Supercomputer software, cancer imaging among U. Florida’s new projects

University of Florida President Ben Sasse on Monday announced seven new projects that will be funded by a recent $130 million boost from the state legislature, including a digital imaging platform for cancer treatment and new software to improve the institution’s supercomputer.

The seven new projects together receive roughly $5.3 million after the state legislature this year approved $130 million for various research projects and “strategic investments.” The new projects follow a $9.2 million project tranche approved last October. 

In a press release, Sasse said the new projects will take his university “to the next level.”

“Each of these bold initiatives will enhance the future of Florida and the world,” Sasse said. “We’re committed to being both elite and practical. I couldn’t be prouder of the way our incredible units at UF are putting this strategic funding to good use. We want to tackle big challenges and these projects are the kind of ambitious, interdisciplinary, and collaborative work that only a large, comprehensive, land-grant university like ours can do.” 

The university selected the projects from a pool of 250 submissions, according to the announcement.

The new projects:

• UF/IFAS: Innovation Hub for Urban Pest Management, $985,000 over three years – Funding will support the $2.2-billion industry in Florida through workforce development, expanding industry partnerships, and innovating new control technologies for invasive pests.
• College of Veterinary Medicine, UF Health: Creating an AI-Enabled Digital Imaging Platform for Veterinary Medicine and One Health, $750,000 over three years – An investment in an AI-enabled digital imaging platform will address bottlenecks in the pathway to implementing personalized cancer diagnoses and treatments, including the scarcity of veterinary pathologists and the heterogeneous nature of cancer disorders.
• College of the Arts, supported by UF/IFAS: Arts Impact Engine, $1,005,790 over four years – Support for a research team-building initiative will help faculty and students write competitive proposals for external funding opportunities, advancing UF’s fast-growing and highly grant-funded arts program.
• College of the Arts, Center for Arts in Medicine, UF Health: Journal of Arts in Health, $79,500 over three years – As the Center for Arts in Medicine creates the global field of Arts in Public Health, this initiative will launch a new open-access journal for the industry that will cement UF’s place as a leader in integrating arts and public health.  
• College of Medicine, Jacksonville: Center for Convening Transformative Care, $1,098,700 over three years – Funding for the center will help enhance personalized patient care, increase patient safety, foster population health data research and grant procurement, and strengthen local and state partnerships that will lead to more sustainable population health interventions.
• Fixel Institute (supported by the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, the College of Public Health & Health Professions, the College of Nursing, the College of Medicine, the College of Health and Human Performance, and the College of the Arts): Research & TechnologyInnovation Incubator, $960,000 for one year – An investment in the Fixel Institute will transform 20,000 square feet of unrenovated space into a state-of-the-art hub for interdisciplinary work, positioning the campus as an international destination for cutting-edge science collaborations.
• Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, supported by the College of Education and the College of Design, Construction, and Planning: Leveraging the Power of Large Language Models, $474,000 over two years – Support for the project will help develop a large language model-based software tool to leverage the computing-intensive capabilities of HiPerGator, collecting beneficial data for instructors and administrators about student performance.