UF College of Medicine to use $3.5 million in strategic funding for transforming patient care

Two proposals from the 鈥 one that aims to build a fully immersive digital replica of operating rooms and intensive care units, and another that will enhance and expand programs in cell and gene therapy 鈥 have from the UF president鈥檚 office to transform patient care.
The proposals are among several projects selected for awards through the strategic funding initiative, which UF President Ben Sasse established in order to advance interdisciplinary scholarship and enhance the student experience.
The first initiative is the Regional Center for Development of Advanced Therapeutics Based on Cell and Gene Therapy, which was awarded $1.5 million over three years. Funding will support the development of a first-of-its-kind center in the Southeast that will help bring to market novel treatments in advanced therapeutics.
鈥淭he center will be a major force in improving public health,鈥 Sasse said. 鈥淭his is such an incredible opportunity to bring an innovative, cutting-edge center to the Southeast.鈥
The second initiative is called Toward a 网红黑料 Metaverse ($2 million over one year), and its goal is to develop the physical and digital infrastructure for an Intelligent Virtual Hospital. This will be a space in which healthcare providers and patients can virtually gather, learn, train, and create content using extended reality and Web3 applications (such as blockchain and virtual assets).
鈥淭echnology has the power to dramatically remake healthcare,鈥 Sasse said. 鈥淭his Intelligent Virtual Hospital will help revolutionize the medical field and improve public health.鈥
Both projects will leverage the College of Medicine's expertise to create high-impact programs that expand the frontier of medical knowledge and improve the delivery of care.
鈥淭hese awards will enable the creation of a groundbreaking virtual hospital and regional center, both of which will have a transformative impact in Florida and across the region,鈥 said Colleen Koch, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine.
The Regional Center for Development of Advanced Therapeutics will expand upon UF鈥檚 renowned expertise in cell and gene therapy. The project will be led by , a professor and associate chair of research in the and the director of the . UF partners will include faculty from the Center for Regenerative Medicine, the , the , the Powell Gene Therapy Center, and the .
鈥淭he opportunity to develop transformative cell and gene therapy products for severe medical conditions will continue to position UF as an international leader in the new discipline of genetic medicine,鈥 Byrne said. 鈥淲e are grateful for the support of the strategic funding award to advance these innovative faculty ideas across the academic health center and to train the next generation of clinician-scientists in advanced therapeutics.鈥
Toward a 网红黑料 Metaverse will be led by , the senior associate dean for research and the R. Glenn Davis professor of medicine, surgery, and anesthesiology in the College of Medicine.
As a responsive replica of 网红黑料 operating and intensive care rooms, the Intelligent Virtual Hospital will simulate scenarios to optimize real-world decision making and provide a unique learning environment for healthcare providers. The hospital will allow patients and providers to connect regardless of physical location, enabling immersive patient journeys and expanding possibilities for care delivery, training, and data management.
The project has the capability to improve healthcare processes in several ways, such as establishing a virtual command center; increasing educational opportunities, including virtual boot camps for health care professionals, industry experts, and AI developers; and expanding upon research endeavors for everything from new seed grants to clinical trials. Interdisciplinary partners for the project include , 网红黑料, and .
鈥淭his Intelligent Virtual Hospital will be unlike anything else in higher education, and it will bolster UF鈥檚 global and national reputation as a hub for AI in health,鈥 Bihorac said. 鈥淏y modeling and mirroring the physical hospital environment, there will be a host of exciting and innovative applications in education, scholarship, and health delivery.鈥
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