UCF in the News

Developing life-saving medicines can take billions of dollars and decades of time, but University of Central Florida researchers are aiming to speed up this process with a new artificial intelligence-based drug screening process they've developed. Using a method that models drug and target protein interactions using natural language processing techniques, the researchers achieved up to 97% accuracy in identifying promising drug candidates. “With AI becoming more available, this has become something that AI can tackle,” says study co-author Ozlem Garibay, an assistant professor in UCF’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems. “You can try out so many variations of proteins and drug interactions and find out which are more likely to bind or not.”

Lately, all eyes are turned towards the moon. “You can talk to anyone in the [space] community,” says Adrienne Dove, a planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida. “You can talk to the folks who have been around for 50 years, or the new folks, but it just feels real this time.” Dove’s optimism doesn’t just come from the Artemis 1 rocket poised for liftoff at Kennedy Space Center. She sees myriad differentiating factors this time, including the collaboration between private companies and NASA, the growing international support for the space governance framework, the Artemis Accords, and the competition from rival nations like China and Russia to stake out a lunar presence. Perhaps one of the biggest arguments from moon base supporters is the need for a stepping stone to send humans even deeper into space. “We want to learn how to live on the moon so we can go to Mars,” Dove says.

Parents see their quality of life suffer when caring for an autistic child, says a new study. And the more severe the autism the greater the impact on the parents’ quality of life. Parents see their quality of life suffer when caring for an autistic child, says a new study Dr Dawn Turnage said families coping with severe autism need “tailored resources” Dr Dawn Turnage, of the University of Central Florida, conducted the review study. She found the quality of life was lower in parents of autistic children in physical, psychological and social health. It was also lower in spirituality. Turnage is a lecturer in the university’s college of nursing. She also serves on the leadership council of the US National Council on Severe Autism. Better educated parents saw their quality of life suffer less, Turnage found.

Traditional forms of community supervision that focus on control and punishment have failed to improve client outcomes. In response, training programs for probation officers have been developed to better incorporate more rehabilitation-focused strategies into community corrections practices. In a new meta-analysis, researchers assessed the impact of these programs on various outcomes for probation officers and their clients. They found that these programs provide advantages for both groups, supporting their continued use. Conducted by researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF), the study appears in Justice Quarterly. "Given the considerable amount of time and resources required to implement and sustain these training programs, a better understanding of their impact on probation officers and clients is critical for justifying their use," explains Ryan Labrecque, associate professor of criminal justice at UCF, who led the study.

Perla Latorre-Suárez fights back tears as she thinks about the sacrifices her parents made, sending her to the mainland from Puerto Rico so she could live her dreams of working in the aerospace industry. "You know they've given it all for me and my brother - I'm sorry," Latorre-Suárez said as she wiped her eyes. Her dream is similar to that of Isabella Pardo, a UCF undergraduate student working to earn her degree in photonic science and engineering. “My goal is to work for an aerospace company in photonics or optics,” Pardo said.

The UCF Police Department will host an event to offer free forensic marking for catalytic converters on vehicles belonging to students at the university, the school announced in a partnership with ProTechDNA and State Farm. The department announced it will provide high-tech labels that can be placed on the catalytic converters and other items like bicycles, computers, phones and tablets. According to a statement released by UCF police, the labels have “microscopic dots embedded into adhesive, and each dot is etched with a PIN number unique to the property owner.” If the label is removed, the adhesive remains on the item, allowing law enforcement the ability to return the item to its owner if it is recovered after being lost or stolen, the police department said.

NASA needs to know what’s going on with all of the junk that’s orbiting our planet. The space agency announced yesterday that it would be funding three proposals from various universities to better understand orbital debris and sustainability in space. Orbital debris is one of the greatest challenges facing spacefaring nations and companies. This debris consists of human-made remnants of previous space missions that have been left to wander aimlessly around Earth. The projects include: “Communication and Space Debris: Connecting with Public Knowledges and Identities,” from the University of Central Florida.

NASA’s Artemis I launch has been delayed twice because of liquid hydrogen problems. It’s not a new one for the space agency. Meanwhile, SpaceX has switched to methane. WSJ explains why NASA still uses the leak-prone fuel. “Hydrogen is really difficult to work with,” in part, because its atoms are so tiny," said UCF planetary scientist Dr. Phil Metzger.

Lakeland first responders are putting a state grant awarded by First Lady Casey DeSantis to good use, taking the first steps necessary to create a behavioral health care plan for first responders. In June, the University of Central Florida received a $1.4 million First Responder Regional Support Center grant to provide services through the UCF RESTORES Trauma Therapy Program to first responders in Hardee, Highlands and Polk counties. UCF RESTORES was founded in 2011 as a nonprofit government-funded clinical research center and trauma treatment clinic for veterans and first responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues.