CONTACT: Catherine Zenko, director, CARD, FSU Autism Institute
850-644-4367; catherine.zenko@med.fsu.edu

Aug. 11, 2016

WORKSHOP WILL FOCUS ON ‘AUTISM ENTREPRENEURS’

“If you’ve ever thought about starting a business to employ people with autism,” a flier circulating in Tallahassee states, “this workshop is for you.”

The workshop, “Awakening the Autism Entrepreneur,” is for families and individuals with autism, as well as other individuals interested in starting — or adapting — a business to provide job opportunities for people on the autism spectrum.

The workshop will take place:

SATURDAY, AUG. 20

9 A.M. - 4 P.M.

AQUILINA C. HOWELL BUILDING

3955 W. PENSACOLA ST.

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.

“We talk about autism not as a disability but as a potential competitive advantage for businesses,” said Michael Alessandri, one of the workshop’s presenters, in an interview earlier this year. “People with autism are highly reliable and with the right support can be very productive.”

Alessandri is executive director of CARD (Center for Autism and Related Disabilities) at the University of Miami. Florida State’s own CARD center, part of the College of Medicine’s Autism Institute, is hosting the workshop.

“We hope this event can help generate more meaningful and productive opportunities for individuals on the autism spectrum and businesses in our community,” said Catherine Zenko, FSU CARD’s new director.

CARD describes autism spectrum disorder as a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction, accompanied by restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities. Many people see that as a disadvantage. But in a job that’s repetitive and highly regimented, Alessandri points out, a person with autism can be perfect.

Take a job in a car wash, for example. Two other South Florida presenters at the workshop, Tom D’Eri and Tom Sena, are “autism entrepreneurs” at Rising Tide Car Wash — where more than three-fourths of the employees have some form of autism. D’Eri’s brother, Andrew, is one of them.

“Our mission is to change the paradigm of how the world thinks of people with disabilities,” Alessandri said. “We think of them as people with unique abilities, and we need to create employment opportunities that embrace their uniqueness and strengths.”

The workshop is free and open to the public, but limited to the first 80 registrants. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Sign up at http://bit.ly/291RRFG.

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CONTACT: Doug Carlson
850-645-1255; doug.carlson@med.fsu.edu

Sept. 8, 2016

FIFTY LOCAL STUDENTS TO BE INDUCTED INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL PIPELINE PROGRAM

Monday, 50 Immokalee students in grades 8-10 will be inducted into a Florida State University College of Medicine outreach program called SSTRIDE. The program (Science Students Together Reaching Instructional Diversity and Excellence) was developed at FSU in 1993 as a way to steer more students from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine to a career in health care. Numerous SSTRIDE participants over the years have gone on to medical school and are now practicing physicians.

SSTRIDE Collier County is being developed with a $500,000 grant from the Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF), founders of the Naples Winter Wine Festival. NCEF is committed to supporting charitable programs that improve the physical, emotional and educational lives of underprivileged and at-risk children in Collier County.

Kristen Dimas, M.D., is an Immokalee High graduate who served as a SSTRIDE mentor before graduating from the FSU College of Medicine in May. She currently is a first-year medical resident in family medicine at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers with plans to return to Immokalee to enter medical practice.

In Florida, 40 percent of the population, but only 20 percent of the physician workforce, is black or Hispanic. SSTRIDE is part of the FSU College of Medicine effort to diversify its student body and produce physicians more likely to practice in areas of need in Florida.

Attending Monday’s induction ceremony will be NCEF CEO Maria Jimenez-Lara, Grants Director Sarah Zaiser and Strategic Initiatives Coordinator Beth Hatch; Elena Reyes, professor and regional director for Southwest Florida at the FSU College of Medicine; Thesla Berne-Anderson, director of outreach and advising at the College of Medicine; Collier County School Board members Roy Terry and Erika Donalds; and Beth Coryell, director of secondary education for Collier County Public Schools.

The induction ceremony will take place:
MONDAY, SEPT. 12
6 P.M.
IMMOKALEE TECHNICAL COLLEGE
508 N. 9th Street, IMMOKALEE

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CONTACT: Christie Alexander, M.D.
850-508-4006

Sept. 9, 2016

FSU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE PROVIDING HEALTH SCREENINGS ON SUNDAY

Florida State University medical students and faculty physicians will be providing health screenings on Sunday in a local neighborhood where residents have either recently experienced homelessness or are at risk of homelessness. The majority of residents either have no health insurance or are covered through Medicaid and face challenges in accessing health-care services.

