Florida State University and the City of Tallahassee on Friday completed the legal transfer of city-owned hospital assets, marking a historic milestone for FSU Health, the university’s academic health system.  

The action allows Florida State and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare to continue their work toward establishing an academic health center in Florida’s capital city. 

The transfer follows approvals by the Tallahassee City Commission on March 11, the Florida State University Board of Trustees and the Florida Board of Governors. 

“This milestone reflects years of partnership and a shared vision for the future of health care in our region,” said FSU President Richard McCullough. “This is a major step forward for FSU Health and for expanding clinical care, research and medical education in North Florida.” 

Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey added: “Tallahassee is known across the nation for its high quality of life, and with the future of FSU Health now solidified, our community is poised to play a leading role in advancing medicine while elevating the care available to our residents and the broader region. We have successfully strengthened the heartbeat of our city by uniting research, education and patient care.” 

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare will continue its long‑standing role of operating the hospital and remains responsible for patient care, employees and daily operations.  

This partnership will expand medical education, strengthen clinical care, and grow research in Tallahassee and across North Florida. Together, the organizations are building an integrated academic health system designed to better serve patients while advancing discovery and training the next generation of health care professionals. 

“This is an exciting day for TMH, FSU and our community. This brings us one step closer to our vision of an academic health model — one that will strengthen our ability to recruit physicians, expand specialty services, and continue delivering exceptional care close to home,” said Mark O’Bryant, CEO of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare. 

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare becomes the clinical anchor of FSU Health and builds on years of collaboration between the two institutions, including construction of the FSU Health Research Center on the TMH campus, which is expected to open later this year. 

Leaders have emphasized that TMH’s longstanding mission remains unchanged, including its commitment to serve all patients. Deed restrictions approved by the city require the continuation of charity care and ensure the property remains a hospital. 

“FSU Health places our community at the forefront of innovation, expanding access to high quality healthcare, creating jobs and improving lives across every corner of our community and North Florida,” City Manager Reese Goad said. I’m proud that we have charted a course toward ensuring a healthier, more resilient future for Tallahassee.” 

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The Florida State University Board of Trustees and the Florida Board of Governors on Thursday approved the transfer of City of Tallahassee-owned hospital assets to Florida State University. 

The votes follow a March 11 decision by the Tallahassee City Commission to transfer ownership of the city-owned hospital assets to the university. 

“This is the first major step in building FSU Health and taking a big step toward improving healthcare, but also building clinical, biological and biomedical research for Florida State University,” FSU President Richard McCullough said during the Board of Trustees meeting. “It’s a big deal, and we appreciate all the help we’ve gotten from everybody in the leadership of Florida State University as well as support from the board.” 

With approvals now in place from the city, university trustees and the state system’s governing board, the transfer is fully authorized. 

The agreement clears the way for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare to serve as the clinical anchor of FSU Health, the university’s academic health system. Under the plan, FSU will own the hospital property, while TMH will continue to operate the hospital under a long-term lease and remain responsible for patient care, employees and daily operations. 

University and hospital leaders have said the partnership will expand medical education, strengthen clinical care and grow research in Tallahassee and across North Florida. 

The move builds upon years of collaboration between the two institutions, including construction of the FSU Health Research Center on the TMH campus, a facility designed to bring together clinicians, researchers and students. The facility is expected to open later this year. 

University and hospital leaders have also emphasized that TMH’s longstanding mission will remain unchanged, including its commitment to serve all patients. Deed restrictions approved by the city require the continuation of charity care and ensure the property remains a hospital. 

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Florida State University and Apalachee Center have established a new partnership to improve mental health care across the state, with a particular focus on Northwest Florida.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two institutions unites Apalachee Center’s more than 80 years of hands-on experience serving individuals living with mental illness and substance use disorder with Florida State University’s 175-year legacy of academic and research excellence. It also complements the university’s work through FSU Health to expand access and quality care across the state.

Together, the organizations will collaborate on large-scale research initiatives – leveraging Apalachee Center’s role as the region’s largest provider of mental health care and the internationally recognized expertise of FSU’s behavioral health researchers – with one shared goal: to deepen the understanding of mental illness and behavioral health challenges and advance the development of more effective treatments.

