Florida State University artists, scientists and therapists united at the Arts-Humanities-Health Symposium during Discovery Days to explore how the arts and humanities can improve our health and well-being.

The symposium at the Claude Pepper Center featured art and music therapy, design, and for the first time, motion picture arts, showcasing the breadth of creativity at FSU.

Healing through art

Presenters at the event highlighted how their work uses art to support physical and mental health.

Michelle Pellito, a music therapist at the FSU College of Music, spoke about how collaborative goal setting with young patients helps them learn they have personal agency and that expressing themselves can change their environment.

Children communicate their wants and needs in a variety of ways, from traditional speech to noises, body language and nonverbal cues. Therapists have a duty to listen, notice and offer feedback, no matter how subtle, for the best possible care, Pellito said.

“Patient-centered care is at the heart of everything we do as music therapists. Care is most effective when it’s created with the patients and not just for them,” she said.

Brianna Vo, a second-year medical student at the FSU College of Medicine, told the story of an artist at the bedside of a patient. The patient, through the hands of the artist, draws a colorful picture of a butterfly. To educate healthcare students about the power of patient-centered visual arts, Vo ran two different “Brushes to Bedside” workshops.

In the first workshop, a “patient” directed their “practitioner,” using only spoken voice, to craft a personalized mosaic coaster for them. In the second workshop, healthcare students painted a watercolor landscape with modified tools, like a sock over their dominant hand or a lump of clay wrapped around a paintbrush, to simulate motor restrictions. Vo showed that after the workshops, students had more confidence in their ability to adapt to a patient’s abilities and incorporate visual arts into patient-provider interactions.

Doctoral candidate Xingyi Li and Assistant Professor Bani Malhotra from the FSU Department of Arts Leadership, Education & Therapy studied the impact of art therapy on hospitalized burn patients. Research shows that art therapy has significant mental, emotional and physical benefits. Li and Malhotra gifted art kits to patients and held viewing sessions of “hopeful” pieces and tactile squares.

“Art therapy gives tangible form to thoughts and emotions that may be hard to articulate otherwise,” Li said.

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As artificial intelligence creates new possibilities for scientific discovery, Florida State University is uniting researchers from a wide range of fields to explore its potential and ability to address complex, real-world challenges.

During FSU’s Discovery Days, the FSU Research Development team from the Office of Research hosted “Collaborative Collision: The Future of Intelligence,” giving faculty a forum to discuss AI in research, connect across disciplines, build partnerships and pursue projects that could advance scientific discovery.

“This event was a great way to engage faculty from all across campus in thinking carefully about the nature of intelligence and what it means to be human in the age of AI,” said Paul Marty, associate vice provost for academic innovation. “We had extremely rewarding conversations about the importance of keeping humanity front and center as we move forward as a university and study the role of AI in society, health, education, science and the workforce.”

After opening remarks, attendees joined breakout sessions focused on how artificial intelligence intersects with different fields of study. Participants spent the day exchanging ideas, exploring how AI could be applied to various research areas, from human health to smart cities to robotics.

“This event brought together researchers from many disciplines to discuss the impact of AI and related emerging technology on their scholarship,” said Mike Wolfe, director of AI research solutions. “By getting different perspectives into the same room, we hope to encourage cross-domain discussions that will result in new project ideas and partnerships.”

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How did humans become musical creatures? Can the sciences and humanities help us understand the origins of music? Those questions guided a guest lecture from the Florida State University Humanities Center on Thursday, Oct. 22, held as part of FSU Discovery Days, the university’s annual celebration of research, creativity and innovation.

Gary Tomlinson, Sterling Professor of Music and the Humanities and director of the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale University, delivered the lecture, “Evolutionary Humanities and the Hard Problem of Music,” to students, faculty and local community members in the Beth Moor Lounge.

Fundamental abilities shared by all humans make music possible, Tomlinson told the audience.

“You’re all musicians,” he said. “Human music depends universally on a number of capacities that come in all normal human development and socialization, in a way that is similar, but not identical, to the kicking in of language.”

Understanding how those capacities emerged, however, presents a challenging question. Researchers have suggested music evolved to bring people together, calm children, coordinate group activities or facilitate rituals. But Tomlinson argued these theories explain how people use music, not how music itself originated.

