The worldwide rankings, , place UCF in a tie with Yale University (57) and ahead of U.S. institutions such as Vanderbilt (56), Princeton (44) and Florida State University (38).

The NAI rankings may be further adjusted as patent corrections are submitted by universities.

This is the 11^th year that UCF has ranked in the top 100 universities in the world for patents.

麻豆精品 S淚nnovation is at the heart of our mission at UCF, and these latest patent rankings reaffirm our commitment to pushing boundaries and making impactful advancements,” says Winston V. Schoenfeld, UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 interim vice president for research and innovation. 麻豆精品 S淭he range of inventions reflects the dedication and ingenuity of our researchers across the research enterprise, and their efforts continue to position UCF as a leader in innovation, both nationally and globally.”

The patents were secured by UCF 麻豆精品 S檚聽, which brings discoveries to the marketplace and connects UCF researchers with companies and entrepreneurs to transform innovative ideas into successful products.

Svetlana Shtrom听 麻豆精品 S�08MBA, director of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Technology Transfer Office, says university patents are a valuable asset for universities, industry and society.

麻豆精品 S淧atents facilitate transfer of technology from universities and foster collaboration between academia and the private sector, 麻豆精品 S� Shtrom says.聽 麻豆精品 S淭hrough collaboration with industry, university technologies provide solutions to pressing problems and create new products and services that benefit the public. 麻豆精品 S�

She says the patents also reflect the commitment of the university 麻豆精品 S檚 researchers to innovation, and they serve as a beacon to attract more students and faculty who are interested in cutting-edge research and entrepreneurship.

Here are a few of the UCF inventions that led to patents in 2023:

Passive Insect Surveillance Sensor Device
Lead researcher: Bradley Willenberg, assistant professor, UCF

UCF researchers have developed a low-cost, easy-to-use device for detection of mosquitos and other insects that also indicates whether an insect carries a specific infectious disease. Through simple color-based tests (colorimetric assays) and biomolecular tools for detection (DNA aptamers conjugated to nanoparticles), a user can monitor viral presence in insect saliva samples. By doing so, various mosquito-borne emerging pathogens, including Zika, Dengue, and Chikunguya, can be detected.聽 The easily deployable technology can potentially help in the global fight and prevention against these deadly diseases. The .

Antiplasmodial Compounds
Lead researcher: Debopam Chakrabarti, professor and head,

This technology is a method of treatment for malaria by administration of specific fungus-derived compounds. Annually, malaria affects more than 200 million people and kills more than 600,000. Caused by Plasmodium parasites carried in mosquitos, an effective treatment is desperately needed. UCF researchers used a聽 library of fungi found in habitats and ecological niches across the U.S. to find potential antimalarial compounds. The unique chemicals they identified provide starting points for developing lead compounds of new drugs against malaria. The research team is .

Coating for Capturing and Killing Viruses on Surfaces
Lead researcher: Suditpa Seal, Pegasus Professor and chair,

This technology is a nano-coating designed to capture, hold and kill viruses on a surface, such as on personal protective equipment and clothing, using natural light sources to protect against infections.

The COVID-killing coating is made with a nanomaterial that activates under white light, such as sunlight or LED light. As long as the nanomaterial is exposed to a continuous light source, it can regenerate its antiviral properties, creating a self-cleaning effect.

The efficacy of the disinfectant was shown through a study that was published in聽ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces聽this past year. The study found that the coating can not only destroy the COVID-19 virus, but it can also聽combat the spread of Zika virus, SARS, parainfluenza, rhinovirus and vesicular stomatitis.

Production of Nanoporous Films
Lead researcher: Yang Yang, associate professor,

UCF researchers have created , such as for fuel cells, hydrogen production, photocatalysts, sensing and energy storage, and electrodes in supercapacitors. The method improves performance and versatility and does not require use of costly precious metals, such as gold. Instead, the UCF technology uses low-cost, earth-abundant resources such as iron, cobalt and nickel. The nanoporous thin films are designed to help meet today 麻豆精品 S檚 challenges in renewable energy production and conversion applications.

Method of Forming High-Throughput 3d Printed Microelectrode Array
Lead researcher: Swaminathan Rajaraman, associate professor, NanoScience Technology Center

This invention is a . The device has small channels and chambers that guide liquids, like samples or chemicals, to a central area where there are special electrodes. These electrodes can send and record electrical signals from tiny groups of cells called spheroids. Scientists can use this to see how cells react to different conditions and substances. The innovation offers an easy way to study biological cells, tissues and electrophysiological responses. The technology can help lead to advancements in disease modeling, toxicity assessments and drug discovery.