Through the agreement, Apalachee Center and FSU will:

• Collaborate on research to better understand the causes and effective treatments for behavioral health issues and mental illness
• Share insights and information in a safe and secure way to better understand community needs
• Develop joint initiatives that bring academic expertise and community care together

“Without question, the people of Florida will benefit from this partnership through the development of effective and innovative mental health services that improve lives,” said Dr. Alma Littles, dean of the FSU College of Medicine. “Working together, we will build upon the positive impact of FSU Health to create healthy, resilient communities.”

FSU’s behavioral health researchers span multiple units across the university including the College of Medicine, College of Arts and Sciences and College of Social Work, bringing a wide research perspective to the issue.

The partnership will support new initiatives in Leon and Bay counties, as well as across Florida, to expand access to and delivery of high-quality mental health services.

“This strategic endeavor will use de-identified anonymous data to study behavioral health trends and outcomes” said Dr. Jay Reeve, President and CEO of Apalachee Center. “For decades, behavioral health clinicians and researchers everywhere have been focused on ensuring that behavioral health treatments have replicable, positive outcomes that follow the science. This partnership is a crucial step in that direction for university researchers, providers and most importantly the residents of North Florida who rely on access to quality behavioral healthcare.”

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About Florida State University

Florida State University is a top public research university that is recognized nationally for its academic excellence, student success and robust research enterprise. Niche ranked FSU No. 11 on its list of America’s top public universities, and U.S. News & World Report has ranked FSU among the Top 25 public universities for seven consecutive years, driven by student retention and graduation rates that are among the best in the country. Celebrated for its entrepreneurial culture and forward-thinking approach, FSU is also ranked as one of the nation’s Most Innovative Schools.

About Apalachee Center

Since 1948, Apalachee Center, a private, not-for-profit organization, has been dedicated to supporting the mental health and recovery of individuals and families across Leon, Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, and Wakulla Counties succeed in recovering from emotional, psychiatric and substance use disorder crises. For more information, visit ApalacheeCenter.org.

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The College of Social Work at Florida State University is establishing the Justice and Health Innovation Research Institute (JHI) to address disparities between the justice system and the fields of behavioral health and substance abuse care. 

The institute will draw from the college’s legacy of scholarship and instruction in substance use, behavioral health and criminal justice. 

“We are eager to improve health outcomes and community partnerships that are essential to advancing regional and national health landscapes,” reflected David Springer, dean of the College of Social Work. “This institute tangibly demonstrates the core mission and values of the social work profession while embracing a multidisciplinary approach in order to transform lives and strengthen communities.” 

“We are eager to improve health outcomes and community partnerships that are essential to advancing regional and national health landscapes. This institute tangibly demonstrates the core mission and values of the social work profession while embracing a multidisciplinary approach in order to transform lives and strengthen communities.” 

— David Springer, dean of the College of Social Work

Tanya Renn, an associate professor at the College of Social Work, will serve as JHI’s founding director, bringing expertise in substance use, health and well‑being and justice research. 

“By combining expertise in behavioral health with a deep understanding of justice-involved populations, the institute aims to create pathways of recovery and resilience that honor lived experience, disrupt cycles of justice involvement and foster thriving communities,” Renn said. 

The institute’s mission is built upon an integrated approach to: 

• Address substance use, mental health and justice involvement, requiring systems-level responses that confront inequality, restore dignity and ensure people have access to the support and opportunities to thrive. 

• Advance knowledge with a particular emphasis on evidence-based translational research and interventions in underserved settings and populations. 

• Reflect a holistic vision for advancing health and justice in tandem. 

• Use science to improve the well-being of individuals, families and communities.  

As the institute launches, it will be supported by Stephen Tripodi, a professor at the College of Social Work and doctoral program director, and Program Director Kerensa Lockwood. Additional faculty whose research aligns with the mission of JHI include Assistant Professors, John Moore and JaNiene Peoples. 

With a strong passion for using research to address real-world challenges, Tripodi, Lockwood, Peoples and Moore bring deep expertise and commitment to advancing the institute’s mission.  

