Price studies the roles of the brain’s gray and white matter on cognitive changes and susceptibility to decline for adults with Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Her work also examines how these changes may put individuals at risk for cognitive decline after events such as major surgeries.

Bauer will be working with senior economists at the Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets on a project examining the spillover effects of the utilization of health care services by Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries on the utilization of health care services by Medicare Advantage enrollees. A major focus of the research is to examine whether Medicare Advantage plans reduce the number of inpatient hospital services in markets where Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries have high service utilization.

“The day I received the letter from Florida Opportunity Scholars one of my dreams came true,” Elta said. “Four years later, I walked across the stage as a first-generation college student debt-free. I am so thankful for this opportunity.” 

The Florida Opportunity Scholars program was established in 2006 to support college freshmen who are the first in their families to attend college. It provides full grant and scholarship packages to students whose families earn less than $40,000 a year. The program also offers a leadership academy, peer mentors and workshops on financial literacy and career and life planning.

Florida Opportunity Scholars is funded by UF, the state of Florida and private donations. To date, the program has supported approximately 2,300 first-generation students from families with low income.

Elta is one of 12 Florida Opportunity Scholars who graduated May 4 from the College of Public Health and Health Professions’ bachelor’s in health science degree program. Several of them shared their post-graduation plans and their thoughts on the Florida Opportunity Scholars program.

Elta Desvaristes will begin master’s in public health studies this fall. She has long planned to become a physician and this career goal was re-affirmed two years ago when a close family member was diagnosed with a serious illness.

“Because of this life-changing event, my interest in public health also increased and this is why I am pursuing my M.P.H. before going on to medical school,” she said.

Thanhnga Doan has been admitted to the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine’s SELECT MD program, which trains medical students to become physician leaders.

“The Florida Opportunity Scholars program has played a monumental role in my success at the University of Florida,” she said. “At the end of the day, my parents always say that my only job is being a student. The FOS program made that a reality.”

CoCynthia Hodge plans to enroll in a master’s degree program in occupational therapy by next summer. She would eventually like to open a children’s therapy center.

“Without the FOS program I wouldn’t have had this opportunity,” she said. “I owe all of my achievements and success to this program, and I want to go as far as possible with my education and career so I can give back one day.”

Heather Loran will take a year off to work as a medical assistant and gain more patient contact hours before beginning a master’s degree program in physician assistant studies.

“FOS has opened doors to allow me to network with health care professionals and gain insight into my future career choice,” she said. “Because my family did not have the means to send me to college without the FOS program, I do not know where I would be today.”

Takeshia Pierre begins nursing studies this summer in Ocala. She would eventually like to complete a master’s degree in nursing and public health from Emory University. Her goal is to become a public health nurse practitioner with a focus on HIV.

“If I did not have a Florida Opportunity Scholarship I strongly doubt my experience at the University of Florida would have been a smooth one,” she said. “I am forever grateful for their help, and I will use my knowledge to make a difference in the future.”

Ashley Plowden plans to attend medical school and go on to become a pediatrician serving primarily rural and underserved areas.

“With FOS I was able to entirely focus on school without worrying about finances,” she said. “FOS also provided me with many other opportunities that I don’t think I would have otherwise had, such as having a peer mentor, making friends (also FOS scholars) and networking with various UF faculty and staff.”

Jannae White begins the UF College of Nursing’s accelerated bachelor’s in nursing program this summer. She plans to go on to earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and work as a nurse practitioner.

“FOS has been a huge support financially, which has led to the relief of not having to find a way to fund my education and not burden my mom financially or mentally,” she said. “Knowing that the donors and everyone else involved with FOS believe enough in us, scholars, to invest their time and/or money in us is very encouraging.”

Wenyan Wu plans to take a year off before starting medical school. During the gap year she will volunteer at non-profit health care organizations and continue providing free Mandarin-language interpretation services for Chinese patients at a nearby hospital.

“My career goal is to become a primary care physician,” she said. “I want to promote education on preventable diseases and help to reduce health disparities among the underserved communities. With this goal in mind, I want to obtain an M.D./M.P.H. degree because it will improve my knowledge of practicing medicine on a community basis.”

Cheryl Weston

Cheryl Weston, business manager of the department of epidemiology in the colleges of Public Health and Health Professions and Medicine, is one of just 16 University of Florida employees to receive a 2013 Superior Accomplishment Award at the university level.

The award program recognizes employees who contribute outstanding service, efficiency or economy to the university, or play a role in the quality of life provided to students and employees. Weston received the Jeffrey A. Gabor Employee Recognition Award, which includes a $1,000 check and commemorative plaque. Superior Accomplishment Award winners were recognized at a ceremony held April 18 at the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom.

Award nominators noted that Weston has taken on several challenges over the past year, including helping a new department chair and new faculty members transition to the department, coordinating the establishment of HealthStreet Gainesville, and planning the department’s move to the new Clinical and Translational Research Building.

“Cheryl has always presented a very positive attitude, effectively bringing keen analytic and creative skills and strong managerial qualities to a wide variety of projects,” a nominator said. “While there are many accomplished individuals at the University of Florida, Cheryl stands apart as she is genuinely helpful and she has the resourcefulness to find solutions to sometimes very challenging problems. She handles her interactions with faculty, staff and students quite ably and is extremely skilled, efficient and responsible.”

Thomas Alex Weppelmann, a doctoral student in the department of environmental and global health, was one of 20 graduate students recognized at PHHP Research Day. Photo by Christa Roberts.

On April 16, the College of Public Health and Health Professions hosted the largest Research Day in the event’s 26-year history with 126 student poster presentations.

PHHP Research Day also featured oral presentations from the top 10 ranked graduate student abstracts. The college granted 23 awards for outstanding research, including three awards to undergraduate students and 20 awards to graduate students. The graduate student awardees will receive funds from their departments to cover travel expenses associated with presenting their research at a national conference.

Internationally known epidemiologist Sandro Galea, M.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.H., the Anna Cheskis Gelman and Murray Charles Gelman Professor and chair of the department of epidemiology at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, gave the PHHP Research Day keynote lecture on the role of public health in personalized medicine.

Galea’s research focuses on uncovering how determinants at multiple levels — such as policies, features of the social environment, molecular, and genetic factors — jointly influence the health of urban populations. He has documented the mental health consequences of mass trauma and conflict worldwide, including the September 11, 2001 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has published more than 400 scientific journal articles, 50 chapters and commentaries, and seven books.

In his keynote address Galea discussed the prevention paradox, which was first described by epidemiologist Geoffrey Rose. The prevention paradox states that a disease prevention measure that brings large benefits to the community offers little direct benefit to each participating individual. Because a large number of people exposed to a small risk of disease may generate many more cases than a small number of people exposed to a high risk, Galea advised the audience that personalized medicine approaches may not be the best strategy when trying to keep large populations healthy. Health care should embrace prevention strategies at both the population level and the individual level, Galea said.

“We were truly inspired by Dr. Galea’s enthusiasm and insight,” said Linda Cottler, Ph.D., M.P.H., the college’s associate dean for research and planning and chair of the department of epidemiology in the College of Public Health and Health Professions and the College of Medicine.

2013 PHHP Research Day awardees

Undergraduate honors thesis awardees
Alex Madalfi (Mentor: Mai)
Lisbet Fernandez (Mentor: Fuller)
Emily White (Mentor: Patten)

Highest ranked graduate student abstract ($1,000 travel award)
Brandon Roberts (Mentor: Judge)

Graduate student poster awardees ($500 travel award)
Manal Alabduljabbar (Mentor: Perri)
Jessica Berman (Mentor: Troche)
Margo Klar (Mentor: Archibald)
Taylor Kuhn (Mentor: Bauer)
Melissa Laitner (Mentor: Perri)
Nadine Schwab (Mentor: Price)
Marie Nancy Seraphin (Mentor: Striley)
Sunil Swami (Mentor: Manini)
Thomas Alex Weppelmann (Mentor: Ali)

Graduate student poster awardees ($300 travel award)
Sarah Bauer (Mentor: Hall)
Christopher Besser (Mentor: Harman)
Daniel Furnas (Mentor: Edmonds)
Elisa Gonzalez-Rothi (Mentor: Fuller)
Hui Hu (Mentor: Xu)
Sahana Kamath (Mentor: Patten)
Helena Laciuga (Mentor: Sapienza)
Yoonjeong Lim (Mentor: Bendixen)
Chukwuemeka Okafor (Mentor: Cook)
Karlyn Vatthauer (Mentor: McCrae)

Research Day photos