Adaptive Visual Overlay for Anatomical Simulation
Lead researcher: Greg Welch, Pegasus Professor, AdventHealth Endowed Chair in Healthcare Simulation,

This anatomical simulation allows users to wear a head-mounted display that presents an anatomical scenario onto a patient to allow for medical training, surgical training or other instruction. Users who experience the simulation will see a real body part or other anatomical items projected through an augmented reality system. The innovative, and provides constant, dynamic feedback to medical trainees as they treat wounds. Almost like a video game in real-life, the Tactile-Visual Wound Simulation Unit portrays the look, feel, and even the smell of different types of human wounds (such as a puncture, stab, slice or tear). It also tracks and analyzes a trainee’s treatment responses and provides corrective instructions.

System for Extracting Water from Lunar Regolith and Associated Method
Lead researcher: Phil Metzger 麻豆精品 S�00MS 麻豆精品 S�05PhD, associate scientist,

This invention is and help to establish the industry. The process consists of robot mining of the regolith (loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering solid rock), transferring the mined material to a conveyer, and passing the soil through grinding and crushing stages. Included are mechanisms to sort the material into ice, metals, and other minerals, and final transport and cleanup. This technology allows mining water on the moon, which supports NASA missions, enables further commercial operations in space, and supports Space Force activities.

Inorganic Paint Pigment with Plasmonic Aluminum Reflector Layers and Related Methods
Lead researcher: Debashis Chanda, professor, NanoScience Technology Center

This invention, a plasmonic paint, draws inspiration from butterflies to create the first environmentally friendly, large-scale and multicolor alternative to pigment-based colorants, which can contribute to energy-saving efforts and help reduce impacts on climate.

The plasmonic paint uses nanoscale structural arrangement of colorless materials 麻豆精品 S� aluminum and aluminum oxide 麻豆精品 S� instead of pigments to create colors.

While pigment colorants control light absorption based on the electronic property of the pigment material, hence every color needs a new molecule, structural colorants control the way light is reflected, scattered or absorbed based on the geometrical arrangement of nanostructures.

Such structural colors are environmentally friendly as they only use metals and oxides, unlike pigment-based colors that use artificially synthesized molecules.

The researchers have combined their structural color flakes with a commercial binder to form long-lasting paints of all colors. And because plasmonic paint reflects the entire infrared spectrum, less heat is absorbed by the paint, resulting in the underneath surface staying 25 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than it would if it were covered with standard commercial paint.

Plasmonic paint is also lightweight, a result of the paint’s large area-to-thickness ratio, with full coloration achieved at a paint thickness of only 150 nanometers, making it the lightest paint in the world.

System and Method for Radio Frequency Power Sensing and Scavenging Based on Phonon-electron Coupling in Acoustic Waveguides
Lead researcher: Hakhamanesh Mansoorzare 麻豆精品 S�21, postdoctoral researcher,

To meet the growing energy needs of the internet of things (IoT) and wireless communication systems, this new technology is .

The invention harvests ambient energy, specifically radio frequency electromagnetic waves, the most abundant form of communication among IoT nodes and hubs.

The technology can reduce the electronic industry 麻豆精品 S檚 reliance on batteries and broaden the expansion of the IoT and its energy needs.

The Pegasus Professor and chair of the says this patent was awarded much faster than most, which demonstrates the importance of the disinfectant.

麻豆精品 S淲e are very excited to get this patent accepted so quickly, and we 麻豆精品 S檙e glad that the work is of great value for combatting viruses and pathogen-born infections, 麻豆精品 S� Seal says. 麻豆精品 S淭hanks to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for recognizing this work and to the UCF Office of Technology Transfer for its support. 麻豆精品 S�

Co-recipients of the patent include Seal 麻豆精品 S檚 postdoctoral researcher, Craig Neal 麻豆精品 S�14 麻豆精品 S�16MS 麻豆精品 S�21PhD, and his former research assistant, Udit Kumar 麻豆精品 S�22PhD.

How the Disinfectant Works

The COVID-killing coating is made with a nanomaterial that activates under white light, such as sunlight or LED light. As long as the nanomaterial is exposed to a continuous light source, it can regenerate its antiviral properties, creating a self-cleaning effect.