The institute will also advance the goals of FSU Health’s mission — to build a comprehensive health ecosystem. FSU Health includes clinical and research-based centers and institutes that focus on a wide variety of issues affecting health and healthcare.  

JHI will expand innovation and public impact at the university, serving as a source for multidisciplinary scholarship, community engagement and policy-relevant intervention development.  

“JHI will be a catalyst for new opportunities, not only for research collaboration and funding, but of opportunities for student training in research and practice along with workforce development,” said Yaacov Petscher, associate dean for research, associate director of the Florida Center for Reading Research and professor at the College of Social Work. 

To learn more about JHI, contact Tanya Renn at trenn@fsu.edu.

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Alzheimer’s disease affects millions of people around the world. To study this condition, researchers must peer inside the distinctive environment of the human brain.

For scientists to get the most accurate picture of the proteins that drive this disease, they must extract them without altering their environment.

In a study published in Protein Science, researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering demonstrated a new method for studying Alzheimer’s disease that keeps disease-causing proteins intact in a near-native environment, helping scientists get a more accurate picture of how they function.

“Alzheimer’s disease is devastating,” said Professor Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy, a co-author of the study. “More people are living longer, and that means more people are going to be living with Alzheimer’s disease, so we need to find a cure for it and other aging-related amyloid diseases, like Parkinson’s and Type 2 diabetes. Attempts to develop drugs for Alzheimer’s disease have failed, so we started to work on the C99 protein, which is the origin for everything.”

What they did

Researchers developed a method to extract a key protein involved in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease called C99.

Previously, C99 was difficult to study, as samples had to be removed from cells and prepared for analysis using detergents. The harsh, soap-like chemicals break down lipids, or fats, that surround C99 in the brain and influence how it behaves. Without lipids, C99’s behavior changes, and scientists were unable to study how it acts in its natural environment in the brain.

By using a non-detergent-based polymer to capture C99, the natural environment of the brain cells where the protein is found was preserved, providing researchers with a new way to study it.

“We have been developing these synthetic polymers that can extract proteins present in the cell membrane directly without using detergents,” Ramamoorthy said. “This work was about using synthetically prepared polymers in my lab to isolate a precursor protein along with the lipids present in the cell membrane and reconstituting them together in the form of disc-shaped particles called nanodiscs for a deeper medical investigation.”

How it works

C99 is a byproduct of the amyloid precursor protein, or APP, which is found in the brain.

When enzymes known as secretases cut APP, they produce fragments of C99 called Aβ isomers. The accumulation of Aβ and lipids causes plaque buildup, which is responsible for memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients by killing neuronal cells.

In this study, researchers isolated the C99 protein from a bacterial cell membrane then extracted it along with lipids surrounding C99 using their newly designed polymer. After extraction, researchers conducted further tests to confirm that the protein’s shape and lipids were still intact and preserved exactly as they are in cells.

Why it matters

This study represents a revolutionary advancement in Alzheimer’s research by keeping a key disease-causing protein intact for more accurate study.

“This work provides a toolkit for studying Alzheimer’s disease at the molecular level and it lets scientists observe C99 in its ‘natural habitat,’ which is something that had not been possible in more than 30 years of research,” Ramamoorthy said. “It creates a biomedically relevant and more accurate method for preparing proteins used in therapeutic discovery and Alzheimer’s disease modeling.”

The research could improve outcomes for pharmaceutical development, medical diagnostic and imaging tools or biotechnology manufacturing. The new method provides a foundation for further research that could one day lead to a cure.

“Drug development has so far not been able to solve the problems posed by Alzheimer’s disease,” Ramamoorthy said. “Our hope is that this new method will give researchers a clearer picture of how the C99 protein works and contributes to this disease, so that we can develop ways to stop its progression. Ultimately, we can find a cure.”

Researchers from the University of Michigan contributed to this study. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

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FSU Health brings together researchers, educators and clinical partners under one umbrella to transform health and health care in Florida. To learn more, visit fsuhealth.fsu.edu.

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Federal health officials lauded the Florida State University College of Medicine Thursday for championing the integration of nutrition education into medical training during an event hosted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. commended FSU for its proactive approach to the burgeoning chronic disease crisis. Kennedy, along with Education Secretary Linda McMahon and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, called on the nation’s medical schools to implement a minimum of 40 hours of nutrition education for medical students. 

