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Research day recap: responding to COVID in South Africa and Senegal

The Emerging Pathogens Institute’s annual Research Day event celebrates pathogens research and the people who work in this critical academic space. After three years of meeting virtually, the event was held in person at the Reitz Union on Feb. 16, 2023 on the University of Florida’s campus. Researchers and students exhibited 123 abstracts and posters that probed pathogens and infectious diseases topics spanning from lab research to field investigations and bioinformatic analyses.

UF Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety receives over $7M in renewal funding

Workers in agriculture, fisheries and forestry are among those at greatest risk nationally for injury and work-related health problems. Additionally, work-related fatalities are nearly seven times higher in these industries compared to all other industries in the United States. With the goal of reducing the incidence and severity of chronic and acute health and safety problems in these occupational groups, the University of Florida’s Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, or SCCAHS, has been awarded $7 million in renewed funding from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

UF researchers use AI to predict new coronavirus variants

Experts in viral evolution and artificial intelligence are teaming up to create an algorithm capable of predicting novel coronavirus variants before they become public health threats. They will also study how the coronavirus mutates in people coinfected with HIV and COVID-19 to better understand how variants emerge.

Wastewater health signals

University of Florida researchers are refining wastewater surveillance techniques—a public health tool dating to the 1940s—to monitor cities, neighborhoods, and individual buildings for traces of COVID-19, fentanyl, and pesticides.

Rapid antigen versus PCR tests in remote work settings

A UF mathematician collaborates with Yale School of Public Health researchers to evaluate the agreement of results between PCR testing and 18 commercially available rapid antigen tests for decision-making in remote work settings on when to end an individual's quarantine.

Rethinking quarantining

UF researchers find particles from virus that causes COVID are transported beyond quarantine spaces due to airborne nature.