide him with $10,000 to apply toward his studies.

The Tylenol scholarship program is open to students pursuing degrees in health care. Recipients are chosen on the basis of leadership qualities, academic excellence and passion for community involvement.

A native of Lake Butler, Fla., Shannon earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise sciences at Brigham Young University. While at Brigham Young, he also worked as a teaching assistant and taught human anatomy for three years.

Prior to earning his bachelor’s degree, Shannon served a church service mission for two years, living and working in Brazil, the Navajo Indian Reservation and Phoenix.

Among his other experiences before beginning medical school at Florida State werevolunteering at a student-run summer camp for children whose parents had cancer; shadowing two surgeons; and working as an emergency department tech, radiology clerk and phlebotomist.

At www.Tylenol.com/Scholarship2012, Shannon is quoted saying: “Medicine . . . combined my love for not just the sciences, but more importantly for people. I have learned that a fulfilling life is one spent beyond the needs of oneself, and that in order to experience true joy, one simply has to offer a hand of help to another.”

He selected the Florida State College of Medicine, he said, because of its student-centered curriculum and faculty, and its mission to serve those in need.

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CONTACT: Ron Hartung, FSU College of Medicine
(850) 645-9205; ronald.hartung@med.fsu.edu
October 2012

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Brett Thomas, a student at the Florida State University College of Medicine, has received another in a string of honors: a $5,000 Herbert W. Nickens Medical Student Scholarship.

Only five other students in the country received the scholarship, awarded by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

“It’s quite an honor to be recognized on the national level with a handful of stellar medical students,” said Thomas, a WakullaCounty native who is president of his class. “It’s also a huge blessing in terms of paying for my medical education, so I’m very thankful for that.”

The $5,000 Nickens scholarships go to outstanding third-year medical students who have led efforts to eliminate inequities in medical education and health care.

Thomas was raised by a single mother who workedhard to give him the best educational opportunities. A year before he became a medical student, he was accepted into the Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences, Bridge to Clinical Medicine Program at the College of Medicine. That same year, he mentored middle and high school students who were on a pathway to science, math and possibly a career in health care.

Also that year, he completed a research projectabout contributing factors in the success of African-American men in medical school. He has presented his findings at a National Rural Health Association conference and at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and his research was published last year in Academic Medicine. He regularly offers guidance to current and future medical students.

“I have often seen him huddled with fellow students or standing at the white board in the study space near my office as he helped other students grasp complex material,” said Helen Livingston, the College of Medicine’s associate dean for research, graduate, undergraduate and pre-college programs. “Brett also served as an anatomy teaching assistant. All who were in his group successfully completed the course.”

In 2011, Thomas was elected to the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi; was one of the nation’s 10 Tylenol Future Care Scholars; and received the FSU College of Medicine Dean’s Award Scholarship, the Leon C. Tully and Billy Tully Foundation Scholarship and the American Medical Association Minorities Scholarship.

“He is truly an amazing medical student,” Livingston said, “and will be one of our future leaders in medicine and one of our best practicing physicians.”

Another College of Medicine student, Noemí LeFranc (M.D.,’12), received a Nickens scholarship in 2010.

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CONTACT: Doug Carlson
(850) 645-1255 or (850) 694-3735
doug.carlson@med.fsu.edu

By Doug Carlson
Nov. 27, 2012

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida State University College of Medicine and Dermatology Associates of Tallahassee are partnering to offer a new procedural dermatology fellowship. The one-year fellowship will provide intensive training in all areas of procedural dermatology.

The program, designed to accept one fellow per year for training with Dermatology Associates of Tallahassee physicians, has received formal accreditation through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, effective July 1, 2013.

Graduate medical students eligible for the fellowship will have completed a primary dermatology residency program and board certification. The new fellowship will be one of 60 approved in the United States where dermatologists can acquire advanced training to deal with cases of complex skin cancer.

“I am pleased to be able to announce this new partnership with Dermatology Associates of Tallahassee. The ‘Sunshine State’ certainly is the right place to do this as we care for a population that was not warned about sun exposure decades ago,” said John P. Fogarty, dean of the FSU College of Medicine.

“Procedural dermatology emphasizes the best outcomes with the smallest necessary incisions for the cure of skin cancer lesions, and is in the best interest of the patient,” Fogarty said. “Working closely with primary care physicians can ensure better coverage for patients across the rural areas of Florida.”