“Each of these hypotheses might point to important functions of music in early human societies, even to functions and purposes today, but they are powerless to speak to the emergence of music,” he said.

Tomlinson emphasized the importance of connecting the sciences and humanities to better understand music. Scientific approaches can help researchers investigate the biological and cognitive processes that make music possible, while the humanities offer ways to interpret music’s cultural significance and its place in the human experience.

“To construct bridges, where that communication happens, is hugely important,” he said.

Tomlinson’s talk was part of the FSU Humanities Center’s year-long lecture series highlighting its 2026-2027 theme, “The Human in the Humanities,” which explores what it means to be human amid the rise of artificial intelligence and other technological advances.

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Florida State University’s Institute for Connecting Nutrition and Health (ICON-Health) marked its first anniversary  Oct. 20 with a symposium exploring how poor diet drives chronic disease and how lifestyle medicine and GLP-1 are changing treatments and even food choices in our society.

Nearly three in four U.S. adults are overweight or have obesity, and an estimated 11% of U.S. adults — about 40 million — now take a GLP-1 medication for weight loss, nearly four times the number in 2024. The “Blurry Lines: When Does Nutrition Become Medicine?” symposium, part of FSU’s Discovery Days, took a hard look at this issue.

The forces shaping how we eat are complex. Neuroscience and sensory science experts at the event described how weight-loss medications can influence food choices, helping people eat differently. They also emphasized that physical activity and preserving muscle are critical components of healthy weight loss.

Research presentations

With poor diet and food environments as primary drivers of obesity and other chronic diseases, weight loss was a recurring theme among the ICON-Health members presenting:

• Debra Ann Fadool, distinguished research professor of biological science and neuroscience in the College of Arts and Sciences, explored the connection between the sense of smell and obesity.
• Gregg Stanwood, professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Medicine, presented on how GLP-1 drugs rewire the brain and gut. “All motivated behavior comes from the brain,” said Stanwood, whose research explores the relationship between the brain and the gut microbiome, including the role of dopamine reward circuits.
• David W. Smith, a cardiologist with TMH Physician Partners, Services by Southern Medical Group, presented on insulin resistance — fat being stored where it should not be, in muscle, the liver, the pancreas and the heart — and on lifestyle change as a key part of cardiac rehabilitation after a heart attack.
• Cammy Crolic, assistant professor in the Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing at the Herbert Wertheim College of Business, discussed how wanting a food can influence how much we like it, and vice versa. She said the food industry has responded to the success of GLP-1 drugs by reducing portion sizes and emphasizing higher-quality products and peak enjoyment. GLP drugs are restoring people’s sense of willpower, Crolic said.

The event also highlighted ICON-Health’s first-year accomplishments and partnerships as institute leadership works to improve public health and economic prosperity.

“It’s exciting to be a year-old kid and already walking,” Professor Regan Bailey, an ICON-Health founding director, said in her welcome remarks. “We’ve been able to amass a team of more than 80 scientists, not only at the university but around the world. We have faculty, clinicians and allied health professionals as members, but importantly we also have students and trainees as members of ICON-Health.”

Professor Patrick Stover, a fellow ICON-Health founding director, also noted new biomarker research facility will be housed in a soon-to-open FSU Health Research and Collaboration Building. The facility will significantly expand nutritional research opportunities across biological or medical studies.

Biomarkers help researchers understand how individuals respond differently to nutrients. The facility will feature a microscope that can measure seven health- and disease-related pathways simultaneously. Researchers can use fluorescent markers to track those pathways and study how cells respond to different nutrient doses and combinations.

“We can determine whether certain configurations of nutrients promote health pathways or promote disease pathways in the short term, which then correlates to long-term outcomes,” Stover said. “AI is reading this all the time, and when it sees a hit, it will go back and reoptimize that exposure and that response to maximize it and see what all the biological variables are.”

About a decade ago, the National Institutes of Health  began requiring that sex be considered as a biological variable in the research it funds, because men and women can respond differently to exposures, medications and interventions. Stover said nutrition is now being discussed as a fundamental biological variable in the same way.

“There are differences in fundamental biology, how our metabolism works, how our physiology works,” he said. “We all respond differently to the diet and that diet-disease connection. What’s good for one person in terms of maintaining their health may not be good for another person.”