The efficacy of the disinfectant was tested and proven through a study that was published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces this past year. The study found that the coating can not only destroy the COVID-19 virus, but it can also combat the spread of Zika virus, SARS, parainfluenza, rhinovirus and vesicular stomatitis.

The research was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation 麻豆精品 S檚 RAPID program and conducted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, including Griff Parks, a professor in the UCF and the co-principal investigator of the grant.

Next Steps

Now that the disinfectant has been patented, the research team will continue testing the product and UCF will seek a commercial partner to manufacture and sell it to a wide range of customers within the next few years.

麻豆精品 S淲e plan to carry on the work in larger samples and also to test in vivo models and other means of infection control, 麻豆精品 S� Seal says. 麻豆精品 S淭he process is well defined, and we plan to work with an industry partner to bring it to the mass market. 麻豆精品 S�

Seal joined UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the , which is part of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚聽College of Engineering and Computer Science, in 1997. He has an appointment at the聽College of Medicine聽and is a member of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 prosthetics cluster听叠颈颈辞苍颈虫. He is the former director of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 and Advanced Materials Processing Analysis Center. He received his doctorate in materials engineering with a minor in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California Berkeley.

As businesses reopen and employees return to the office following the pandemic shutdowns, a new study from the University of Central Florida recently published in Journal of Applied Psychology, examines how working with sick coworkers affects employees 麻豆精品 S� treatment of them compared to healthier colleagues.

麻豆精品 S淯nderstanding the link between 麻豆精品 S榗oworker presenteeism 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S攕howing up to work when you 麻豆精品 S檙e sick or not feeling well 麻豆精品 S� and mistreatment may be more pressing now than ever, 麻豆精品 S� says UCF management professor Shannon Taylor, 麻豆精品 S渂ut it is not specific to the COVID-19 outbreak. 麻豆精品 S�

In two studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in face-to-face settings, UCF researchers Taylor and Troy Pounds, a visiting lecturer of integrated business, found that employees were less likely to mistreat a sick coworker if they reacted with empathy, or 麻豆精品 S渃oworker-orientation. 麻豆精品 S� But if the employee was stressed out by a heavy workload, they were more likely to react with self-concern, or self-interest, and avoid their sick colleague or treat them rudely.

麻豆精品 S淭he pandemic has brought out the best and worst in people, 麻豆精品 S� Taylor says, 麻豆精品 S渁nd understanding how employees respond to a sick coworker at work can have a significant impact on a company 麻豆精品 S檚 culture and its bottom line. 麻豆精品 S�

While employees may engage in presenteeism, or working while sick, for admirable reasons (e.g., strong work ethic, financial need), evidence suggests it deteriorates their health and results in productivity costs larger than absenteeism alone. That behavior can be difficult to change in organizations where employees who never miss work, even for a sick day, are lauded and even rewarded for their dedication and work ethic.

麻豆精品 S淢anagers should encourage sick employees to stay home to help them recover more quickly, protect the health of their colleagues and avoid the risk of abuse at work, 麻豆精品 S� Taylor says,

Taylor and Pounds 麻豆精品 S� study surveyed employees and asked them to recall details about incidents when a coworker displayed symptoms consistent with COVID-19, such as coughing, fever, shortness of breath, 聽and fatigue. Study participants represented various occupations, including cashiers, customer service representatives, teachers, nurses and managers, who had coworkers come to work with COVID-19-like symptoms.

麻豆精品 S淭here 麻豆精品 S檚 never a good time to be sick, 麻豆精品 S� Taylor says. 麻豆精品 S淏ut if you have a pile of work to get done when a coworker shows up in the office and appears to be ill, your reaction might be to worry about how it will impact you. For example, you might worry about your own health or taking on their work instead of showing concern for your colleague. 麻豆精品 S�

on workplace mistreatment, examining rude, abusive, and unethical behaviors of employees and leaders. Pounds is pursuing his doctorate of .

The findings, by of the university 麻豆精品 S檚 virus and engineering experts and the leader of an Orlando technology firm, were published this week in 聽ACS Nano, a journal of the American Chemical Society.

Christina Drake 麻豆精品 S�07PhD, founder of Kismet Technologies, was inspired to develop the disinfectant after making a trip to the grocery store in the early days of the pandemic. There she saw a worker spraying disinfectant on a refrigerator handle, then wiping off the spray immediately.