The event is part of an ongoing relationship between the College of Medicine’s FSUCares student organization and Good News Outreach’s community of Maryland Oaks Crossing. Sponsored by the Chapman Foundation, the program provides regular and ongoing opportunities for the College of Medicine to address some of the health-care needs faced by at-risk individuals and families.

Sunday’s event includes health screenings and a social to welcome both returning residents and new residents who are not yet familiar with the health services made available by the College of Medicine and Good News Outreach.

The ‘Super Sunday’ health-screening event will take place:

SUNDAY, SEPT. 11
2-6 P.M.
MARYLAND OAKS CROSSING
3103 Bicycle Road, TALLAHASSEE

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CONTACT: Julie Jordan, College of Medicine
(850) 645-9699; julie.jordan@med.fsu.edu

September 2016

FSU MEDICAL RESEARCHER AWARDED $1.6 MILLION FOR EPILEPSY WORK

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State University neuroscientist Sanjay Kumar has received $1.6 million from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to pave the way for a more effective treatment for temporal lobe epilepsy.

Temporal lobe epilepsy, the most common form in adults, is not improved with anti-epileptic medications.

Kumar and his electrophysiology lab will identify epilepsy-causing neural circuits by measuring their electrical activity in three areas of the brain’s temporal lobe: the presubiculum, parasubiculum and entorhinal area.

“We record neurons’ electrical activity and manipulate circuits in different regions of the brain to see if activity can be altered,” said Kumar, an associate professor in the College of Medicine’s Department of Biomedical Sciences. “Although the temporal lobe structures are interconnected, the precise details of that connectivity are still unknown.”

The temporal lobe processes sensory information and creates memories, comprehends language and controls emotions. A temporal lobe epileptic seizure is debilitating.

“The only way to get to therapeutic avenues for treatment is to understand what happens to the circuits and the neurons,” Kumar said. “A hallmark of temporal lobe epilepsy is the loss of a vulnerable population of neurons in a particular region called the entorhinal area.”

That region stores memories temporarily. During preliminary studies, Kumar and his team wanted to know why neurons there are overstimulated and die during an epileptic seizure.

“For a long time we looked for answers within the entorhinal area itself,” he said, “and it dawned on us that perhaps the circuits that drive these neurons to become overactive are in two surrounding regions: the presubiculum and parasubiculum.”

Kumar and his lab began studying these regions and they characterized seven types of neurons. One type became hyperexcitable during an epileptic attack and caused the same effect on two other areas of the temporal lobe. Now, with the help of the grant, the lab will look for additional neurons and neural circuits that cause epileptic seizures.

The research will lay the groundwork for new methods of treatment, such as replacing lost and/or hyperexcitable neurons with stem cells or using a technique called optogenetics that uses light to control cells in living tissue.

“In both of these approaches, you need to know which cell types become hyperexcitable and which circuits are responsible for bringing about epileptic seizures,” Kumar said. “Our study will allow us to get new tools to intervene.”

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke conducts and supports research on brain and nervous system disorders. Created by the U.S. Congress in 1950, it is one of the more than two dozen research institutes and centers that constitute the National Institutes of Health.

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CONTACT: Kaitlyn Odom
850-644-7029; Kaitlyn.odom@med.fsu.edu

Sept. 30, 2016

FSU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE PARTICIPATING IN MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH EQUITY CONFERENCE

Florida State University faculty physicians are joining with health-care providers from throughout the Tallahassee area for a two-day conference addressing black infant mortality and other questions of health-care inequity.

Featured speaker Camara Jones, M.D., president of the American Public Health Association, will deliver the keynote address Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Panel discussions on breastfeeding, advocacy and empowerment and stress and mental health also are scheduled during the two-day event. Conference details, agenda a list of sponsors and participating institutions are available at mchecollaborative.com.

Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

The event will take place:

FRIDAY, SEPT. 30
4-7 P.M.
GADSDEN ART CENTER
13 N. Madison St.
QUINCY, FLA. 32351

SATURDAY, OCT. 1
10 A.M.-4 P.M.
FAMU COLLEGE OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES
1415 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 32307

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