TikTok tics, gut bacteria and the link to Tourette’s (Guest: Barbara Coffey, M.D., M.S.)
Can altered gut microbiota lead to tic exacerbation in Tourette Syndrome? On the latest episode of Inside U Miami Medicine, Barbara Coffey, M.D., M.S., talks about the potential link between fungi and bacteria in people’s digestive systems and an increase of inflammation in the brain, possibly leading to various tic disorders. She also shares insight into the global phenomenon “TikTok tics” and the effects of social media and the pandemic on children’s mental health.
/podcast/inside-umiami-medicine/2023/tiktok-tics-gut-bacteria-and-the-link-to-tourettesUsing big data to improve health (Guest: Azizi A. Seixas, Ph.D.)
How can we improve community and patient wellness with big data and innovation? While data is ubiquitous, different formats are often funneled into their own silos in academic medicine. In part two of Dean Henri Ford’s conversation with Dr. Azizi Seixas, they speak about how artificial intelligence and informatics can break down barriers to catalyze impact and improve health outcomes.
/podcast/inside-umiami-medicine/2023/using-big-data-to-improve-healthThe doctor behind harm reduction in Florida (Guest: Hansel Tookes, III, M.D., M.P.H.)
Prior to 2016, state-sanctioned harm reduction strategies – which aim to decrease negative effects of addiction – were nonexistent in Florida. Then, a Miami medical student launched a multi-year campaign to convince the legislature to save lives through a needle exchange program. Dr. Hansel Tookes, now the clinical director of the first syringe services program in the state, sits down with Dean Henri Ford to share his journey from giving food to the local unhoused community to shifting the entire state’s approach to harm reduction and HIV prevention. She joined Inside U Miami Medicine to share her work collecting and analyzing the genetics of Hispanic patients to better understand inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in that community. For Dr. Abreu, who grew up in a Cuban family and didn’t learn English until she started school, this work is particularly close to her heart. Tune in to hear more about Dr. Abreu’s journey in medicine, her fascinating research, and her upcoming leadership of the largest gastroenterological association in the U.S. In addition to testing on NFL, Formula 1, and NCAA athletes, the technology was also used to rule out traumatic brain injury in another subset of individuals – U.S. government employees who experienced “Havana Syndrome.” In 2016, embassy employees in Havana reported severe, unexplained health problems, including ear pain, dizziness, and other neurological disturbances. Dr. Hoffer was on the frontlines of this medical mystery that engrossed the world.
/podcast/inside-umiami-medicine/2023/the-doctor-behind-harm-reduction-in-floridaBlood Cancer: CAR-T Cell Therapy and Targeted Treatments (Guest: Mikkael A. Sekeres, M.D., M.S.)
When physicians haven’t be trained to tackle a disease, how do they provide the best care for patients? In the face of long COVID, medical practitioners are finding themselves at a crossroads, grappling with how to effectively treat patients. Both patients and health care providers continue to navigate the complexities of this condition, including ambiguous definitions, varying medical opinions and symptoms that overlap with a multitude of other illnesses.
/podcast/inside-umiami-medicine/2023/blood-cancer-car-t-cell-therapy-and-targeted-treatmentsCan pathway programs lead to a diverse physician workforce? (Guest: Nanette Vega, Ed.D.)
Paving the way for minority students to become physicians is essential for achieving health equity. Dr. Nanette Vega, assistant dean for the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, joins Dean Henri Ford to discuss a pivotal program that positions these students to successfully compete for admission to medical school.
/podcast/inside-umiami-medicine/2022/can-pathway-programs-lead-to-a-diverse-physician-workforceLaunching a medical curriculum during the pandemic (Guests: Gauri G. Agarwal, M.D., FACP and Amar R Deshpande, M.D.)
Launching a new medical curriculum during "normal" times is complex. Add in an unexpected pandemic and implementation is further complicated. Hear how the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine tackled these challenges in this edition of Inside U Miami Medicine, hosted by Dean Henri Ford and featuring Dr. Gauri Agarwal, associate dean of curriculum, and Dr. Amar Deshpande, associate dean for medical education.
/podcast/inside-umiami-medicine/2022/launching-a-medical-curriculum-during-the-pandemicDying to remember (Guest: James Galvin, M.D., M.P.H.)
Researchers at the Miller School of Medicine are testing a new drug for dementia with Lewy bodies, a disease that affects an estimated 1.4 million Americans. James Galvin, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Comprehensive Center for Brain Health at the Miller School, joins Dean Henri Ford to give insight into this devastating illness and the search for better outcomes.
/podcast/inside-umiami-medicine/2022/dying-to-rememberImproving diversity in Alzheimer's disease data (Guest: Margaret Pericak-Vance, Ph.D.)
Alzheimer’s research, from previous studies to ongoing clinical trials, is often not representative of the populations that are at the highest risk for this disease. , sits down with Dean Henri Ford to discuss a multi-center, multi-national clinical trial that will tackle this issue and expand diversity in Alzheimer’s data, eventually leading to the development of targeted drug therapies.
/podcast/inside-umiami-medicine/2022/improving-diversity-in-alzheimers-disease-dataLaisel Martinez PharmD MS
/faculty/laisel-martinez-pharmd-msDr. Laisel Martinez was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States at the age of 17. She pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences at Florida International University in Miami, Florida,
Kunjan R Dave PhD
/faculty/kunjan-r-dave-phdDr. Dave received his PhD in Biochemistry in 2000 from the M. S. University of Baroda, India. During his PhD training he worked on several research projects including secondary complications of diabet