麻豆精品 S淚nitially my thought was to develop a fast-acting disinfectant, 麻豆精品 S� she says, 麻豆精品 S渂ut we spoke to consumers, such as doctors and dentists, to find out what they really wanted from a disinfectant. What mattered the most to them was something long-lasting that would continue to disinfect high-touch areas like doorhandles and floors long after application. 麻豆精品 S�

Drake partnered with Sudipta Seal, a UCF materials engineer and expert, and Griff Parks, a virologist who is also associate dean of and director of the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. With funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, Kismet Tech and the Florida High Tech Corridor, the researchers created a nanoparticle-engineered disinfectant.

Its active ingredient is an engineered nanostructure called cerium oxide, which is known for its regenerative antioxidant properties. The cerium oxide nanoparticles are modified with small amounts of silver to make them more potent against pathogens.

麻豆精品 S淚t works both chemically and mechanically, 麻豆精品 S� says Seal, who has been studying nanotechnology for more than 20 years. 麻豆精品 S淭he nanoparticles emit electrons that oxidize the virus, rendering it inactive. Mechanically, they also attach themselves to the virus and rupture the surface, almost like popping a balloon. 麻豆精品 S�

Most disinfecting wipes or sprays will disinfect a surface within three to six minutes of application but have no residual effects. This means surfaces need to be wiped down repeatedly to stay clean from a number of viruses, like COVID-19. The nanoparticle formulation maintains its ability to inactivate microbes and continues to disinfect a surface for up to seven days after a single application.

麻豆精品 S淭he disinfectant has shown tremendous antiviral activity against seven different viruses, 麻豆精品 S� says Parks, whose lab was responsible for testing the formulation against 麻豆精品 S渁 dictionary 麻豆精品 S� of viruses. 麻豆精品 S淣ot only did it show antiviral properties toward coronavirus and rhinovirus, but it also proved effective against a wide range of other viruses with different structures and complexities. We are hopeful that with this amazing range of killing capacity, this disinfectant will also be a highly effective tool against other new emerging viruses. 麻豆精品 S�

The scientists are confident the solution will have a major impact in health care settings in particular, reducing the rate of hospital acquired infections, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Clostridium difficile 麻豆精品 S� which affect more than one in 30 patients admitted to U.S. hospitals.

And unlike many commercial disinfectants, the formulation has no harmful chemicals, which indicates it will be safe to use on any surface. Regulatory testing for irritancy on skin and eye cells, as required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, showed no harmful effects.

“Many household disinfectants currently available contain chemicals that can be harmful to the body with repeated exposure, 麻豆精品 S� Drake says. 麻豆精品 S淥ur nanoparticle-based product will have a high safety rating will play a major role in reducing overall chemical exposure for humans. 麻豆精品 S�

More research is needed before the product can go to market, which is why the next phase of the study will look at how the disinfectant performs outside of the lab in real world applications. That work will look at how the disinfectant is affected by external factors such as temperature or sunlight. The team is in talks with a local hospital network to test the product in their facilities.

麻豆精品 S淲e’re also exploring developing a semi-permanent film to see if we can coat and seal a hospital floor or door handles, areas where you need things to be disinfected and even with aggressive and persistent contact, 麻豆精品 S� Drake says.

Seal joined UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, which is part of , in 1997. He has an appointment at the聽College of Medicine聽and is a member of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Biionix Cluster, which focuses on advancing medical technology for prosthetics. He is the former director of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚聽Nanoscience Technology Center聽and聽. He received his doctorate in materials engineering with a minor in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California Berkeley.

Parks came to UCF in 2014 after 20 years at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, where he was professor and chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. He earned his doctorate in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin and was an American Cancer Society Fellow at Northwestern University.

The study was co-authored by post-doctoral researchers Candace Fox from the College of Medicine and Craig Neal from the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Graduate students Tamil Sakthivel, Udit Kumar and Yifei Fu from the College of Engineering and Computer Science were also co-authors.

When I 麻豆精品 S檓 downtown in Orlando, there are any number of excellent independent shops I like to support, but where I live, miles from the city, one neighbor has a horse and another keeps chickens. On cold nights, I hear the chickens clucking. On colder nights, my neighbor brings the chickens in.

Not much, then, in the way of coffee, except for the place by my house. That 麻豆精品 S檚 where I write 麻豆精品 S攐r wrote 麻豆精品 S攆ive days a week. Before the arrival of COVID-19, I dropped my daughters off at school, then arrived at my coffeehouse by 9 a.m.