The FSU College of Medicine places a great deal of emphasis on producing primary care physicians. The partnership with Dermatology Associates addresses patient-care issues that are in line with the medical school’s mission.

Dermatology Associates of Tallahassee operates numerous regional clinics, many of them in rural communities of Northwest Florida, including Marianna, Madison and Carrabelle.

“I think our goals and ideals and vision are very parallel to the medical school’s,” said Armand Cognetta Jr., M.D., founder and president of Dermatology Associates. “We seek to address advanced skin cancer and dermatology issues that affect patients from our referral and outreach area, which includes the panhandle, Southern Georgia and Southern Alabama. Those areas have the highest incidence of skin cancer in the nation.

“Most of our referrals are from primary care physicians. Many of our peripheral clinics are in a community where they otherwise don’t have a dermatologist. Our patients there are mainly elderly people who don’t drive and would have a hard time making it to Tallahassee for care.”

Such patients would be required to visit the Tallahassee offices when radiation treatment or surgery is required, but can receive regular appointments locally for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of skin cancer.

More than 3.5 million people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the U.S. – more than newly diagnosed cases of breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers combined.

The College of Medicine currently sponsors residency programs in Tallahassee (internal medicine at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital), Pensacola (obstetrics-gynecology and pediatrics at Sacred Heart Hospital) and Fort Myers (family medicine at Lee Memorial Hospital).

Graduating medical students in the United States are required to complete residency training in a chosen specialty prior to entering into the independent practice of medicine. Many physicians choose to continue their graduate medical education with a fellowship upon the completion of residency training. Fellowships provide additional and intensive subspecialty training.

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CONTACT: Tom Butler, University Communications
(850) 644-8634; tbutler@admin.fsu.edu 
Feb. 6, 2013

Hosted by FSU’s Institute for Successful Longevity, Michael Marsiske, an associate professor and associate chair for research in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida, will hold a public lecture on successful aging this Friday in Tallahassee.

Focused on the evolving landscape of cognitive intervention for older adults, Marsiske is helping to lead a national research effort to better understand, and ultimately counteract the mental declines associated with aging.

The public lecture will take place:

FRIDAY, FEB. 8

1:30 P.M.

FSU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AUDITORIUM

1115 WEST CALL ST.

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.

As an unprecedented proportion of the population reaches the seventh decade of life and beyond, the continued health and well-being of an aging society presents a unique challenge to scientists, health care specialists and policy-makers. FSU has responded to this challenge with the creation of the Institute for Successful Longevity. Through the institute, FSU is working to study the mechanisms of age-associated disorders and develop ways to counter the functional and cognitive declines of aging. 

This speaking event is open to all and is completely free of charge. A short reception will take place immediately following the event’s conclusion. More information.

Directions: From downtown Tallahassee, travel west on Tennessee Street and turn left on Stadium Drive. The College of Medicine is located on the corner of Stadium Drive and Call Street. Parking is available in the parking garage on the corner of Stadium Drive and Spirit Way.

# # #

Feb. 6, 2013
Contact: Doug Carlson
Florida State University College of Medicine
850-645-1255
doug.carlson@med.fsu.edu

-or-

Anna Mikulak
Association for Psychological Science
202.293.9300
amikulak@psychologicalscience.org

Happiness Increases with Age, Across Generations
But your overall level of well-being depends on when you were born 

Psychological well-being has been linked to many important life outcomes, including career success, relationship satisfaction, and even health. But it’s not clear how feelings of well-being change as we age, as different studies have provided evidence for various trends over time.
 
A new report published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reveals that self-reported feelings of well-being tend to increase with age, but that a person’s overall level of well-being depends on when he or she was born.
 
Psychological scientist Angelina R. Sutin of Florida State University College of Medicine conducted the study while at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she remains a guest researcher. She and colleagues at NIA predicted that people in the same “birth cohort” — born around the same time — may have had unique experiences that shape the way they evaluate happiness and optimism. They hypothesized that the level of well-being a person reports would, therefore, vary according to his or her birth year.
 
Using two large-scale longitudinal studies, NIH’s Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) and the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), Sutin and colleagues looked at data from several thousand people over 30 years, including over 10,000 reports on well-
being, health, and other factors.
 
When the researchers analyzed the data across the whole pool of participants, older adults had lower levels of well-being than younger and middle-aged adults.
 
