A $900,000 congressional appropriation will help the UCF College of Medicine create a pathogen surveillance and research core to identify and address future pandemics.
U.S. Congressman Darren Soto recently presented the funding to Deborah German, vice president for health affairs and founding dean of the medical school, and Griffith Parks, associate dean of research and director of the College of Medicine’s Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. Parks is an internationally recognized virus researcher.
Congressman Soto says he is honored to secure the support for “our hometown medical school because we all saw, with both Zika and COVID-19, the need to study diseases to improve the public’s health.”
During a tour of Parks’ lab, the College of Medicine leaders discussed the important role Orlando can play in protecting the nation and world from infectious disease.
“We are a global tourist destination with one of the world’s most visited airports,” German says. “The world is coming here. That’s why Orlando is the canary in the coal mine.”
The congressional funding will purchase genomic sequencing equipment that will allow College of Medicine researchers to identify the entire genetic makeup of viruses like COVID-19 and other microbes. Parks says such technology allows researchers to determine quickly the genetic makeup of new pathogens, a first step in identifying treatments. Microbiologists worldwide are continually monitoring pathogens — viruses and bacteria — that could lead to a pandemic.
“We’re certainly going to face more outbreaks like COVID-19,” Parks says. “It’s not if we’ll have another pandemic, it’s when.”
The ease and speed of worldwide travel was a key element in COVID-19’s spread, Parks says, adding that a pathogen research and surveillance core at UCF’s Health Sciences Campus — located just minutes from Orlando International Airport — would help facilitative earlier recognition of potential pandemics. On any given day, Orlando’s population increases by one million visitors.
The genome sequencing equipment will also assist College of Medicine researchers focused on finding new therapies for diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, and provide research training for UCF students seeking careers in medicine and science.
“In addition to research, our mission is to train the next generation of biomedical scientists,” Parks tells Congressman Soto.
