Systematic review: Biopsychosocial factors related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children/adolescents with Neurofibromatosis type 1

Oct 08, 2025

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Oct 02, 2025
Tallahassee Democrat

Following the first public forum regarding the proposed sale of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare to Florida State University, the Tallahassee City Commission voted 3-2 in favor of having the city manager "move forward in negotiating the payment structure" for the transaction.

 

News of the Week

Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences program expanding to FSU Panama City in fall '26

College of Medicine Dean, Alma Littles, M.D. and IMS Associate Dean, Elizabeth Foster, Ph.D. participated in Tuesday's press conference on the FSU Panama City campus, announcing the launch of the IMS program next fall. (Photo by Andrew Wardlow)

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — A new biomedical sciences program at Florida State University Panama City was officially announced Tuesday, offering a major step forward in health care education for Northwest Florida. The Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences (IMS) program, launching fall 2026, is designed to prepare students for a wide range of careers in health care — from clinical practice and medicine to health care management and policy.
 
The program, offered in partnership with the FSU College of Medicine, aims to improve access to high-quality education in the clinical aspects of health care and support workforce development in the region.
 
“This new program will serve to improve access to a high-quality education in the clinical aspects of health care — it will be an investment in future health care providers for Bay County and surrounding areas,” said FSU Panama City Dean Randy Hanna.
 
The IMS program will be open to first-time-in-college students as well as transfer students from state and community colleges.
 
“We are constantly finding ways to address the shortage of health care professionals throughout the state of Florida,” said Dr. Alma Littles, dean of the FSU College of Medicine. “FSU Panama City is a tremendous resource for the people of Northwest Florida and a great springboard for students wishing to enter the health care professions. I am delighted the College of Medicine has expanded its IMS program, which will help students achieve their goals of preparing for a rewarding career.”
 
Students in the IMS program will earn a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences, combining a rigorous science core with service learning, developmental seminars and a capstone experience. The program is structured to help students discover their most suitable health care career path, build professional skills and mindset and develop a deep understanding of community health needs.
 
“We have been working on establishing this program for around one year,” said FSU PC Associate Dean Amy Polick. “A great deal of work was undertaken to ensure this program maintained the same quality experienced in Tallahassee, while being highly specialized and effective for Panama City students.”
 
Courses will be taught in-person in Panama City by a mix of current and newly recruited faculty. The degree prepares students for further study or careers in fields such as: 
•    Medicine (MD/DO), Dentistry (DMD/DDS), Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Veterinary Medicine 
•    Child welfare, Disability and elder care services, Health policy, Non-profit and research sectors
 
“The options are endless,” said Tory Peek, who will serve as the program coordinator. “This degree could lead to careers in the non-profit sector, research field, community care or health policy and informatics.” 

Tuesday’s press conference featured remarks from leadership at FSU PC and the FSU College of Medicine, alongside representatives from local hospitals, Bay District Schools, Gulf Coast State College and area high schools. Students from across the region, including those interested in pursuing the new degree, attended the press conference.
 
“We have a solid track record of student success, and I am happy we can extend the reach of the IMS program to serve even more students and improve the health care environment in Northwest Florida,” said Dr. Anthony Speights, senior associate dean for IMS. “Of the program’s 688 graduates, 54 have matriculated into the College of Medicine’s M.D. program and 30 into its School of Physician Assistant Practice, and many others are successfully working in other health care professions.”
 
Hanna expressed his appreciation to the various faculty and staff, including Tyler Towne and Liz Foster, for their roles in developing the curriculum and forging cross-campus collaboration.
 
“This was a team effort, and students will see that commitment when they enroll,” Hanna said. 

Prospective students can find program prerequisites and additional information on the FSU College of Medicine IMS website or by visiting the FSU Panama City IMS page.
 

Death is Biologically Real; Laws About Death are Social Constructions

Aug 18, 2025

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Sep 23, 2025
Tallahassee Democrat

A memorandum of understanding between Florida State University and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare is now in place, further advancing the likelihood of the University taking ownership of the hospital. It is the latest step in the partnership, which aims to establish a first-class medical center in Tallahassee.

In a joint letter to the city commissioners, FSU President Richard McCullough and TMH CEO Mark O'Bryant confirmed that they are committed to "advancing care in the capital city and county together" and will work together to obtain the approvals necessary to transfer the land to FSU.