Visit the ICON-Health website to learn more about how this institute is pioneering a comprehensive approach to tackle diet-related chronic diseases through its multidisciplinary nutrition research initiatives.

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Florida State University-affiliated startup companies competed “Shark Tank”-style at the fourth annual Discovery Challenge event, pitching their business ideas and winning a combined $85,000 in funding.

The event featured five startups pitching their technologies to a panel of judges and a packed audience, explaining how they planned to advance their products and bring them to market. The event, held Wednesday at FSU’s Herbert Wertheim College of Business, was part of FSU’s annual Discovery Days, a weeklong celebration of research, creativity and innovation.

Anosh Gomes with Cryton Biosciences won the first-place prize of $50,000. The audience choice award of $10,000 went to Zachary Asarnow with Esperance Biotech and the second-place prize of $25,000 went to Kimberley Christopher with Radical Solutions.

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Florida State University showcased regional innovation and student entrepreneurship Wednesday during the IGNITE Tallahassee Open House + Innovation Expo, part of the fourth annual FSU Discovery Days celebration.  

The event brought university leaders, community partners, regional investors and student innovators together at IGNITE Tallahassee to highlight how the business incubator helps turn university research into commercial products and supports emerging technology companies across Florida’s Capital Region 

IGNITE Tallahassee provides laboratory space, resources and mentorship to help entrepreneurs develop and launch new businesses. The incubator currently supports 22 member companies working in life sciences, engineering and AI. Its programs help researchers and entrepreneurs bring new technologies to market while creating opportunities for students and businesses throughout the region. 

“Unless you come and witness it firsthand, talk to the scientists or see a prototype, you don’t really realize the impact these innovations can have on everyday lives,” said Alissa Costabile, IGNITE Tallahassee program director. “Some of these folks are really motivated by the idea of getting their product to market faster to help people and better humanity.” 

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For Dr. Alma Littles, dean of the FSU College of Medicine, the 2026 FSU Health Expo in Gadsden County on Saturday was a homecoming and a reminder of the importance of access to quality healthcare.

Littles grew up in Gadsden County and spent much of her career there as a family medicine physician before becoming dean. At Saturday’s health expo at the Gadsden County Courthouse in Quincy, she reconnected with former patients and saw firsthand the impact that access to healthcare can have on individuals, families and communities.

“We want to make sure that we’re making a difference,” she said. “That’s why we’re here.”

Hosted by FSU Health in partnership with Gadsden County, the expo brought together faculty, staff, students, researchers, healthcare professionals, community organizations, local businesses and residents for a day focused on health, wellness and community connection.

More than 90 vendors and exhibitors participated, representing Florida State University, Florida A&M University, healthcare organizations, nonprofit agencies, local businesses and community partners from across the region. They offered health screenings, educational resources, research opportunities and community services designed for people of all ages. The event was part of FSU Discovery Days, the university’s annual celebration of research, creativity and innovation.

“Seeing all these amazing people, organizations and community partners come together in one place demonstrates the incredible commitment that exists across our region to improving health and well-being,” said Ursula Weiss, director of FSU Health Community Engagement. “Our goal is not only to connect people with resources today, but also to build lasting relationships that help create healthier communities for years to come.”

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Experiential learning event offers participants a firsthand look at the challenges survivors face during Domestic Violence Awareness Month

As part of Florida State University’s annual Discovery Days, the Florida Institute for Child Welfare will host an interactive learning simulation designed to help participants better understand the realities faced by survivors of domestic violence.

In the In Their Shoes simulation, participants assume the role of a parent navigating life while experiencing domestic violence. They complete real-world scenarios that simulate common barriers survivors face and make decisions related to safety, housing, finances, employment and family well-being.

“The In Their Shoes simulation is a unique experiential learning opportunity that can’t easily be achieved through a lecture or reading on the topic,” said simulation facilitator Krista Del Gallo. “Participants gain critical perspectives around the choices survivor parents make and how they often come from a place of protecting children and seeking safety in light of limited options.”

The event will take place:

TUESDAY, OCT. 20 

1-3 P.M. 