But when Sutin and her colleagues analyzed the same data while taking birth cohort into account, a different trend appeared: Life satisfaction increased over the participants’ lifetimes. This trend remained even after factors like health, medication, sex, ethnicity, and education were taken into account.
 
So what explains the different results?
 
While life satisfaction increased with age for each cohort, older birth cohorts — especially people born between 1885 and 1925 — started off with lower levels of well-being in comparison to people born more recently. Looking at life satisfaction across all of the participants, regardless of when they were born, obscures the fact that each cohort actually shows the same underlying trend.
 
Sutin and colleagues point out that the level of well-being of cohorts born in the early part of the 20th century, particularly those who lived through the Great Depression, was substantially lower than the level of well-being of cohorts who grew up during more prosperous times. The greater well-being of more recent cohorts could be the result of economic prosperity, increased educational opportunities, and the expansion of social and public programs over the latter half of the 20th century.
 
According to the researchers, these findings may have important implications for today’s younger generations.
 
“As young adults today enter a stagnant workforce, the challenges of high unemployment may have implications for their well-being that long outlast the period of joblessness. Economic turmoil may impede psychological, as well as financial, growth even decades after times get better.”
 
Co-authors on this research include Antonio Terracciano also of Florida State University College of Medicine and a guest researcher at the NIA; Yuri Milaneschi of the National Institute on Aging and VU University Medical Center; and Yang An, Luigi Ferrucci and Alan B. Zonderman of the National Institute on Aging, NIH.
 
This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health. 

Related Topics: Aging, Personality/Social, Psychological Science, Well-Being 

 
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For more information about this study, please contact: Angelina R. Sutin at angelina.sutin@med.fsu.edu.
 
The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. For a copy of the article "The Effect of Birth Cohort on Well-Being: The Legacy of Economic Hard Times" and access to other Psychological Science research findings, please contact Anna Mikulak at 202-293-9300 or amikulak@psychologicalscience.org.
 

CONTACT: Doug Carlson, College of Medicine
(850) 645-1255 or (850) 694-3735; doug.carlson@med.fsu.edu

By Doug Carlson
February 2013

RESEARCHERS LINK PERSONALITY TRAITS TO PEAK ENERGY RATES

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — People with a more resilient personality profile are more likely to have greater energy levels.

That’s one of the conclusions from a four-year research project by Antonio Terracciano, associate professor of geriatrics at the Florida State University College of Medicine. His findings are outlined in “Personality, Metabolic Rate and Aerobic Capacity,” published in PLOS ONE, a peer-reviewed, open access journal.

With funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), Terracciano, College of Medicine Assistant Professor Angelina Sutin and NIA colleagues studied the relationship between personality, metabolic rate and aerobic capacity.

Past studies have demonstrated that personality traits and cardiorespiratory fitness in older adults are reliable predictors of health and longevity. But Terracciano wanted to know more about the link between psychological traits and cardiorespiratory fitness. Could it be that certain personality traits predict the extent of a person’s cardiorespiratory fitness?

Or, to take it a step further, are certain personality traits more desirable when it comes to leading a longer, healthier life?

“We tested implicit assumptions that individuals with certain personality dispositions have different metabolic and energetic profiles,” Terracciano said. “For example, do those who are assertive and bold expend more energy? Do those who are depressed or emotionally vulnerable have a lower aerobic capacity and less energy? And do conscientious individuals with an active and healthy lifestyle have more energy?”

The answer, on all counts, appears to be yes.

The results indicate that a person’s basic rate of metabolism is mostly unrelated to their personality traits. However, a resilient personality profile makes a difference when it comes to aerobic capacity or maximal sustained energy expenditure.

The study involved 642 participants, ages 31 to 96, all part of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, an ongoing multidisciplinary study at the NIA.

Terracciano and his team assessed personality traits to include measures of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness. Lower scores on neuroticism and higher scores on the other four dimensions are thought to be a more resilient personality profile.

Subjects were tested to measure their energy expenditure at rest and at normal and maximal sustained walking speeds. Those identified as more neurotic required a longer time to complete the walking task and had lower aerobic capacity.

Conversely, those who scored lower for neuroticism and higher for conscientiousness, extraversion or openness had better aerobic capacity and required less energy to complete the same distance.

