UCF in the News

Racial disparities in breast cancer survival have narrowed in recent years, according to a study that tracked breast cancer trends in Florida between 1990 and 2015. Overall, deaths from the disease declined among Black, Hispanic and White women alike, says lead researcher Robert Hines, an associate professor at the UCF College of Medicine.

University of Central Florida Lake Nona Medical Center is the first local hospital to provide incision-less brain surgery. Right now, the cutting edge procedure is being done for some patients with essential tremor, ceasing symptoms for some who undergo the surgery.

As part of field training at the UCF Police Department, all recruits are now required to visit the Wells’ Built Museum of African American History and Culture. The museum celebrates notable Black firsts and figures, including Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles. All 90 UCF police officers have already been to the museum, including Police Chief Carl Metzger.

Cyber Florida aims to make Florida the most “cyber-secure” state by working with universities to roll out sweeping initiatives in education, research and outreach. UCF and its nationally ranked hacking team is helping develop a national intercollegiate cybersecurity competition under a NSA grant.

Ray Villegas is the new program manager of UCF’s Mentorship and First Customer Program, which is part of UCF’s Innovation Districts that are small business support networks centered around UCF incubators in downtown Orlando, Lake Nona and Research Park. His first priority on the job is to get to know the clients and their products, and start reaching out to the right enterprises to make those connections.

Necati Catbas, structural engineering professor at UCF, is interviewed by Leila Fadel of NPR about the sudden collapse of the Champlain Towers South building near Miami Beach. He explains a “pancake failure,” which involves issues with the foundation and leads to the progressive failure of multiple stories on top of each other.

Lynne Cheek is battling stage 4 cancer and following an intense treatment plan. A surprise lunch planned by her friends, who she bonds with over a love of UCF, helped lift her spirits. The UCF band, some football players and Knightro all were in attendance.

WUCF provided 150 families from Title 1 schools in Orange County with kindergarten readiness kits.

The UCF athletic department is introducing a new program that will assist its athletes in creating economic opportunities made available through impending name, image and likeness legislation. The LAUNCH program was created in partnership with Opendorse and COMPASS as a way to provide UCF athletes with the help needed in building and managing their own brands. It’s also meant to help athletes navigate the challenges of the upcoming NIL legislation that takes effect July 1 in Florida. That legislation allows college athletes to receive compensation for the use of their image and likeness. "Our LAUNCH program incorporates multiple new elements to assist our student-athletes with navigation of these opportunities — and we are excited to add the Opendorse and COMPASS platforms to what we already were offering to them,” says UCF athletics director Terry Mohajir.