ROOMS 2400 AND 2500,
THE GLOBAL AND MULTICULTURAL ENGAGEMENT BUILDING 

110 S. WOODWARD AVE. 

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS 

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA

Visit the event website for more information and to register.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic violence has far-reaching impacts on children and families and is frequently present among families involved in the child welfare system. Child welfare professionals play an important role in helping families navigate safety concerns and resources, making a deeper understanding of survivors’ experiences critical to effective support and intervention.

“Domestic violence affects families in every community,” said Lisa Magruder, the institute’s director. “Through research, training and public engagement opportunities like In Their Shoes, we hope to build understanding and strengthen the systems that support families.”

Experiential learning programs help participants engage more deeply with challenging issues by offering an immersive experience that challenges participants to grapple more deeply with complex subject matters.

“In Their Shoes isn’t a game, and it isn’t meant to be fun,” Magruder said. “It’s designed to encourage perspective-taking, critical thinking and reflection. By putting yourself in someone else’s position, you start to see something victim advocates have emphasized for years: survivors are the experts in their own safety.”

The event is intended for students, faculty and staff interested in gaining a deeper understanding of domestic violence and its impact on families. It may be especially valuable for those studying or working in social work, education, public health, psychology, criminal justice and related fields.

“Domestic violence is not just a workforce issue. It’s a community issue.” Magruder said.  “The more we understand about the realities of abuse, the better equipped we are to respond. When we listen to survivors, learn from research and work together across systems, we create stronger pathways to survivor empowerment.”

The Discovery Days simulation is one of several ways the institute is advancing understanding of domestic violence and its impact on children and families. In addition to training and professional development opportunities, the institute recently dedicated season nine of its child welfare podcast, “Together for Families: Domestic Violence Support in Child Welfare,” to conversations with researchers, advocates, practitioners and individuals with experience on this issue.

Established by the Florida Legislature and housed in the FSU College of Social Work, the institute also offers research publications, learning opportunities and workforce development resources that support child welfare professionals. Through these efforts, the institute connects research, practice and policy to improve outcomes for families and strengthen Florida’s child welfare workforce.

Visit the In Their Shoes event page for more information and to register. Visit the Florida Institute for Child Welfare website to learn more about the institute, explore domestic violence-related resources or listen to “Together for Families.”

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IGNITE Tallahassee will showcase how it supports high-tech and deep-technology ventures in Florida’s Capital Region during FSU Discovery Days.

The IGNITE Tallahassee Open House + Innovation Expo will give visitors a front-row seat to the resources, success stories and investment strategies available at this business incubator.

With state-of-the-art facilities, expert mentorship, commercialization support, investor access and a vibrant community of clients, IGNITE Tallahassee empowers founders to transform early-stage technology into real-world products and solutions.

The open house program includes:

• State of IGNITE-FSU updates from IGNITE leadership

• Startup Spotlight at IGNITE! featuring IGNITE Tallahassee companies Piersica, Phusion AI, SafePath App, Feel With Me, SeraphFlora and SCOFile

• iCREATE: Innovation Experience for Undergrads with students from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering delivering elevator pitches, a panel discussion, and the presentation of the TiE Tampa Bay’s ARTISAN Student Pitch Award

• Capital of Florida: VC & Angel Funding Panel on how Sunshine State tech startups find funding across Florida

• “Innovation is Everywhere” Expo, featuring demos, prototypes and founders of IGNITE incubator companies and ecosystem sponsors

The program ends with lunch. Breakfast is provided. IGNITE events will continue Wednesday with Discovery Challenge, when FSU startups compete in a “Shark Tank”-style pitch competition for up to $100,000 in cash prizes.

The IGNITE Tallahassee Open House + Innovation Expo will take place:

WEDNESDAY, OCT 21

 9 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. 

IGNITE TALLAHASSEE 

1729 W. Paul Dirac Drive

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA

Visit the event website for more information and to register.
Registration is free and open to everyone.

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Forty free events include community health experiences, technology competitions, startup showcases, performances and family programming

Florida State University will open its research and creative enterprise to the community Oct. 17-24 during its fourth annual FSU Discovery Days, featuring 40 free events, from community health experiences and innovation competitions to performances, technology showcases and family-friendly science.

