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1.Community links: Aiming to insure Florida's children 2. Input needed on diversity at COM 3. Novel antiviral technology inhibits RSV infection in mice. |
| Community Links |
Aiming to insure Florida's children |
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Families from throughout the Tampa Bay area came to the Kid Fair for Florida KidCare, held Jan. 15 at the University Area Community Center Complex in Tampa. The event helped inform local families about and enroll them in Florida KidCare, the state's child health insurance program. |
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In addition, the free event connected about 30 local health, educational, and social service organizations with families, providing them with information about other safety net resources in the community. Hillsborough County Commissioner Kathy Castor (right) attended the event to talk about the need for all children in Florida to be insured. Sponsors included Florida Covering Kids and Families, The Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center, USF Health Sciences Center, AMERIGROUP (a multi-state managed healthcare group), St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, and Hillsborough County Health and Social Services. USF College of Public Health students assisted with event activities and USF medical students, along with Lion's Club volunteers, conducted free vision screenings. Entertainment, food, clowns, USF sports athletes and prizes helped make the event fun for all. | |
Input needed on diversity at COM |
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By Sarah A. Worth |
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Novel antiviral technology inhibits RSV infection in mice |
| By Anne DeLotto Baier A novel antiviral treatment combining nanoparticle and gene silencing technologies thwarts attacks of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a virus associated with severe bronchitis and asthma, USF researchers found in an animal study. The study was reported in the January 2005 issue of the journal Nature Medicine. RSV infects lung cells and can be life-threatening in very young children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. No vaccine or widespread antiviral treatment is available for the infection. Researchers at USF's Joy McCann Culverhouse Airway Disease Research Center, working with scientists from the Moffitt Cancer Center and TransGenex Nanobiotech Inc., used a new technology known as RNA interference, or gene silencing, to knock out in mice one of the key proteins needed for RSV to multiply in the lungs. The virus harnesses this protein, known as NS1, to block the body's own antiviral response, which would normally kill RSV before it could gain a foothold. "This is an exciting advance in the fight against respiratory syncytial virus infection," said Shyam S. Mohapatra, PhD, principal investigator of the study and director of basic research at the USF Division of Allergy and Immunology. "We found that RNA interference targeting a virus's NS1 gene can be administered in the form of a nasal drop or spray. The treatment keeps the host's natural antiviral shield intact and attenuates virus reproduction, providing substantial protection from severe infections over days to weeks." Dr. Mohapatra and his team developed nose drops containing vectors capable of producing small fragments of RNA (siRNA). These fragments were encapsulated within chitosan nanoparticles — miniscule naturally-occurring, biodegradable particles that stick to mucous-producing cells lining the lungs. The RNA produced is specifically designed to suppress the protein NS1. Without NS1, the host antiviral defense remains intact and the virus cannot reproduce. Mice treated intranasally with the gene-silencing nanoparticles before and after infection with RSV showed significantly lower levels of virus in the lung and less airway inflammation and hyper-reactivity than untreated mice. The study was supported by grants from the Veterans' Affairs Merit Review Award and the Joy McCann Culverhouse Endowment. Other study authors were Weidong Zhang, Hong Yhang, Xiaoyuan Kong, Subhra Mohapatra, Homero San Juan-Vergara, Gary Hellermann, Sumita Behera, Rejeswari Singam and Richard F. Lockey. Dr. Mohapatra is also a molecular biologist at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital and a member of the scientific advisory board of TransGenex Therapeutics Inc., a USF spin-out company developing polymeric nanoparticles as a drug delivery platform. Return to top |
In the News |
| Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, dean of the College of Medicine and vice president for Health Sciences, was named one of Tampa Bay's 25 People to Watch in the Jan. 1 Tampa Tribune. Following the tsunami, Thomas Mason, PhD, director of the USF Global Center for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Action, commented Jan. 4 in the French newspaper LaPresse on the need for coordinating long-term disaster relief resources. Jacqueline Cattani, PhD, director of the USF Center for Biological Defense, was interviewed Jan. 11 on 1040AM WWBA about the potential for epidemics in affected regions in light of the severely compromised infrastructure. Several media outlets covered the presentation by renowned bioethicist Arthur Caplan, PhD, sponsored by HSC and Tampa General Hospital. Advance stories ran Jan. 10 in Advance for Nurses, Jan. 12 in the Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times and Jan. 13 on WUSF-FM 89.7. The St. Petersburg Times covered the Jan. 13 event in which Dr. Caplan discussed end-of-life care and the court cases that have shaped it. USF dietitian and diabetes educator Lois Babione, RD, commented in the Jan. 13 St. Petersburg Times on new federal dietary guidelines urging smaller and healthier portions. By Anne DeLotto Baier abaier@hsc.usf.edu Return to top |
Medical ethicist discusses end-of-life issues |
| Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, (left) dean of the College of Medicine and vice president for Health Sciences, recognized renowned bioethicist and author Arthur Caplan, PhD, at a Jan. 13 community presentation sponsored by the USF Health Sciences Center and Tampa General Hospital. Nearly 375 people attended Dr. Caplan's talk titled "Can Americans Ever Manage Dying: From Karen Ann Quinlan to Terri Schiavo." It was the first in a series of community-based Medical Ethics and Humanities lectures organized by Lois LaCivita Nixon, PhD, MPH. The series is hosted by Dr. Klasko and Ron Hytoff, president and CEO of TGH. The next presentation, "Medicine and Music: The Mind and Music of George Gershwin," is scheduled for May 11 and will feature physician-pianist Richard Kogan, MD. Photo by Eric Younghans Return to top |
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Research Day Feb. 24 -- Be there! |
| HSC Research Day is Feb. 24 and will include poster presentations throughout the HSC breezeways of work by faculty and students from the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing and Public Health. At noon in the HSC Auditorium will be the Ninth Annual Roy H. Behnke, MD, lecture that features Patricia Grady, PhD, RN, FAAN, an expert on stroke from the National Institutes of Health. For more information, email cdisimil@hsc.usf.edu or call 813-974-5200. Return to top |
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