tl1 program
TL1 Participants
Learn more about the TL1 program through the experiences and achievements of past and present participants.

Testimonials
Henrietta Fasanya
“I have the opportunity to work with an engineering team and learn how mechanical engineers contribute to translational science. Through our project specifically, I’m learning about obtaining patents and understanding how, when, and in what direction you push projects forward for translational science.”

Leanne Dumeny
“The team aspect was particularly motivating for me. Working in a collaboration added a different blend to my work.”

Robert Eisinger
“It has opened opportunities and collaborations that I otherwise would not have pursued. The team-based approach is novel and enriching and by far the highlight of this program”

Current TL1 Trainees and Projects
A TL1 Team Approach to Kratom & Health Outcomes for Pregnant Women (Kratom HOPe): Utilizing a back-translational approach to examining perinatal kratom use in humans and rodents
TL1 2022 Trainee Team


Carolin Hoeflich, PhD Candidate
Michelle Kuntz, PhD Candidate
Mentors
Catherine W. Striley, PhD, MSW, MPE
Christopher R. McCurdy,PhD, FAAPS
A TL1 Team Approach Fetal Hyperinsulinemia in Diabetic Pregnancy: Effects on the Vasculature and Early Life Metabolism


TL1 2022 Trainee Team
Aditya Mahadevan, MD-PhD Candidate
Jennifer Pruitt, PhD Candidate
Mentors
Helen James, PhD
Leslie Parker, PhD
Advancing preclinical research using a robust in vitro exposure model for aerosol delivery to co-cultured primary human cells

Environmental and Global Health

TL1 2022 Trainee Team
Sripriya Nannu Shankar, PhD Candidate
Amber Leigh O’connor, PhD Candidate
Mentors
Chang-Yu Wu, PhD
Tara Sabo-Attwood, PhD
A CTS team approach to isolate diverse NTS strains, compare the virulence of laboratory and community NTS, and investigate the potential of a novel exosome-derived vaccine strategy against NTS community isolates.

College of Public Health and Health Professions, Environmental and Global Health

College of Arts and Liberal Sciences,
Microbiology and Cell Science
TL1 2021 Trainee Team
Lisa Emerson, PhD Candidate
Andrew Rainey, PhD Candidate
Mentors
Mariola Edelmann, PhD
Anthony Maurelli, PhD
Research Description:
Florida has an incidence of NTS twice the national average. Clinical surveillance is the current standard for community surveillance of NTS. Only 28% of NTS cases are identified in a clinical setting, leaving a major gap in community surveillance. The goal of this project is to apply wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) to determine the trends of NTS through analysis of influent wastewater, and to isolate and identify circulating serotypes among samples that are representative of the human population in Gainesville, FL. Overall, 81/106 (76%) samples tested positive for NTS between September 2020 – September 2021. Of those 81 samples that tested positive for NTS, we were able to isolate viable NTS from 56 (69%) of those samples. Through WBE, we can better understand NTS disease dynamics to fill the gap left by clinical surveillance and provide a more comprehensive community-level assessment of NTS.
A CTS Team Approach on Team approach to Establishing Steps towards Reconciliation and Trust among Black Women toward Reproductive Health Providers.


TL1 2021 Trainee Team
Tyler Nesbit, PhD Candidate
Karen Awura Adjoa Ronke Coker, PhD Candidate
Mentors
Larry Forthun, PhD
Sarah McKune, MPH, PhD
Research Description:
The goals of the proposed project are to 1) identify the critical components of trust required by Black Women to build a visible expression of trust within their reproductive health space, and 2) incorporate the elements of trust identified into a mindfulness-based communication tool; for reproductive health care providers. We are applying a mixed-methods approach inclusive of questionnaires and focus groups. Our study populations include of persons who identify as 18+ Black Women in Alachua County, and reproductive healthcare providers (e.g., Ob-Gyn, midwives, nurse practitioners) at UF Health Shands Hospital.
A TL1 Team Approach to Topological Data Analysis for Interpretation of Medical Images and Risk Stratification in COVID-19


TL1 2021 Trainee Team
Osama Dasa, PhD Candidate
Yara Skaf, MD-PhD Candidate
Mentors
Thomas Pearson, MD, PhD, MPH
Reinhard Laubenbacher, PhD
Research Description
Topological data analysis (TDA), a set of computational tools stemming from an area of mathematics called topology, can be used to enhance traditional analytic techniques for biomedical image analysis and patient stratification by mortality risk.
All TL1 Participants
Name (Last,first) | TL1 Years | degree program |
---|---|---|
Phelan, Dane | 2014-2016 | Medical Sciences – Genetics (PhD) |
Walejko, Jacquelyn | 2014-2016 | Medical Sciences – Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Medicine, PhD) |
Bray, Julie | 2015-2017 | Medical Sciences, Cancer Biology, Medicine (PhD) |
Burke, Sarah | 2015-2017 | Neuroscience Medicine, Medical Sciences (PhD) |
Lin, Andrea | 2015-2017 | Immunology, Medicine, Medical Sciences (PhD) |
Molina, Rene | 2015-2017 | Electrical and Computer Engineering,Engineering (PhD) |
Nosacka, Rachel | 2015-2017 | Cancer Biology, Medicine, Medical Sciences (PhD) |
Varillas, Jose | 2015-2017 | Biomedical Engineering, Engineering (PhD) |
Koutzoumis, Dimitri | 2016-2018 | Physiology and Pharmacology, Medicine, Medical Sciences (PhD) |
Lomelino, Carrie | 2016-2018 | Biochemistry, Medicine, Medical Sciences (PhD) |