“Chronic disease is overwhelming our country, and it is accelerating,” Kennedy said, specifically noting that FSU President Richard McCullough and College of Medicine Dean Alma Littles, M.D., were early champions of focusing on nutrition education. 

“Florida State University President Richard McCullough and Dean Alma Littles, along with Dr. Gold [from University of Nebraska], were the first to encourage and embrace this tremendous initiative,” Kennedy said.  

Poor diet directly correlates to a variety of health problems. A 2024 policy brief written for the journal Frontiers in Public Health noted that about 1 million people die annually from diet-related chronic diseases.  

The FSU College of Medicine has been at the vanguard of incorporating nutrition education into all four years of medical training with courses on how nutrition impacts immune, cardiovascular, renal and endocrine systems. This also includes an emphasis on using nutrition to prevent common chronic diseases, such as atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, diabetes, as well as a variety of metabolic disorders.  

The college currently requires 42 hours of nutrition education as part of its curriculum.  

“The Florida State University College of Medicine was created, in part, to expand access to health care across the wide variety of communities in our state, many of which are disproportionately vulnerable to the very chronic diseases that proper nutrition can help manage and even prevent,” Littles said in a statement after the event. “We are proud that for almost 20 years, we have been providing a robust, fully integrated program of nutrition education that exceeds the minimum standards this initiative sets, and we are committed to enhancing even further the role of nutrition in medical training. Proper diet, nutrition and metabolic health can improve health outcomes in every population.” 

Nutrition and human performance have been a major focus of not only the College of Medicine’s curriculum but also the university’s research enterprise.  

In 2025, the university launched the Institute for Connecting Nutrition and Health, led by National Academy members Regan Bailey and Patrick Stover. The institute serves as a hub for research aimed at using food-based solutions to solve complex health challenges.  

This built on years of work across the university in nutrition, exercise science and human health.  

Faculty at the Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences are investigating the benefits of functional foods on gut health, cardiovascular health and more. The Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicine, established more than 15 years ago, explores how nutrition and exercise affect longevity, health and performance. 

“Nutrition research has long been a major component of our research enterprise at FSU,” said Vice President for Research Stacey S. Patterson. “We have invested in our nutrition and human performance work because we believe that part of our role as a public research university is to use the best science available to find solutions for people facing complex health challenges.” 

For more on the FSU College of Medicine’s efforts on nutrition education in medical training, visit the college’s website at https://med.fsu.edu/nems/home.  

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As the Florida State University College of Medicine and Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases recognized Rare Disease Day last week, reminders of the urgency of their mission were all around the College of Medicine rotunda — the patients and families whose lives can be changed thanks to improved screening and care. 

 Observed annually on the last day in February, Rare Disease Day is a global movement raising awareness for the millions of people with one of more than an estimated 7,000 identified rare diseases. Its goal is to ensure equitable access to diagnosis, treatment, healthcare and social support for those affected. 

 FSU recognized Rare Disease Day on Feb. 27 with a symposium and panel discussion featuring experts in genomics and its clinical applications. 

 Although each rare disease affects few people, together, they impact an estimated 30 million Americans, many of whom are children. Genetic medicine offers an opportunity to improve diagnosis and treatment for those patients. 

 “Rare diseases may be individually uncommon, but together, they affect millions of people, families and children,” said Pradeep Bhide, director of the Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases, or Florida IPRD. “Therefore, our responsibility has always been, and will always be, to ensure that scientific innovation translates into faster access, better care and real hope.” 

 The small patient population for each rare disease often means that private companies don’t consider those diseases when deciding where to invest limited research and development spending. Solving those long-term, difficult problems is where university research can play an important role, said President Richard McCullough. 

 “That’s what we do at FSU, and we’re really proud to be part of that,” he said. 

From idea to treatment 

The work at FSU and partner institutions will help to make diagnoses and possible treatments that were once only an idea, said Dr. Eric Green in his keynote address to the symposium. 

A physician-scientist, Green spent more than three decades at the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, serving as its director from 2009-2025. He is now chief medical officer at Illumina, where he leads global efforts to advance the clinical application of genomics. 