Now the city must decide whether it will relinquish its ownership stake in the hospital property and assets to the University.
  

News of the Week

Lee Health promotes Alfred Gitu, M.D. to Chief Academic Officer

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. Alfred Gitu as Lee Health’s new Chief Academic Officer. Since joining Lee Health in 2012, Dr. Gitu has demonstrated exceptional academic leadership and a strong commitment to preparing physicians for the next phase of their careers.

In his new role, Dr. Gitu will oversee education, research and training programs to ensure the highest standards of academic and clinical excellence. He will play a key role in expanding Lee Health’s academic programs, focusing on creating a leading teaching institution in the region and beyond.

Dr. Gitu will also lead the development of innovative programs to expand career opportunities for medical residents. He will champion cutting-edge medical research, enhance training initiatives, and attract top talent from around the world.

“Dr. Gitu is deeply committed to preparing the next generation of physicians and growing a skilled healthcare workforce for Southwest Florida,” said Lee Health Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser. “As a core member of our team, he has been instrumental to Lee Health’s success, and I am confident that in his new role, he will further strengthen and elevate both our health system and academic programs.”

Dr. Gitu earned his medical degree from the University of Nairobi in Nairobi, Kenya. Before joining Lee Health, Dr. Gitu was a faculty physician for the Self Regional Healthcare Family Medicine Residency Program in Greenwood, SC, where he had also completed his residency training.

Since joining Lee Health, Dr. Gitu has helped to provide training for resident physicians and medical students in the Florida State University (FSU) College of Medicine Family Medicine Residency Program based at Lee Memorial Hospital. The program welcomed its first class in 2014. In 2018, Dr. Gitu was named the program director. Under his leadership, the program has maintained a 100% board pass rate with zero citations. He spearheaded the expansion of the program from a total of 24 residents a year to 33 residents a year.

Due to the success of the Family Medicine Residency program, Lee Health also collaborated with FSU to create the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Cape Coral Hospital. The program, which takes three years to complete, is approved to accept 20 residents a year for a total of 60 at full capacity.

Lee Health has also received approval from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to launch a four-year obstetrics and gynecology residency program and a one-year transitional year program at Cape Coral Hospital, in collaboration with the FSU College of Medicine.

Resident doctors are medical school graduates who are training to specialize in their chosen medical field. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), about 60% of residents choose to practice medicine in the state where they trained. For primary care, the in-state retention rate is 70%.

Training new doctors in the community creates a network of physicians ready to practice medicine in Southwest Florida, addressing the nationwide physician shortage and the healthcare needs of our community. Lee Health’s residency programs play a vital role in preparing physicians to help treat Southwest Floridians with the high-quality, innovative healthcare the community trusts.

(Note: This article was published in the South Florida Hospital News) 

 

Systematic review: Biopsychosocial factors related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children/adolescents with Neurofibromatosis type 1

Sep 15, 2025

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Sep 05, 2025
UPI.com

The results from a longitudinal study of middle-aged Brazilian adults who consumed artificial sweeteners , show people who consumed the highest amounts experience the fastest declines in cognitive functions as they move into their senior years.

The research, published Sept. 3 in the journal Neurology, concludes that those who consumed the most aspartame, saccharin and five other types of sweeteners experienced cognitive declines at a 62% faster rate than those who consumed the lowest amounts. The study group included nearly 13,000 individuals who were followed for an average of eight years.

Pradeep Bhide, Ph.D., the Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers Eminent Scholar Chair of Developmental Neuroscience at the FSU College of Medicine, acknowledged that the Brazilian findings “echo” the results his lab found in a widely-publicized study on aspartame in 2022.

That research found that the daily consumption of aspartame in mice can lead to behavioral and cognitive impairment, likely due to the sweetener’s effects on the brain’s neurotransmitter systems.

“The convergence of large-scale human data with controlled laboratory findings strengthens the concern that chronic exposure to artificial sweeteners may have significant neurobehavioral consequences,” Bhide told United Press International (UPI.com) writer Don Jacobson, who reached out for comment on the Brazilian study.

“These results underscore the need for caution in the widespread use of such sweeteners and highlight the importance of further mechanistic studies.”
 

