Latest / UF Health MedEd Cast / University of Florida Neuro Research Ranks No. 2 Nationally in NIH Funding

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University of Florida Neuro Research Ranks No. 2 Nationally in NIH Funding · UF Health MedEd Cast

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  Melanie Cole (Host): Welcome to UF Health Med EdCast with UF Health Hans Hospital.
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  I'm Melanie Cole, and today we're highlighting how according to the 2025
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  Blue Ridge rankings for NIH funding, the UF departments of neurosurgery and
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  neurology, neuroscience research ranks number two nationally in NIH funding.
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  Joining me in this panel is Dr.
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  Brian Ho.
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  He's the James and Jit Marino family professor and chair of the Lillian
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  s Wells Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Florida.
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  And Dr.
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  Ho is also the chief of the medical staff at UF Health Shan Hospital.
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  And Dr.
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  Michael Jaffe.
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  He's the chair in the Department of Neurology, director of Brain Injury
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  Rehabilitation and Neuro Resilience Center, and a Bob Paul family,
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  professor of neurology doctors.
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  Thank you so much for joining us today and Dr.
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  Ho.
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  To start, I'd like you to give us the big.
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  Picture, what does it mean for the University of Florida neuro research to
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  rank number two nationally in NIH funding?
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  From your perspective as clinician scientist, why is this
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  milestone more than just a number?
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  Dr Brian Hoh: Yeah.
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  Thanks Melanie, and thank you for that question.
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  I think that, the real importance of This is that our faculty, our trainees
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  and our students And the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of
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  Florida are conducting science and doing research That is impactful.
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  And we'll translate into real novel changes and therapies
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  that will improve the lives of, patient's now And in the future.
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  and This is one way of measuring the impact of that.
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  but, we really, have this vision And this mission to do more, for our patient's and
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  to improve their health and their lives.
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  Melanie Cole (Host): Well, I think that's so important.
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  And so then along those lines, Dr.
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  Jaffe, as we think about the role of NIH funding, why it's such a
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  critical driver of innovation in neurology and neurosurgery, how does
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  strong NIH support translate into attracting top tier talent, fostering
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  collaboration, and advancing research?
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  Dr Michael Jaffe: so.
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  having the opportunity to have competitive grants for NIH does make
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  for an attractive research environment.
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  you hit on something that I believe is a, key element and an ingredient
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  for the success that we've had, And that being collaboration And that our
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  investigators collaborate with many different departments and even across
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  colleges here at the University of Florida, oftentimes producing these
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  innovative, interdisciplinary proposals.
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  That I think catch the eye of NIH 'cause they realize the synergy that a place like
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  the University of Florida can provide.
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  And so, when you have that kind of an environment with the natural
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  collaborations and support, it really makes itself conducive to team science and
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  a way to be attractive to, the scientists.
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  But even more important than being attracted to the
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  scientists, I think that, Dr.
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  Ho might agree that.
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  Having this kind of environment really makes us an exciting place for patient's
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  because what it does is it shows that we're on the cutting-edge, And we
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  can oftentimes provide hope as we are pushing the forefront of treatments
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  and knowledge about these diseases.
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  Melanie Cole (Host): Dr.
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  Ho, let's shift into the work coming out of the UF department of neurosurgery.
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  What are some of the most exciting or impactful research areas right
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  now that you're all looking into?
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  Discuss a little bit about the research being conducted at your department.
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  Dr Brian Hoh: Thanks, Melanie.
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  a few areas, where we have exceptionally strong interdisciplinary research
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  where we're making impacts on patient's, include, research into
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  novel therapies, for brain cancer.
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  Our group in the University of Florida Department of Neurosurgery has
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  been developing novel immunotherapy approaches to treat malignant
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  brain cancer, a disease that has a very serious and dismal prognosis.
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  And with this research, they're offering hope.
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  For these patient's using the power And the strength of, each
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  individual patient's immune system and harnessing that power, to fight
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  against, these, horrible brain cancers.
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  Another area, where our department is conducting significant
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  researches in the area of stroke.
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  as you and many people know, stroke.
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  Is a significant leading cause of death And the number one cause of
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  disability in the United States.
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  And so, a group that I'm a, part of a team for is conducting research
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  into, preventing stroke, from intracranial atherosclerotic disease
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  or narrowing of the blood vessels of the brain caused by atherosclerosis.
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  This is a, condition that has a very high.
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  Rate of stroke and death, in patient's.
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  And so, we have been conducting a, major national, stroke
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  trial, studying three different treatments, to prevent, stroke from,
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  intracranial atherosclerotic disease.
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  Melanie Cole (Host): That's so exciting, the work that you're doing.
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  It's a really exciting time in your field.
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  And along those lines then, Dr.
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  Ho, when you're taking us from bench to bedside, how is innovation?
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  AI surgical techniques changing that neurosurgical landscape at uf 'cause
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  that's such an exciting prospect.
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  Dr Brian Hoh: Yes, definitely.