Kevin, the man who most days works the morning shift, would greet me. Kevin plays in a band. I 麻豆精品 S檝e never heard his music, and he 麻豆精品 S檚 never read my books. It 麻豆精品 S檚 not that kind of friendship. Which isn 麻豆精品 S檛 to say that it 麻豆精品 S檚 a lesser friendship. It 麻豆精品 S檚 a friendship that doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 require admiration for one another 麻豆精品 S檚 art. Kevin makes my coffee. Sometimes I tip him extra. Sometimes my coffee is free, a perk that comes along with being a regular.

Before the pandemic, my office was the coffeehouse.

Then, most days, I get to work 麻豆精品 S攐r got to work 麻豆精品 S攆inding a quiet corner, facing away from the windows and the rest of the customers, firing up my laptop, securing my noise-canceling headphones over my ears, and navigating to one of three audio recordings I keep bookmarked: bathroom fan, airplane hum, summer storm. The white noise blocks out coffee orders, background conversations, and the chug and hiss of the espresso machines. Within minutes, I 麻豆精品 S檓 in a trance, the world falls away, and I can dream my way into fiction.

Most of my novel, Lake Life (published in paperback by Simon & Schuster last week), was written at this coffeehouse between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., before I returned to my daughters 麻豆精品 S� school to bring them home for the day. Now, our home is their school, and my bedroom doubles as my office.

But before the pandemic, my office was the coffeehouse. There, I would drink two cups of coffee, maybe three, dark roast, with cream and a dash of sugar. I like bitter, and I 麻豆精品 S檝e always preferred strong coffee to lattes or cappuccinos that tend to be mostly milk.

After weeks spent on a 2016 book tour across Europe, I returned to Florida and, for a month, drank straight espresso. But I never found anything in Florida approaching the strength of the ristretto shots I grew fond of in Venice and Milan and Palermo. (This, I recognize, is a pretentious-sounding sentence. In truth, I haven 麻豆精品 S檛 traveled particularly widely, I just got lucky with my last book. And I don 麻豆精品 S檛 drink dark, strong coffee to feel cool. I 麻豆精品 S檓 decidedly un-cool. I rarely drink alcohol. I don 麻豆精品 S檛 smoke. And, as a matter of fact, the darker the roast, the less caffeine the coffee has. I just happen to have a palate that favors bitter. I 麻豆精品 S檒l take dark chocolate over milk chocolate any day.)

When asked why I don 麻豆精品 S檛 prefer writing at home or in the office that UCF provides, I have several answers. First, I 麻豆精品 S檓 undisciplined. If I 麻豆精品 S檓 home, there is the TV. There are walls of books. There 麻豆精品 S檚 the bed. Any number of things are more tempting than sitting down to write for hours. Once I 麻豆精品 S檝e started, found my way into a story, I 麻豆精品 S檓 good, on task 麻豆精品 S攂ut resolving to sit down and write for the day, that 麻豆精品 S檚 the hard part. At the coffeehouse, there 麻豆精品 S檚 no TV, and I bring no books. I don 麻豆精品 S檛 even activate the Wi-Fi, so as not to be distracted by Twitter or Facebook 麻豆精品 S檚 endless scroll. No, if I 麻豆精品 S檓 at the coffeehouse, I have one job, and I do it. After all, my afternoons and evenings are occupied by teaching, so if I don 麻豆精品 S檛 write in the mornings, I don 麻豆精品 S檛 write.

Then there 麻豆精品 S檚 the coffee. It 麻豆精品 S檚 always a little better at the coffeehouse than the coffee I make at home. I have a coffeemaker, a French press, and an overpriced espresso machine. I order the best beans. I grind them fresh. Still, I can never match what they do there.

What I miss most about my coffeehouse, though, isn 麻豆精品 S檛 the coffee or the gift of a place to write. What I miss most, I 麻豆精品 S檝e discovered, is being with people. If it 麻豆精品 S檚 true that you can be lonely at a party thrown by friends just for you, it 麻豆精品 S檚 also true that you can feel loved surrounded by people you don 麻豆精品 S檛 even know.

At the coffeehouse, once I 麻豆精品 S檝e finished talking to Kevin, even after I 麻豆精品 S檝e plugged in my laptop and turned my back to the crowd, there 麻豆精品 S檚 a feeling that rises from the floor and tangles up in the rafters, a security that comes from being among others, as in church, each of us struggling in a job or a marriage or just trying to finish a novel, everyone alone, but together, a body of humans, breathing as one, warm, at once, all in one place.

