UCF in the News

Researchers say they are making progress toward discovering why about half of the green sea turtles in the Indian River Lagoon are covered with tumors. The tumors can grow inside and outside of the sea turtles’ bodies, obstructing internal organs and affecting eyesight and mobility. A new University of Central Florida study zeroes in on how genetics might affect the turtles’ immune systems. Researcher Katie Martin says that could help identify more vulnerable turtles. “That might be a population or an area where we say, OK, we need more environmental protection for these individuals, or we need to monitor them more closely because it’s possible they are more susceptible to disease.”

For eight years, the University of Central Florida’s Limbitless Solutions has been on the cutting edge of outfitting children who have lost limbs with new 3-D printed bionic prosthetics that revolutionize their lives. Now, the organization is reaching for the next level of that mission, partnering with children’s hospitals to research the effect of these devices on young patients’ brains. “The idea for this study came about several years ago and we proposed it to the hospital after presenting it at a conference,” said Albert Manero, president of Limbitless Solutions. “They were so receptive to being able to do this type of work, and it really is a cutting edge look at the brain and how it evolves from using prosthetics.”

Central Florida is one of the leading places where people with communications disorders can get treatment. WFTV takes a tour of UCF’s Aphasia House, one of the top treatment centers in the country. Amy Engelhoven is the director of the Aphasia House, which is part of the University’s Communication Disorders Clinic.

How does space travel affect the human body? A team of doctors from the University of Central Florida's College of Medicine is working to find those answers when the first four civilians travel to the International Space Station on Friday. Axiom and SpaceX's first all-private crew will be part of a study that's looking into how a trip into orbit affects your eyes and your brain. "Depending on what we're able to see even on this first mission, it might influence change in terms of what NASA does for pre- and post-astronaut travel to see the things that they screen for and look for," ophthalmologist and assistant professor of medicine at UCF Dr. Mehul Patel said.

Swarming across an archaeological pit, University of Central Florida students wielding hand tools are carefully unearthing a long-hidden Ais Native American gathering place near the Banana River — where prehistoric stone spear points date back to 6,000 years old. "We've found lots of these shell clusters that were in these very centralized kind of pockets, that almost look like (they) would have been maybe an eating area," said Amanda Groff, UCF senior lecturer of anthropology, standing at the dig site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The Small Business Institute, the premier provider of professional development for those engaged in experiential student team consulting and related entrepreneurship education, research and activities and the link between business, education and community, recently announced that a student team from the University of Central Florida’s College of Business Administration and College of Engineering was a winner in its annual Experiential Learning Project of the Year competition, taking 1st Place in the 2021-22 ‘Graduate Comprehensive’ category.

Inflation is hitting the country hard and some UCF students are having to make the hard choice between school supplies and food. UCF says the number of students coming in has doubled this semester – more than 200 students at day. The Knights Helping Knights Pantry is just one of the student support areas the university is raising money for today. UCF hopes to get more donations today to keep this pantry stocked.

Fifteen minutes after South Carolina won the NCAA women’s basketball championship Sunday night, Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley sent a text to Sytia Messer. An hour before the title game between South Carolina and UConn tipped, Messer had been named the next head coach of UCF women’s basketball. “Dawn texted ‘Congratulations. What a great opportunity. What a great university. Go get it done.’ She’s definitely someone I’m going to lean on,” Messer said. “I want us to win on the court, in the classroom and in the community,” Messer said. “We’re going to do those things.”

Although tourism is Orlando's biggest economic driver, UCF's work in shaping the Rosen School of Hospitality Management to train workers in the tourism sector for large employers like Disney and Universal Orlando Resort also led it to apply that approach to emerging tech fields like gaming, UCF President Alexander Cartwright said last week during a roundtable discussion with education leaders. Cartwright said, "Artificial intelligence, modeling and simulation, all are things we see as the next big thing for the region. We’re strong in those areas, but I see even more opportunity, and what we want to do is make sure we can provide the workforce that is needed for that."