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  and That is one of the reasons why I chose Neurosurgery,
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  neuroscience as a field is because.
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  Among all the medical disciplines, Neurosurgery, neurology, neuroscience
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  is one of the most rapidly changing, innovative, fields in medicine.
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  And, novel, imaging novel diagnostic methods and novel therapies continue,
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  to come in a fast and rapid pace.
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  And so, in the UF department of Neurosurgery We've made it our, vision
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  and our mission to contribute that and contribute to that in a significant way.
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  some of the, immunotherapy, treatments that have been developed
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  by our faculty in the laboratory in preclinical experiments are now.
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  Actually being delivered to human patient's with malignant brain cancer.
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  First in human clinical trials, really an example of bench to bedside, treatment.
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  There are many other areas that the UF Department of Neurosurgery
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  is translating research to bedside treatments for patient's,
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  including in the realm of movement disorders with novel, innovative...
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  Devices and brain stimulation techniques, focused ultrasound, the treatment of
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  vascular diseases with novel endovascular devices and procedures, and then the
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  treatment of brain tumors with laser interstitial thermal therapy, as well as
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  a clinical trial using focused ultrasound.
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  So, it's a very exciting time.
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  and I'm excited to be a part of this field where there's
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  rapid, innovation, and change.
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  Melanie Cole (Host): Well, thank you for sharing that with us and Dr.
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  Jaffe turning to neurology.
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  Tell us about some of the major research priorities you have right now across
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  the UF Department of Neurology and really how neurologists at UF are
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  bridging that bench research with real-world clinical application.
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  Dr Michael Jaffe: So one of the things I'm most proud of about the
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  research portfolio in the Department of Neurology is its utter variety.
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  It's depth and breadth And that we have initiatives that are focused
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  on common conditions to even some of the most rare conditions.
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  And so as an example, we have, an exciting protocol that's using non-invasive,
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  stimulation to help enhance walking and cognition in older people as we age.
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  Looking at the linkages between.
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  The decreased, walking ability is along with cognition is a common
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  challenge of aging, all the way to some of the most rare conditions.
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  We actually have a, initiative looking at using technology to stimulate the
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  brain, to treat, spinal cerebellar ataxia, which is a genetic form of,
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  uh, progressive ability to, lose balance And the ability to walk,
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  which is a, a rare genetic condition.
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  And when you also look at this, we go across the entire spectrum of settings
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  of what we have from acute into an ICU setting to a chronic outpatient setting.
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  And so, for example, in the acute ICU setting, we have a protocol
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  using innovative nerve blocks to help with pain control and people that
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  have had a subarachnoid hemorrhage.
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  And then looking at even more of the outpatient kinds of clinics,
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  we have a variety of initiatives.
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  or people say with Parkinson's disease or being treated on the
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  outpatient basis, that helps open up the door to understanding
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  both pathologies and treatments.
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  We have a newer initiative that's kind of using functional MRI to map out
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  the neuronal networks that might be contributing to anxiety that people with
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  Parkinson's may have and how that may look differently, when they're on a medicine
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  versus when they're off of a medicine.
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  we have everything from testing and developing high tech innovative devices
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  to, even a grant where we were developing policy for the state of Florida to help
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  those with acquired brain injuries.
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  And so, when I look at the entire portfolio, I just like to think
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  of it as being deep and wide.
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  Melanie Cole (Host): That is so interesting.
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  So then, Dr.
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  Ho, I'd like you to speak a little bit about the interdisciplinary collaboration,
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  and especially between neurology and neurosurgery as you two work so well
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  together in advancing these efforts as far as the importance of these types
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  of research that both departments are doing And the impact on the health
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  of patient's, as you have seen.
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  Dr Brian Hoh: So, in every example that, Dr.
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  Jaffe and I spoke about in terms of, research initiatives and programs out
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  of our true departments, these are all active, interdisciplinary collaborations.
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  Between neurology, Neurosurgery, neuroscience, and many other, departments.
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  So just to name a few examples, Dr.
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  Jaffe alluded to a clinical trial investigating ways to, prevent and reduce
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  headache after subarachnoid hemorrhage.
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  That is a multi I clinical trial called block, SAH, And the
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  principal investigators, come from the Department of neurology.
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  Department of Neurosurgery And the Department of Anesthesiology.
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  And so, That is just one example, multi pi, multidisciplinary, multi-departmental,
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  collaboration in a, large, national multicenter, randomized clinical trial.
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  another example.
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  is in, research, in, movement disorders, which has been a, longstanding,
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  fruitful and productive collaboration between, the departments of neurology
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  And the departments of Neurosurgery and, the departments of biomedical
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  engineering, understanding and mapping, brain pathways, neuroanatomy.
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  Brain connections And then developing, novel brain stimulation techniques,
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  to treat, neurodegenerative disorders.
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  And then finally, treatments for, malignant brain cancer bridge.
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  Many departments including neurosurgery, neurology.
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  Radiology.
