Igniting Immunity: Elias Sayour’s Patients Inspire Pioneering mRNA Cancer Vaccine Research

The look in her eyes and her next words would be etched forever in the mind of Elias Sayour, MD, PhD. Months earlier, the girl’s right leg was amputated, the…

Elias Sayour in front of the UF Health Shands Children's Hospital

Unexpected finding could offer new treatment targets for meth addiction

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida neuroscientists have made a mechanistic discovery that paves the way to test immune-modulating medicines as a…

(From left) These images show midbrain dopamine neurons expressing TNF receptor 1 (TNFR), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and an extensive overlap of both.

Study finds COVID-19 mRNA vaccine sparks immune response to fight cancer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Patients with advanced lung or skin cancer who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy drugs lived…

Trending story

A University of Florida and MD Anderson research team led by Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D. (left), and Christiano Marconi (middle) discovered that cancer patients who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine within 100 days of starting an immunotherapy treatment for advanced forms of lung cancer or melanoma lived significantly longer than those who didn’t get the vaccine. Photo courtesy of Jackie Hart/UF Health.

Surprising finding could pave way for universal cancer vaccine

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — An experimental mRNA vaccine boosted the tumor-fighting effects of immunotherapy in a mouse-model study, bringing researchers one step…

Turning Agony Into Action: One Man’s Quest To Cure Facial Pain

As a corporate executive, Michael Pasternak was leading a retreat for 55 employees when, suddenly, he felt a jolt of searing pain stretching from his ear to…

Worldwide OCD genetics study offers clues for higher risk

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In the largest-ever study into the genetics of obsessive-compulsive disorder, researchers have identified multiple DNA variants that could…

Groundbreaking AI tool generates 3D map of the brain

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It is a detailed view of the brain like never seen before. In a significant technological leap, University of Florida researchers have…

UF researchers identify new genetic mutation linked to Alzheimer’s risk

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The root causes of most forms of Alzheimer’s disease largely remain a mystery. Now, researchers have revealed a new piece of the puzzle…

UF neurogeneticists led by (from left) Lien Nguyen, Ph.D., and Laura Ranum, Ph.D., have identified a new genetic mutation linked to Alzheimer’s risk. Photo by Jackie Hart.

UF Health Mobile Stroke Program provides faster stroke care to rural counties

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With stroke, every minute counts to prevent death or limit severe disability. Now, new data show that UF Health’s approach of sending a…

The Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit is parked in front of the McKnight Brain Institute.

UF awarded $3.5 million grant to train new clinical pain researchers

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — To address the need for new nonaddictive methods to treat pain, a University of Florida team has been awarded a $3.5 million grant from the…

Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, MSPH, Ph.D., (left) director of a new training program to strengthen the clinical pain research workforce, and Kyle Allen, Ph.D., the program’s associate director.

Dr. Kenneth Heilman, a founder in the field of behavioral neurology, dies at 86

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kenneth M. Heilman, M.D., a founder of the field of behavioral neurology who impacted generations of young neurologists worldwide and…