It 麻豆精品 S檚 been more than a year since I stopped going to the coffeehouse, and I have yet to return. The coffeehouse is open. Everything, where I live, opened up almost a year ago. But I 麻豆精品 S檓 wary. Even masked and vaccinated, it will be some time before I 麻豆精品 S檓 comfortable writing among others, breathing the same air. And this is a loss.

I miss Kevin. I miss the taste of coffee made the right way by pros who know what they 麻豆精品 S檙e doing. Over a year in quarantine, and my home brew still pales in comparison. Though, if nothing else, I 麻豆精品 S檝e proven to myself that I can write anywhere. A new book is finished, and another is underway, so all is not lost.

But I 麻豆精品 S檇 trade this, the books and my newfound productivity, trade it in a second to return to a world pre-pandemic. To sit among strangers and friends, and strangers as friends, and feel safe. To not be afraid of my fellow humans.

David James Poissant is an associate professor at the University of Central Florida where he teaches in the MFA program in creative writing.聽 He can be reached at David.Poissant@ucf.edu.

The聽UCF Forum聽is a weekly series of opinion columns from faculty, staff and students who serve on a panel for a year. A new column is posted each Wednesday on UCF Today and then broadcast on WUCF-FM (89.9) between 7:50 and 8 a.m. Sunday. Columns also are archived in the campus library 麻豆精品 S檚 collection and as WUCF podcasts. Opinions expressed are those of the columnists, and are not necessarily shared by the University of Central Florida.

Laurene Tetard, an associate professor in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of Physics, and Xiaohu Xia, an assistant professor in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of Chemistry, were selected as fellows by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement as part of its Scialog initiative to mitigate zoonotic threats, or those originating from animals. Tetard and Xia also both have joint appointments in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Nanoscience Technology Center.

The researchers join UCF College of Medicine Assistant Professor Salvador Almagro-Moreno and more than 50 other researchers across the nation who have received the honor.

The Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) was founded in 1912 and is the oldest foundation for science advancement in the U.S.

The origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is still under debate, but its possible animal origin means researchers are giving special focus to zoonotic diseases and ones that could emerge in the future.

麻豆精品 S淎 deeper understanding of the interactions between animals, people, pathogens and their environments could expand our ability to rapidly detect emerging pathogens and to quickly develop and deploy new countermeasures, 麻豆精品 S� says RCSA Program Director Andrew Feig.

Created in 2010 by RCSA, the Scialog (short for 麻豆精品 S渟cience + dialog 麻豆精品 S�) format brings together communities of early-career scientists from multiple disciplines and institutions across the U.S. and Canada, and this initiative includes both academic and U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists with the vision of spurring stronger interactions between these groups.

The three-year initiative for addressing zoonotic threats will first meet this fall in Tucson, Arizona.

Guided by a group of senior facilitators, participants will discuss challenges and gaps in current knowledge, build community around visionary goals, and form teams to propose cutting-edge, collaborative research projects. Those considered to have the potential for high-impact results will be selected to receive seed funding.

Tetard says research chosen will stem from the discussions but that her contributions to the community will include her expertise with nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy, which can show how zoonotic threats change over time.

麻豆精品 S淰iruses and bacteria are small systems that have not been studied extensively with new nanoscale tools, such as those we are working on at UCF, 麻豆精品 S� Tetard says. 麻豆精品 S淣anoscale imaging and spectroscopy provides the spatial resolution and the sensitivity to detect such small systems and study how they evolve. Participating in this initiative could help in advancing the development of new tools that are better suited for problems related to zoonotic threats. I 麻豆精品 S檓 very excited about taking part in these conversations. 麻豆精品 S�

Xia will bring his work with developing advanced nanotechnologies for diagnostics to the Scialog research community.

麻豆精品 S淚 am honored to be selected as a Scialog Fellow, and I am excited for the opportunity to collaborate with leading scientists from multiple disciplines to develop innovative technologies for detection and mitigation of zoonotic threats, 麻豆精品 S� Xia says. 麻豆精品 S淲ith the support of this fellowship, I 麻豆精品 S檇 like to expand my research to the field of detection and diagnosis of zoonotic diseases. I am thrilled by this opportunity to work in a new field. Ultimately, I hope that my research will contribute to mitigation of existing and emerging zoonotic threats. 麻豆精品 S�

Tetard received her doctorate in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and joined UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 NanoScience Technology Center and Department of Physics, part of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Sciences, in 2013.