The Human Genome Project — an international collaboration that sequenced the human genome of around 3 billion DNA base pairs — was the scientific foundation for research that continues today and is bearing fruit in medicine such as improved diagnosis and gene editing. 

“The good news is that we will get better at this every year,” he said. “This is helping so many areas of medicine in which rare diseases have an influence.” 

That means everything from dramatically reducing the “diagnostic odyssey” for families with a child who has a difficult-to-pinpoint rare disease to getting answers for undiagnosed genetic conditions in adults who find themselves in emergency care without a clear explanation. 

Since completing the Human Genome Project in 2003, “we have made a remarkable pivot from having a blurry concept of what genomic medicine might be, to now bringing it into focus,” he said. “There are so many exciting things that will happen in genomic medicine, but there are enough examples already to convince people that we can really do this. Now, we just need to expand our repertoire of examples for using genomics in medicine.” 

In the rare disease and genetic medicine world, Florida and FSU stand out for their willingness to “skate to where the puck is going to be” in pioneering new avenues for research and treatment. 

“This is becoming an epicenter of activities and progress in rare disease work,” Green said. 

Legislative support, private partnerships, and academic progress 

The work at FSU began with a handshake between President McCullough and Rep. Adam Anderson (R-Palm Harbor). Since then, the project has grown tremendously thanks to support from the state and private companies. 

In 2025, the Florida Legislature enacted and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Sunshine Genetics Act, a partnership between FSU and the state to advance genomic medicine for children across Florida. Under this initiative, the Florida IPRD serves as the hub of the statewide newborn genomic sequencing program, enabling early diagnosis and intervention for genetic conditions and positioning Florida as a national leader in precision medicine and pediatric health. 

To meet these ambitious goals, Florida IPRD has established new programs to address every stage of the rare disease journey. New programs focus on early detection, genomic diagnosis, specialized clinical care, research and innovation to discover diagnostic and therapeutic measures, and programs to train the next generation of professionals to become national leaders in this field. 

One program is the Florida IPRD diagnostic lab, which offers whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing of clinical samples. The institute partnered with Quest Diagnostics to establish the CLIA-certified clinical genomics laboratory. 

“Advances in comprehensive genomic sequencing now allow a single test to provide insights across thousands of rare diseases – accelerating our pursuit of truly personalized diagnostic insights,” said Dr. Sarah South, executive scientific director at Quest Diagnostics. “This is a significant public health opportunity, and we are pleased to support FSU’s Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases and the Sunshine Genetics Act.” 

 “We are proud to support FSU IPRD’s program to provide early genetic screening and intervention for children with rare diseases, advancing timely diagnosis and care,” said  

Gaurav Malik, a vice president of business development & patient services with Quest Diagnostics in Tampa. 

 In addition to diagnostic and clinical tools, the institute is training healthcare professionals who will provide the guidance to deal with some of the most difficult news parents can face. 

 The university’s first master’s students in a new genetic counseling program are expected to begin their classes in the 2027 fall semester. As research provides more information about genetic diseases, expert counselors are crucial for helping families and patients navigate medical complexities. 

 The training and research at Florida IPRD is giving hope to families across Florida and the country, said Anderson, whose son Andrew died in 2019 at age 4 from Tay-Sachs disease. 

 “Gene therapies are working and even more of those therapies are showing promise,” Anderson said. “Real change is on the horizon.” 

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FSU Health brings together researchers, educators and clinical partners under one umbrella to transform health and health care in Florida. To learn more, visit fsuhealth.fsu.edu. 

Visit the Florida IPRD website to learn more about the institute and its life-changing work. 

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The National Academy of Inventors, or NAI, has named five Florida State University faculty members as 2026 NAI Senior Members.

NAI Senior Members are active faculty, scientists and administrators with success in patents, licensing and commercialization and have produced technologies that have had significant impact on the welfare of society. There are more than 945 Senior Members holding over 11,000 U.S. patents.

This year’s class of NAI Senior Members is the largest to date, hailing from 82 NAI Member Institutions across the globe and collectively holding over 2,000 U.S. patents. FSU’s 2026 inductees are Pradeep Bhide, Ava Bienkiewicz, Christian Bleiholder, Yan-Yan Hu and Ulf Trociewitz. The university now counts 10 Senior Members among its faculty.