“Those with a more resilient personality profile were not just faster and with greater aerobic capacity, but they were also more efficient in their energy expenditure while walking,” Terracciano said. “That is, they could go faster while using relatively less energy.

“Of the five domains of personality, we found no association with agreeableness,” Terracciano said. “This is somewhat surprising given that antagonistic individuals are likely to engage in health risk behaviors, such as smoking, and they tend to have thicker arteries and are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease.”

The results may indicate that aerobic capacity is one mechanism through which our personality traits contribute to better health and longevity. Also, greater aerobic capacity in an individual may be a factor in shaping his or her personality, especially when it comes to behaviors that require a higher level of energy, such as extraversion.

Furthermore, the findings suggest potential pathways through which our personality is linked to health outcomes, such as obesity and longevity.

Terracciano said the results highlight the links between personality traits and cardiorespiratory fitness in older adults.

“Both are powerful predictors of disability and mortality,” he said. “I believe this study is informative on the role of psychological traits in lifestyles that are associated with successful aging.”

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CONTACT: Doug Carlson

(850) 645-1255; doug.carlson@med.fsu.edu

By Doug Carlson

March 15, 2013

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Graduating students in the Florida State University College of Medicine Class of 2013 received notification today of where they will enter residency training this summer. The class is the ninth to graduate from the medical school, which first enrolled students in 2001.

Sixty-eight of the 111 students (61 percent) who matched with a residency program did so in a primary care specialty – family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine or obstetrics/gynecology. 

Other students matched in general surgery, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, neurological surgery, orthopedic surgery, pathology, psychiatry, diagnostic radiology and urology. The most popular specialty was family medicine, with 21 members of the class matching.

“We are excited by the continued success of our program in sending graduates to many of the top residency programs and I’m pleased to see so many of our students choosing primary care, including so many in family medicine,” said College of Medicine Dean John P. Fogarty. “More than 70 percent of our alumni now practicing in Florida are doing so in a primary care specialty and today’s match results tell us we will continue to be able to provide more of the doctors Florida needs most.”

The residency match, conducted annually by the National Resident Matching Program, is the primary system that matches applicants to residency programs with available positions at U.S. teaching hospitals. Graduating medical students across the country receive their match information at the same time on the same day.

On Friday, the 113 members of the Florida State University College of Medicine Class of 2013 expect to find out where they will receive residency training – a defining moment in their medical careers – during a Match Day ceremony.

The students will simultaneously open envelopes, learning for the first time where they will spend the next three to seven years completing training in the medical specialty they will practice. Graduating students at M.D.-granting medical schools across the United States receive their match information at the same time through the National Resident Matching Program, the primary system that matches applicants to residency programs with available positions at U.S. teaching hospitals.

The ceremony will take place:

FRIDAY, MARCH 15

NOON

OGLESBY UNION BALLROOM

75 N. WOODWARD AVE., ON THE FSU CAMPUS

CONTACT: Doug Carlson, College of Medicine
(850) 645-1255; doug.carlson@med.fsu.edu

March 18, 2013

On Wednesday, the Florida State University College of Medicine and Florida Hospital will announce a major gift agreement in support of medical education in the Orlando area.

The FSU College of Medicine’s Orlando Regional Campus is in its 10th year of operation. Third- and fourth-year medical students assigned to the Orlando campus work in one-on-one apprenticeship style rotations alongside experienced and distinguished physicians throughout Orlando, including numerous physicians at Florida Hospital.
The College of Medicine’s unique, community-based approach to medical education supports the college’s mission to focus on producing more primary care physicians. Florida Hospital’s gift is in support of the college’s mission and its effort in Orlando.

At present, 70 percent of FSU College of Medicine alumni practicing in Florida are doing so in primary care specialties.

Participating in the announcement will be Florida State University President Eric J. Barron, Florida Hospital President and CEO Lars Houmann, College of Medicine Dean John P. Fogarty, Florida Hospital Vice President Rich Morrison and Orlando Regional Campus Dean Michael Muszynski. Also present will be FSU medical students and alumni, along with Florida Hospital physicians who teach FSU medical students in Orlando.

The announcement will take place:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20
1:30 P.M.
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
ORLANDO REGIONAL CAMPUS
250 EAST COLONIAL DRIVE
SUITE 200
ORLANDO, FLA.
(A media briefing about the history and structure of the Florida State University College of Medicine and its Orlando Regional Campus will take place starting at 1 p.m., followed by the press conference.)