Xia received his doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology from Xiamen University and joined UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of Chemistry, part of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Sciences, in 2018.

The journey toward my undergraduate degree has been eventful, especially in regard to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. You 麻豆精品 S檙e probably as sick of hearing about it as I am, but with an event as big as this one, there is a lot of ground to cover.

A little over a year ago, I wrote a something for an extra-credit assignment for my American history professor. This professor made it clear to us that we were living in a generationally defining moment in history, and that we should soak up as much of what was happening as we could because it will affect the rest of our lives.

This whole experience has taught me to think more on my own.

The assignment was to pick an artifact from our homes that historians would look back on to remember the pandemic. I chose an analog clock from my living room. At the time, all I could think about was how much time I was losing from my college experience. I felt like I wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 going to learn anything well online from home, and I was missing out on all of the fun times that come with being a college student. To quote myself, I said it felt like 麻豆精品 S渢he clock stopped and everything was put on pause, but we are still losing time. 麻豆精品 S�

I wrote that when I was 19. Now, as I am fully vaccinated and slowly returning to normal life again, I am 21. A lot of time has passed, and I can look at the words of my past and say that I was wrong.

I thought then that the pandemic and the shutdown of the majority of the world was ruining my four years of college education. But all of the time I spent online and away from the classroom taught me that things also can be learned out of a classroom, too.

During the lockdown and quarantine period, I learned so many life lessons about perspective and appreciating life. My whole mindset evolved into a much more positive state than before and I started to really live life to the fullest.

This whole experience has taught me to think more on my own. For example, when studying for a chemistry exam, not only did I learn about chemistry, but I learned about time management while planning out my studies. And once I got that A+, I learned that I can achieve hard goals if I work hard enough. These are valuable life lessons that will benefit you in the real world.

Lessons are in every walk of life. Every experience, every interaction you can take something from it if you think about it. Through the struggles of the pandemic life, I have gotten better at identifying these lessons and really trying my best to learn from everything.

Once I started thinking this way, I started appreciating my college education a lot more, even if it were cut up by COVID-19. I look at the whole experience not as a setback, but as another part of my education.

To be a student does not just mean to study hard and get good grades; it means to always go through life with open eyes and ears to learn as much as you can.

Narvin Chhay is a UCF junior majoring in sport and exercise science. He can be reached at narvinc@knights.ucf.edu.

The聽UCF Forum聽is a weekly series of opinion columns from faculty, staff and students who serve on a panel for a year. A new column is posted each Wednesday on UCF Today and then broadcast on WUCF-FM (89.9) between 7:50 and 8 a.m. Sunday. Opinions expressed are those of the columnists, and are not necessarily shared by the University of Central Florida.

The work could affect approaches to control the virus, such as isolation strategies and vaccine development, and establish infrastructure to respond to future emerging infectious diseases.

The project is funded by philanthropic organization The Rockefeller Foundation as part of to strengthen global capabilities to detect and respond to pandemic threats.

UCF will receive the funds in partnership with UF to become part of a U.S. Regional Accelerators for Genomic Surveillance program that will provide strategic, coordination, and operational support toward improved and diversified regional surveillance efforts across a network of institutions. These institutions include the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Louisiana State University Health Shreveport, and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

UCF and UF together will receive $340,000 for the project.

The work at UCF will be led by Taj Azarian, an assistant professor and infectious-disease epidemiologist in the . Azarian will work closely with Marco Salemi, the project 麻豆精品 S檚 lead at UF and a member of UF 麻豆精品 S檚 Emerging Pathogens Institute.

The Florida experts and their labs will work to establish a network of public, private, and industry partners that will strive to increase the representativeness of SARS-CoV-2 monitoring around the state, Azarian says.

They will do this by genome sequencing SARS-CoV-2 isolates from positive SARS-CoV-2 test samples taken from around Florida 麻豆精品 S� with individuals 麻豆精品 S� identities redacted.

Azarian says particular interest will be placed on monitoring cases of reinfection or vaccinated cases who become sick with COVID-19. These viral isolates will be prioritized for genome sequencing, which will allow the experts to identify new variants and understand how the virus is spreading in the community, he says.