“This recognition from the National Academy of Inventors is a testament to the inventiveness and impact of these faculty members,” said Vice President for Research Stacey S. Patterson. “Their research is making positive change in the world, and I’m proud to celebrate their achievements.”

The 2026 class of Senior Members will be honored during the Senior Member Induction Ceremony at NAI’s 15th Annual Conference June 1-4 in Los Angeles.

Pradeep Bhide

Bhide is a professor in the College of Medicine and director of the Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases. As the Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers Eminent Scholar Chair of Developmental Neuroscience, he directs interdisciplinary teams of physicians, scientists and genetic counselors who leverage gene therapy and precision medicine approaches to improve outcomes for children affected by rare diseases. His work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and private foundations, and his comprehensive approach to developing innovative diagnostic and therapeutic technologies has earned national recognition.

In 2024, Bhide helped launch the Sunshine Genetics Pilot Program, which allows Florida families to opt in to no-cost whole genome sequencing for newborns to identify serious but treatable conditions before symptoms appear. As director of the Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases, Bhide remains committed to advancing translational research, expanding public outreach and training the next generation of healthcare professionals dedicated to combatting pediatric rare diseases.

Ava Bienkiewicz

Bienkiewicz is an associate professor in the College of Medicine, where she integrates research and teaching in the doctoral, M.D., and physician assistant programs in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. Her research focuses on protein structure, stability and biomolecular interactions in the context of human disease and therapeutic intervention.

Bienkiewicz’s work centers on intrinsically disordered proteins and their roles in neurodegenerative and vascular injury-related conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and traumatic brain injury. By investigating protein misfolding and structure-function relationships, her research seeks to uncover molecular mechanisms that drive neuronal degeneration and survival.

She leads collaborative research efforts that translate fundamental molecular discoveries into medically relevant applications. Her work contributes to the development of new therapeutic strategies aimed at improving outcomes for patients affected by neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases.

Christian Bleiholder

Bleiholder is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, where he leads an interdisciplinary laboratory that integrates physical chemistry, analytical chemistry and biophysics to address longstanding challenges in protein structure analysis.

His research centers on advancing analytical chemistry methods, such as tandem‑trapped ion mobility spectrometry, or tandem‑TIMS, a powerful tool that reveals how proteins fold, assemble and change shape. His lab combines experimental and computational approaches to connect protein structure across multiple scales, opening new windows into complex systems such as monoclonal antibodies and protein assemblies linked to neurodegenerative disease and biotherapeutics.

Bleiholder has received multiple honors for his work, including a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a Postdoctoral Research Award from the American Chemical Society, and a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Yan-Yan Hu

Yan‑Yan Hu is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and a faculty affiliate of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. Her work sits at the crossroads of chemistry, materials science and the MagLab’s world‑class magnetic resonance capabilities.

Her research is focused on advancing solid‑state NMR and MRI techniques to reveal how energy and biomaterials function at the atomic level. Her discoveries have reshaped understanding of ion transport and structure in solid‑state batteries and other energy‑storage materials, with results published in leading journals such as Nature Materials, Science Advances and Angewandte Chemie.

Hu has earned major honors including a National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the Marion Milligan Mason Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has also served in editorial roles for journals such as Materials Today Chemistry, Journal of Magnetic Resonance, and Chemistry of Materials.

Ulf Trociewitz

Trociewitz is a research faculty member at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, where he serves as senior personnel and deputy in magnet technology within the Applied Superconductivity Center. His research focuses on the development of high-temperature superconducting magnets and materials designed for ultra-high magnetic fields and exceptional homogeneity, particularly for nuclear magnetic resonance applications.

He holds six patents and has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in international journals, reflecting his significant contributions to superconducting magnet innovation. His work supports the advancement of next-generation research instrumentation critical to scientific discovery in chemistry, biology and materials science.

He leads a $1.2 million, four-year research project funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to develop ultra-high-field NMR magnets using multifilament high-temperature superconductors. Through his research, Trociewitz continues to push the technological boundaries of magnet design, strengthening the nation’s leadership in advanced scientific infrastructure.