“Discovery Days brings the energy of discovery beyond our laboratories, studios and classrooms and invites everyone to experience how FSU ideas are changing lives,” said Stacey S. Patterson, Vice President for Research. “Whether you have been at FSU for a long time or are a student or community member curious about what comes next, this week offers a front-row seat to innovation and creativity in action.”

Discovery Days begins Oct. 17 with the FSU Health Expo: Bridging Community, Health and Research at the Gadsden County Courthouse, where attendees can access health screenings, explore educational resources, enjoy family-friendly activities and connect with organizations working to improve community well-being.

On Oct. 19, FSU and Tampa-based cybersecurity company ReliaQuest team up for The Quest for What’s Next! at the Herbert Wertheim College of Business. ​Six teams will compete for a grand prize of $100,000 in funding from ReliaQuest to pursue innovative projects in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

On Oct. 21, IGNITE Tallahassee invites the business community inside the region’s startup ecosystem for an open house and innovation expo. Attendees can meet founders of high-tech ventures, hear investment insights from venture capital and angel funding experts, and discover student innovations from across Florida’s Capital Region.

That afternoon, ​FSU startups will compete in Discovery Challenge, a pitch competition for up to $100,000 in prizes.

The arts and humanities take the stage throughout the week. Experience how the arts can promote healing at a performance introducing The Living Song Project, where four musicians and a music therapist will blend recital, improvised guitar and therapeutic narrative. At the Arts-Health-Humanities Symposium, faculty, artists, creators and researchers will explore how poetry, visual art, music and film can strengthen working environments and health outcomes.

The week also includes a full slate of seminars for FSU researchers. Learn how Amazon Web Services can support you at a series of workshops, practice sharing your work with the media and general public at Lights, Camera, Research! and more.

On Oct. 24, Saturday Morning Physics + Art finishes the week with a family-friendly experience exploring the science of bubbles for K-12 students.

Explore the full schedule, choose your events and register where required at the FSU Discovery Days website.

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Curiosity, creativity and cutting-edge research will come together at “Glittering Science,” a free FSU Discovery Days event exploring the hidden beauty of materials science.

The event brings together William Meier, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, and Scott Holstein, the college’s professional photographer, for an exploration of how scientific discovery can become visual art.

In his laboratory, Meier grows tiny metallic crystals to investigate fundamental questions about materials and their properties. Through specialized macro photography, Holstein transforms those same crystals into striking images that reveal intricate shapes, textures and colors that are nearly impossible to appreciate with the naked eye.

“Glittering Science” will feature a lecture, reception and gallery showcasing crystals grown by Meier and his students alongside Holstein’s photographs. The event will take place:

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 21

6:30 – 8 P.M.

INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND COMMERCIALIZATION BUILDING

2001 LEVY AVE.

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA

Visit the event website for more information and to register.

Crystals like those produced in Meier’s laboratory can play a role in technologies including microchips, lasers, quantum sensors and fusion reactor components. Large, high-quality single crystals are especially valuable because researchers can measure how properties such as electrical conductivity and magnetism change in different directions, offering important clues about the behavior of electrons within a material.

But science does not always produce exactly what researchers expect. Sometimes the surprises are the most visually interesting.

“Some of the most beautiful crystals are those that don’t go as planned,” Meier said.

Although visually striking, the crystals are created first and foremost for scientific discovery.

“We grow crystals to support scientific experiments and to answer fundamental questions about materials,” Meier said. “By studying their behaviors, such as magnetism, superconductivity and how they conduct electricity, we gain insight into the underlying physics and can design new materials to solve technological challenges.”

Capturing crystal photographs

While Meier studies what the crystals can reveal about the physics of materials, Holstein approaches them from a different perspective.

“When I saw the crystals up close, through the lens, they looked like other-worldly landscapes,” Holstein said. “It took a macro lens that was able to magnify the crystal up to five times its actual size to see the details of this secret world.”

Capturing those details required much more than simply pointing a camera at a crystal. At extreme magnification, only a tiny portion of the object can appear sharp in a single photograph. Holstein used a technique called focus stacking, combining numerous photographs taken at slightly different focal points to create a single detailed image.

“At 5-to-1 magnification, just a sliver of the crystal is sharp in a shot, so stacking is a must,” Holstein said.

Each finished photograph may combine dozens or even hundreds of individual images, revealing a world of unexpected structures and patterns in crystals only millimeters across.

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