麻豆精品 S淪o, let’s say someone had COVID-19 early, like last summer, and then they get tested and they 麻豆精品 S檙e infected again, 麻豆精品 S� Azarian says. 麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檙e interested in tracking that and looking at the viral genomes to see how different they are from the virus that was circulating earlier when they were infected. 麻豆精品 S�

麻豆精品 S淲e also want to monitor cases of vaccine breakthrough, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淔or example, someone received a vaccine and got sick weeks later with COVID. 麻豆精品 S�

麻豆精品 S淎nother priority is monitoring the populations that are either unvaccinated or undervaccinated, 麻豆精品 S� he says.

Knowing this information can help with vaccination and community-level control efforts, Azarian says.

麻豆精品 S淥verall, we are trying to stay one step ahead of the virus, 麻豆精品 S� Azarian says.

He says the selection of UCF to work on the project was made possible by the concentrated expertise of the Genomics and Bioinformatics cluster at UCF, the collaboration with the Salemi Laboratory, and also his recent work on rapid, onsite COVID-19 detection and viral sequencing on campus through a Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II award.

麻豆精品 S淥ne of the things that we do in my laboratory is apply genome sequencing of pathogens to understand how they spread and transmit in the community, 麻豆精品 S� he says.

麻豆精品 S淕etting funding through the university to start up our genomic surveillance on campus and do everything in-house provided a good springboard to show that we have the resources to be able to help increase the regional and national capacity to do genomic surveillance. 麻豆精品 S�

Azarian received his doctorate in epidemiology from the University of Florida and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard 麻豆精品 S檚 T.H. Chan School for Public Health in the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics. He was recruited to UCF through the Genomics and Bioinformatics Cluster initiative and joined UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, part of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 , in 2018.

In the beginning, it felt weird to be sitting in front of my computer with my pajamas on, doing actual work. It almost felt like working from home wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 enough.

Have you wondered if you accomplished enough during the pandemic?

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I am here to tell you that you don 麻豆精品 S檛 have to worry anymore. The past year has been strange and scary, and although bad things have happened, we have a lot to look forward to.

I look forward to more baking.

I sat in front of my screens and not even once did I attempt chair yoga, to learn a new language or acquire a new hobby. I did not create a video that went viral.

I wanted to do something useful or inspiring or meaningful.

So I baked.

My first pandemic loaf was an Irish soda bread, studded with raisins and toasty oats. I accessorized the whole outfit with Irish butter, and it was trending for a short time in my house.

Baking has never let me down. If I follow the instructions and pay attention to the timing and the science, I am rewarded with carbohydrated yumminess. If something goes wrong along the way, it 麻豆精品 S檚 not baking 麻豆精品 S檚 fault, it 麻豆精品 S檚 my own.

Sometimes, though, even if everything goes right, maybe it wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 meant to be.

I was craving bagels. Fresh, chewy bagels. I had made them once before, and they had been a disaster. Primed and giddy from my soda bread experience, I tried again.

They came out better than I had expected, better than a bagel shop 麻豆精品 S檚, dare I say. But I wouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 recommend trying this at home. They were labor intensive. Aside from the dough, there 麻豆精品 S檚 the proving/proofing, the shaping, and then the dunking into acidulated water for no more than two minutes. And then, finally, the egg wash and baking process. And the whole time, you wonder if the four hours you spent is going to result in goodness or something not so good.

Making bagels was hard. It got me out of my comfort zone, though, and reminded me what a comfort zone was for. Why would I want to go from my comfort zone into my uncomfortable zone?

You know what else is comforting? Cookies. I had acquired some chocolate chips (along with several bags of chips of another species 麻豆精品 S� I blame internet ordering) and decided it would be prudent to turn them into cookies. I happened to have extra butter and flour, so why not? By throwing a few ingredients together and creating something, I feel like I am improving 麻豆精品 S� at least temporarily 麻豆精品 S� my small corner of the world.

My family enjoyed my baked goods during the pandemic, but they may not have understood the therapeutic value behind them.

It was hard for me to dwell on the increasingly grim news from the outside world when my inside world smelled like vanilla and cinnamon.

But now, as we head back to campus, I look forward to sharing my heightened baking expertise with my colleagues. In the past, whenever I brought in homemade banana bread and left it in our communal kitchen, it would quickly disappear.

Banana bread will still be in the rotation, but I have expanded my playlist. My department, pre-pandemic, was famous for our holiday potlucks. I hope we can safely continue this tradition; I imagine some of my colleagues are also eager to show off their new skills honed by the past 16 months.

I also hope one of them brings some bagels.

Camille Dolan is the communications specialist for the University of Central Florida 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Health Professions and Sciences. She can be reached at camille.dolan@ucf.edu.