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A research clinic at Florida State University has officially served 500 families in the Southeast U.S. with evaluations, diagnoses and treatments for children with ADHD and related disorders — all at no cost.

Since opening its doors in 2015, the Children’s Learning Clinic, part of the Department of Psychology, has helped children with ADHD navigate diagnoses, treatments and daily life while assisting families in learning about their child’s unique strengths and difficulties.

“The clinic offers gold-standard evaluations that specifically look for ADHD and cast a broad net to understand other issues that may be present,” said Leah Singh, CLC director and a licensed psychologist. “It’s extremely humbling and such an honor to be able to serve these families and provide them with resources they need to support their kiddos.”

Nearly one in nine children between the ages of 3 and 17 in the U.S. have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. This number — more than 7 million overall — continues to rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, solidifying ADHD as an expanding public health concern for which treatments are limited and short-lived.

Children with ADHD have difficulties with executive function, the neurological activities supported by the prefrontal and frontal areas of the brain that help plan and guide behavior, because these brain regions are underdeveloped. Treatments being developed by the clinic use arcade-style video games that target different brain functions associated with working memory.  As children play the games, they show improvements in learning, impulse control, planning, organizing and emotion regulation.

“We’re fortunate to be able to provide today’s gold-standard assessment and treatment services at no cost to families while they contribute to research that can help thousands or even millions of other families down the road,” said Michael Kofler, CLC founder and a licensed psychologist. “We’re focused on treating the root cause of ADHD instead of its symptoms, and our goal is to develop effective and accessible non-medication options to help kids with ADHD thrive and be the best versions of themselves.”

Treatments at the CLC target and strengthen the brain’s central executive system through the form of arcade-style video games instead of working like medication with benefits that cease once treatment is stopped.

“Our treatments offer significant advantages over existing first-line interventions for ADHD, like medication and behavioral therapy,” Singh said. “We’ve seen tremendous progress in children who participate in our program, and parents often describe the experience as empowering — something that helps their children succeed both in and outside of the treatment study.”

The work in CLC is currently supported by four full-time licensed psychologists, three faculty affiliates, and 13 staff members, doctoral students and interns. The clinic also offers classes to give parents new techniques to help understand and manage some of their children’s symptoms and behaviors and tools to better advocate for their child.

“When my children participated in the training games, I noticed an improvement in their short-term memory skills and ability to retain information,” said Cassie Young, a parent who sought help from CLC. “I could tell they were recalling information faster when they did homework. They loved playing games with CLC’s staff, and everyone made them feel very welcome. We drove three hours one way to participate in the program, and now I’ve recommended it to other families in our area.”

The CLC has received multiple grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, including a $9 million grant in 2022, to expand treatments for pediatric ADHD. For CLC faculty and staff, conducting groundbreaking research alongside compassionate, no-cost evaluation and treatment is all in a day’s work.

“Work with the kids comes in lots of different shapes and sizes; sometimes we’re sitting at a desk doing standardized testing, while other times we’re running around the hallways with them chasing remote cars or playing games like foosball,” Kofler said. “The feedback we get from families is amazing, and it’s truly humbling to know that this many families trust us to provide high quality, evidence-based services. We’re trying to alleviate a critically unmet need in terms of the availability of quality mental health care services, not just in the Big Bend area but across the nation and around the world.”

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FSU Health brings together researchers, educators and clinical partners under one umbrella to transform health and health care in Florida.

To learn more about research conducted at the Children’s Learning Clinic at FSU or for information on how to access CLC resources, visit psy.fsu.edu/clc.

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Two Florida State University faculty members have been named among the world’s most highly cited researchers, a distinction that places them in the top 1% of scientists and scholars whose work has had the greatest influence in their fields.

Department of Psychology Professor Thomas Joiner and Department of Geography Professor A. Stewart Fotheringham were recognized by the analytics company Clarivate for producing multiple highly cited papers over the past decade, reflecting exceptional research impact in suicide prevention and spatial data analytics.

The designation identifies researchers whose publications rank in the top 1% by citations for their field and year in the Web of Science Core Collection and is awarded to roughly one in every 1,000 researchers worldwide.

