What’s Really ‘Fueling’ Harmful Algae in Florida’s Lake Okeechobee?

Historically, Lake Okeechobee was thought to be impaired only by phosphorus, focusing efforts on reducing agricultural runoff. However, new comprehensive sampling across the Lake Okeechobee Waterway and its connected estuaries shows that toxic algal blooms also are driven by rising nitrogen levels from human waste and urban runoff. Increased nitrogen, worsened by extreme rainfall, significantly fuels bloom severity. Findings underscore the need for integrated nutrient management and improved wastewater treatment to protect the lake and its estuaries.

NSF Grant Empowers FAU to Explore Caribbean Climate Crisis with Ethnography

Researchers have received a $650,000 NSF grant to investigate the cultural dimensions of ecological instability by studying the experiences of vulnerable communities in South Florida and Puerto Rico. Using ethnography, they will capture the nuanced ways in which communities are responding to ecological disruptions. Understanding how cultures adapt to ecological instability can provide valuable insights for communities worldwide, including those in the Caribbean. By documenting and analyzing these responses, researchers can develop and refine strategies to enhance collective survival.

Growth from Adversity: How Older Adults Bounced Back from COVID-19 Pandemic

The study highlights the remarkable resilience of older adults (median age 86) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Disruptions to their routines led many to discover new hobbies like gardening and painting and explore virtual activities such as online yoga.

FAU Receives $750,000 Philanthropic Grant for Alzheimer’s Disease

A $750,000 philanthropic grant from the Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation will help FAU develop partnerships and programs that will establish best practice for coordinated care and research for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Digital Reporting Tool Aims to Protect Fire Investigators and Boost Public Safety

After a fire, investigators charged with determining the cause of the blaze sometimes stumble on unstable surfaces, breathe in toxins, or face other health and safety risks. But they had no central place to document their exposure to hazards at work, and researchers had no central place to evaluate that data to try to mitigate those risks — until now.

The Role of H. pylori in Gastric Cancer

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is a major cause of gastric cancer, and researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have several projects underway to better understand the association and develop much-needed prevention and treatment.

Sylvester Game Changer Vehicle Among First in Nation to Offer Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening

Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Game Changer vehicles, which bring health education and free screenings for many cancer types to South Florida communities in need, are for the first time offering prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer.

FAU, Hospital Partners Strategize on Future of Region’s Medical Residencies and Fellowships

FAU Schmidt College of Medicine Graduate Medical Education Consortium leaders recently met to strategize and outline the next phase for graduate medical education and residency programs in Palm Beach County, which they will launch in the fall.

FAU Announces Formation of FAU Health Network

Three South Florida counties that collectively are home to the largest metropolitan population in the state will soon be served by an academic health network that is a true collaboration of the region’s leading public and private academic and medical leaders.

FAU Receives $28 Million Scholarship Gift to Support Medical Education

FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine received an estate pledge of $28 million from John and Ann Wood to support scholarships for medical students. This is the largest scholarship gift in FAU’s history and the largest known scholarship gift to a Florida public university’s medical school.

Low-cost 3D Method Rapidly Measures Disease Impacts on Florida’s Coral Reefs

A low-cost and rapid 3D technique is helping scientists to gain insight into the colony- and community-level dynamics of the poorly understood stony coral tissue loss disease responsible for widespread coral death throughout the Tropical Western Atlantic. They adapted Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry to generate 3D models for tracking lesion progression and impacts on diseased coral colonies. They combined traditional diver surveys with 3D colony fate-tracking to determine the impacts of disease on coral colonies throughout Southeast Florida.

Low-cost 3D Method Rapidly Measures Disease Impacts on Florida’s Coral Reefs

A low-cost and rapid 3D technique is helping scientists to gain insight into the colony- and community-level dynamics of the poorly understood stony coral tissue loss disease responsible for widespread coral death throughout the Tropical Western Atlantic. They adapted Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry to generate 3D models for tracking lesion progression and impacts on diseased coral colonies. They combined traditional diver surveys with 3D colony fate-tracking to determine the impacts of disease on coral colonies throughout Southeast Florida.

Free Online Video Series Open to the Public ‘Understanding Harmful Algal Blooms in Florida’

The free online series of short videos are designed to provide basic, jargon-free scientific information on harmful algal blooms: what they are; where they live and grow; and causes, impacts, and potential mitigation of blooms. The series is directed toward resource managers and decision-makers as well as the general public.

FAU’s Ruth Tappen Named ‘2021 Alliance World Class Faculty’ Honoree

Ruth M. Tappen, Ed.D., RN, FAAN, the Christine E. Lynn Eminent Scholar and professor in FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, is nationally and internationally renowned as an innovative researcher and scholar. Tappen was recently recognized as the “2021 Alliance World Class Faculty” honoree by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance.

FAU Launches COVID-19 Registry and Repository to Advance Research

An essential strategy for managing COVID-19 requires vast amounts of real-world data to enable researchers to find patterns that will help to better understand and manage this disease. Florida Atlantic University has launched a registry and repository to contribute to new discoveries and knowledge related to COVID-19 and is currently enrolling study participants.

Hots Dogs, Chicken Wings and City Living Helped Wetland Wood Storks Thrive

Using the Wood Stork, researchers compared city storks with natural wetland storks to gauge their success in urban environments based on their diet and food opportunities. Results provide evidence of how a wetland species persists and even thrives in an urban environment by switching to human foods like chicken wings and hots dogs when natural marshes are in bad shape. These findings indicate that urban areas can buffer a species from the unpredictability of natural food sources.

Sea Level Rise Report: Impacts to Property and Regional Planning Solutions

A new study reveals that urgent action is needed to protect billions of dollars in real estate investment across South Florida due to impacts of sea level rise over the next several decades. The report casts light on the issues and clarifies the alternatives available to South Florida, which embraces the four counties of Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. Together, these counties generate more than $337 billion in personal income annually with a combined real property value assessed at more than $833 billion.