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Sep 04, 2025
Medical Xpress

Third-year Florida State University College of Medicine student Tiffany Nong and Viralkumar Bhanderi, M.D., a clerkship faculty member and oncologist with Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, are contributing authors on research evaluating chatbot accuracy in the field of blood cancer.

Their contributions, guided by senior author Justin Taylor, M.D., a physician-scientist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer, 
were published Sept. 3 in Future Science OA, a peer-reviewed, open access journal.

The new study investigated ChatGPT 3.5 and the quality of responses it provided to a set of 10 medical questions specific to the field of blood cancer. The questions posed to the chatbot were similar to common patient questions as they progress through treatment. Five of those questions were general questions often asked by patients when first diagnosed. The others were more specific medical developments related to disease care. The study was conducted in July 2024 and the responses were evaluated by four anonymous hematology-oncology physicians.

It showed that the chatbot performed best on general questions but struggled to provide information about newer therapies and approaches.

Nong, who is in clinical training at the Fort Pierce Regional Campus, served as first-author on the research.




 

Dean's Message Fall 2025

Aug 28, 2025
25th anniversary logo

We are not ones to shy away from big ideas. On June 15, 2000, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed the legislation to create the Florida State University College of Medicine. This was a “big idea” back then and remains one today. This year, we celebrate 25 years of accomplishments by our alumni, students, faculty and staff and look with promise toward the next 25 years.

What does our future hold? A lot. FSU Health, another “big idea,” is beginning to take shape. This bold university initiative will build a medical ecosystem that will truly transform medical education and health care delivery in North Florida. Already, ground has been broken for an FSU Health Academic Health Center on the campus of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH), set to open next year. The 140,000-square-foot building will house clinical research and education space, residency programs, laboratory facilities and other resources designed to bridge the gap between education, academic research and patient care. It will be home to approximately 30 principal investigators and is expected to attract $40 million annually in grant funding.

In March, the FSU Board of Trustees and the Florida Board of Governors — the 17-member board that oversees Florida’s state universities — approved $414 million in bond financing for the construction of an FSU Health hospital in Panama City Beach. The university will partner with an operator to handle day-to-day operations of the new medical facility. Once final approval is given by the state, construction will begin on the first phase of the hospital, which can accommodate up to 180 beds and will offer a broad range of health care services including emergency medicine, general medicine and surgery, and diagnostic imaging. In addition, specialized service lines will be added, which will include cardiac care, neurology and orthopedics. To make this project a reality, The St. Joe Company donated more than 16 acres of land to FSU. A medical office building is already on site and accepting patients. The College of Medicine is developing additional partnerships to support the growth of FSU Health.

We also have big ideas for expanding our Graduate Medical Education (GME) program. In July, the FSU College of Medicine assumed sponsorship of four residency programs with Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola: 1) Family Medicine; 2) Internal Medicine; 3) OB-GYN; and 4) Pediatrics. Also in July, at TMH, the college assumed sponsorship of the Family Medicine residency program. We have exciting plans to expand GME throughout the state — adding more slots to train more physicians that are so badly needed in Florida.

Everything we do — and all the big ideas we have — are centered on improving patient care and providing our students the best education and training possible to meet the health care needs of Floridians. We do this in many ways, including through our School of Physician Assistant Practice (now with more than 300 alumni); the Bridge to Clinical Medicine Program which leads to a master’s degree in a health-related field; our doctoral program which trains the next generation of scientists to answer important questions of medical relevance;, and our pathway programs that serve as an entry point for students interested in pursuing a rewarding career in health care.

This year, we celebrate the college’s 25th anniversary — and the 20th anniversary of the graduation of our first class of medical students, the Class of 2005. And, this year, our Sarasota Regional Campus celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Although we have many successes and institutional milestones to celebrate — from anniversaries to the expansion and growth of programs — we have not lost sight of the most important and personal milestones of all. These include the admission of new cohorts of eager students, White Coat ceremonies, Match Day, commencements and all the personal victories and sacrifices experienced by our students along the way. We are very proud of each and every one of them — and remain committed to their success. I hope you share the same sense of pride and feeling of accomplishment for all we have done over the past 25 years, and for all that is yet to come.

With Warm Regards,

Signature of Alma Littles, M.D., Dean

Alma B. Littles, M.D. 
Dean, FSU College of Medicine 

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