Together, Joiner and Fotheringham exemplify FSU’s growing research profile, with scholarship that informs clinical practice, public policy and real-world decision making.

Thomas Joiner
Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Psychology
Director, FSU Psychology Lab

Joiner’s research spans psychology, neurobiology and clinical treatment, with an emphasis on understanding the mechanisms that lead to suicide and identifying effective strategies for prevention across diverse populations, including military personnel and first responders. He is known for developing and empirically testing the interpersonal theory of suicide, a foundational framework in contemporary suicide research.

At FSU, Joiner directs the Laboratory for the Study and Prevention of Suicide-Related Conditions and Behaviors, where faculty, clinicians and students collaborate on research examining suicidal ideation and diagnoses and safety around access to lethal means. His work at the university also extends to large-scale, federally funded initiatives, including his role as co-director of the Department of Defense-funded Military Suicide Research Consortium, which is focused on reducing suicide risk among service members.

Joiner’s influence extends beyond academia into clinical practice and public health policy, reshaping how suicide risk is understood and addressed.

“Thomas is not only a prolific researcher, but his work has profoundly influenced practicing clinicians,” said Brad Schmidt, chair of the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts & Sciences. “We are doing a better job assessing for suicide and bringing it out of the shadows because of the bright light that Thomas has shone on it with his theory and empirical work over his career. His research, including the many students he has inspired, has substantially influenced the way we think about, assess and treat suicide risk.”

A. Stewart Fotheringham
Krafft Professor of Spatial Data Science, Department of Geography
Director, Spatial Data Science Center

A. Stewart Fotheringham is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a pioneer in the application of advanced statistical and computational methods to spatial data. His research focuses on how location and spatial relationships shape social, economic and health-related outcomes, with widely recognized contributions to spatial interaction modeling and local statistical analysis.

At FSU, Fotheringham is the founding director of the Spatial Data Science Center in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, where he leads interdisciplinary research that applies spatial analytics to real-world challenges including public health, crime patterns, migration, urban development and the environment.

“Stewart has transformed how researchers and policymakers understand the role of location in complex societal issues,” said Anne Chin, chair of the Department of Geography. “His innovative work in spatial data analytics has not only advanced our tools, but it has also provided practical insights into a range of issues that include public health, urban development and social patterns. Through his research and mentorship, Stewart has shaped a generation of scholars and left a lasting mark on the field of geography. The advances and approaches that he has championed will continue to lead us into meeting the global challenges of tomorrow.”

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The Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases and the Florida State University College of Medicine will recognize Rare Disease Day this week with a symposium and panel discussion, featuring experts in genomics and its clinical application.

“We are committed to fostering collaboration and innovation to improve the lives of those affected by rare diseases through groundbreaking research, education and strong partnerships,” said Pradeep Bhide, director of the Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases, or IPRD. “This gathering provides a vital platform for advancing the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases.”

Dr. Eric Green will deliver the keynote address following comments from FSU President Richard McCullough, College of Medicine Dean Dr. Alma Littles and Florida Rep. Adam Anderson. A physician-scientist, Green spent more than three decades with the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, serving as its director from 2009-2025. He recently joined Illumina as its chief medical officer, where he remains committed to advancing genomics to improve the human condition.

Sarah South, executive scientific director at Quest Diagnostics, will join Green, McCullough and Anderson for a roundtable discussion, which will be moderated by IPRD’s Associate Director for Precision Medicine, David Ledbetter. Poster presentations of ongoing IPRD-funded research and a reception will follow.

Observed annually on the last day in February, Rare Disease Day is a global movement raising awareness for the estimated 300 million people diagnosed with one of more than 6,000 identified rare diseases. Its goal is to ensure equitable access to diagnosis, treatment, health care and social support for those affected.

This marks the third Rare Disease Day event at the College of Medicine since Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the July 2023 State budget appropriation, championed by Anderson, establishing IPRD.

The event, which will be streamed live, will be held:

Friday, Feb. 28

10 A.M. – 12 P.M.

Durell Peaden Auditorium

FSU College of Medicine

John Thrasher Building

1115 W. Call St.

Tallahassee, Florida

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