In 2025, the University of Florida College of Medicine advanced patient-focused research across cancer, neuromedicine, diabetes, and women’s and children’s health, backed by major investments in infrastructure and talent. The college reported $456M in total research funding, 1,400+ research proposal submissions, and ranked 21st among publics in NIH funding, while it initiated $20M in infrastructure renovations, increased proposal submissions by nearly 5%, and saw 7 programs ranked in top 20 among public universities. Senior associate dean for research Azra Bihoac described 2025 as a year of bold investment in research capacity and transformative ideas, positioning the institution for continued growth in innovation and patient impact.
As part of an integrated academic health center with six health colleges and 10 centers and institutes, the college leveraged cross-campus collaborations to accelerate advances from basic science to clinical care. A highlight came in May, when UF Health celebrated its 100th gene therapy infusion, a milestone reflecting decades of translational science leadership and a growing national role in next-generation therapies. In cancer research, collaborators at UF and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas showed that an mRNA vaccine can dramatically boost the immune system’s ability to fight cancer by awakening the immune response broadly and making tumors more responsive to treatment, a finding that could underpin a universal cancer vaccine. Additional cancer work spanned discovery of new cancer-killing compounds and studies on how nutrition and diet influence cancer risk, treatment support, and connections between diet and lung cancer, with pediatric oncologist Elias Sayour highlighting a potential alternative to surgery, radiation and chemotherapy for many treatment-resistant tumors.
UF researchers also pushed forward diabetes research across the lifespan, helping shape international clinical guidelines for pediatric Type 1 diabetes and producing evidence that clinician education improves diabetes outcomes. Studies identified previously hidden blood mutations linked to obesity, diabetes and liver disease, and informed new recommendations for liver screening in patients with Type 2 diabetes, with the goal of preventing serious complications through earlier intervention. At the intersection of neuromedicine and artificial intelligence, teams identified a new genetic mutation associated with Alzheimer’s disease risk, while artificial intelligence powered a groundbreaking 3D map of the brain and improved diagnostic accuracy for Parkinson’s disease. In women’s and children’s health, researchers advanced the MOMitor app to support maternal health and pregnancy risk detection, developed artificial intelligence tools to improve breastfeeding outcomes in the NICU, and moved closer to a first treatment for a significant pregnancy-related risk. UF Health was recognized as the sixth Center of Excellence in Complex Endometriosis Care in the world, and experts in the UF Health Endometriosis Program applied artificial intelligence to create a preoperative endometriosis prediction model for faster diagnosis and treatment. Beyond disease-specific work, studies linked timing and consistency of physical activity to better fitness, identified potential therapies for loss of smell, and proposed advanced artificial intelligence models to predict mortality in coronary artery disease, underscoring a broad focus on both longevity and quality of life.