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  Melanie, you mentioned AI, AI is a very active and integral part, of the brain.
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  cancer, research, as well as immunotherapy, immunology,
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  And the basic neurosciences.
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  So, none of this research could be done without active, and collaborative,
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  relationships between multiple departments And in, many cases, multiple colleges.
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  Melanie Cole (Host): Yes, Those are such important points and I'd love to give
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  you each a chance for final thought here.
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  So, Dr.
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  Jaffe, what does it mean for patient's to be treated at a center with this
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  depth of NIH supported research?
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  And looking ahead, what areas of neuroscience research are
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  you most excited about over the next five or 10 years or so?
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  Dr Michael Jaffe: it is an exciting time and sort of the
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  build on this whole idea of.
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  One of the things that we provide is this interactive collaboration, what some
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  people would refer to as team science.
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  And so we have the opportunity to bring together these teams who then together
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  can push the technology that can open up more understanding, open up the
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  next generation of questions, and we've seen that we have some investigators
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  who've been working together for years, And then they're bringing in
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  the experts from the newer technology.
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  So.
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  To kind of build upon an example that Dr.
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  Ho gave is that whenever we talk about, some of the research that
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  involves deep brain stimulation, it definitely is a collaboration between
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  all the disciplines that he said, neurosurgery, neurology, and engineering.
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  And what we have seen over time now is even with that, they are now using AI
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  to sort of talk about, how to improve the programming of the stimulator
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  to give even more precision, care.
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  To the individuals.
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  And so we are looking at newer generations of technology to
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  improve the treatments that we have.
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  And we're also looking at newer generations of technology to
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  better understand what we have.
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  And so one of the newest pieces of equipment that we've had for
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  the past couple of years, it is called a magneto celo That is
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  used for advanced brain mapping.
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  And having that opportunity for advanced brain mapping helps us.
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  One, understand the pathophysiology of disease, but two directly translate
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  into helping people because as Dr.
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  Ho was talking about the importance of brain cancer, for example, that kind
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  of brain mapping technology from the magneto encephalopathy can be used to help
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  plan, brain cancer forms of surgeries.
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  And we are using it to, better.
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  Plan and collaborate with neurosurgery for epilepsy surgeries to having a
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  very precise surgical intervention to improve the lives of people.
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  And so overall, what we're heading for is the precision that we can gain
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  through understanding the disease, through personalizing the medicine,
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  understanding the genetics or the things that are unique to that individual.
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  So that we can tailor that treatment with this higher technology to be
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  specific to what that individual needs.
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  With the idea that being no two individuals might
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  get exactly the same thing.
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  That the treatments themselves are using this technology to really
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  hone in on the exact precision intervention needed for that individual.
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  And so That is kind of what we are continuing to evolve towards
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  as we continue to do our best to.
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  Improve the qualities of, life for people with neurological diseases,
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  through a variety of interventions, which would include technology, which
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  would include surgery, which would include medications, which would include
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  a variety of other therapies, which might include non-invasive stimulation.
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  As so as we are trying to push the envelope on all of these, both
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  treatments and technologies and diagnostics to allow us to better help
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  people and improve quality of life.
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  Melanie Cole (Host): What a fascinating discussion and field that you're both in.
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  Thank you so much, Dr.
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  Jaffe.
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  And Dr.
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  Ho, last word to you.
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  How will sustained NIH funding continue to shape the future of
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  neurologic and neurosurgical care?
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  And what would you like clinicians listening to take away about the
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  importance of engaging with research regardless of their practice setting?
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  Dr Brian Hoh: I think the takeaway message, Melanie, is that, Support,
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  from the federal government through NIH funding and other federal agencies
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  is so critical And so important to sustaining, the vital research that we
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  and many other, academic medical centers across the country are performing.
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  but what I'd like to, express to clinicians and.
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  To other's listening is that, the research that, we are conducting, here at the
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  University of Florida And the Department of Neurosurgery as well as neurology
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  is research That is having, uh, direct translational impact on patient's.
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  And we're not talking about something way off in the future,
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  but actually, today, direct.
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  Translation from, novel therapies that our faculty have developed in the laboratory
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  that are being used now to treat patient's, today and having a real impact.
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  And so, the sustained Manintim that we're hoping to continue, with our, scientific
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  discovery, is to really work on.
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  Finding ways that we can make direct impacts on improving
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  the lives and the health of patient's, today and in the future.
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  Melanie Cole (Host): Very well said.
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  Thank you both so much for joining us today and sharing your incredible
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  expertise as clinicians, scientists, and practicing physicians.
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  Thank you so much.
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  And to learn more about this and other healthcare topics at UF
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  Health Chance Hospital, please visit innovation dot uf health.org
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  and to listen to more podcasts from our experts, you can
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  always go to UF health.org/med
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  matters.
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  That concludes today's episode of UF Health Med EdCast with
• 18:09
  UF Health Hans Hospital.
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  I'm Melanie Cole.