UF Health: Shaping the Future of Healthcare

Gainesville is known around the nation and the world for many things. Now, artificial intelligence prowess is on that list. A $100 million private-public partnership between the University of Florida Health and NVIDIA, a multinational technology company, has already resulted in UF assembling the most powerful AI supercomputer in higher education. In April 2021, that partnership produced a notable accomplishment: GatorTron™, an artificial intelligence natural language processing model that accelerates research and medical decision-making by extracting insights from massive volumes of clinical data with unprecedented speed and clarity. Until now, much of the medical information that is valuable to researchers and physicians has been buried deep in the full-text notes of patient records. Accessing that information is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

By training GatorTron™ to understand the language of these records and recognize complex medical terms, UF Health researchers and NVIDIA developers created a way to unlock that information quickly and easily. Researchers expect to use GatorTron™ to speed up the development of medical applications and doctors will deploy it for clinical decision support, UF Health officials said. GatorTron™ is just one way the artificial intelligence and machine learning, a branch of AI, are being used throughout campus. UF students from any major can now pursue a certificate in AI Fundamentals and Applications, which teaches them the basics of artificial intelligence. Students get the opportunity to learn fundamentals of artificial intelligence, its applications to real-world problems in various disciplines, and ethical and professional responsibilities of these technologies.

Elsewhere on campus, researchers from the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering are testing ways to use AI to reduce food waste. Ultimately, they hope to find a more precise way to test food freshness that will benefit farmers and consumers alike. At UF Health, researchers recently used machine learning to identify specific strains of gut microbiota that can lead to a combination of depression and hypertension. UF is also spurring innovation with its Artificial Intelligence Research Catalyst Fund. In late 2020, $1 million was used to fund 20 grants aimed at developing AI solutions for health, agriculture, engineering and educational challenges. They include using AI to identify biomarkers that will facilitate early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Another project involves using machine learning to track past and present land use patterns in Florida to simulate future impacts of anticipated changes in land development.

AI is even being used to pack more flavor into fruit: A computer can now tell UF scientists what strawberries taste and smell like — and therefore, whether a variety is worth more genetic breeding efforts. From improving lifesaving medical diagnosis to identifying counterfeit computer chips, AI research at UF is blazing a path toward unprecedented innovation and a better quality of life for people in Florida and across the planet.

Community Benefit & Charity Care

UF Health proactively reaches out beyond the walls of our hospitals and clinical practices to share valuable health information with area residents. We offer health education programs and events and also partner in community efforts. We support civic, social and cultural programs to raise awareness of health issues and promote wellness. We bring UF Health physicians, dentists, nurses and other providers and experts into the community to speak about specific health and wellness topics at seminars, and to offer disease-prevention information and screenings at community health fairs and other outreach events. Additionally, a host of webinars are now offered on various health topics.

Our commitment as a responsible, accountable steward of our resources is the cornerstone of UF Health’s not-for-profit mission. In fiscal year 2020, UF Health spent $164.8 million on unsponsored charity care (at cost) and social responsibility efforts across its Gainesville, Jacksonville and Central Florida campuses. Additionally, UF Health Shands and UF Health Central Florida reported a Medicaid shortfall totaling $68.5 million.All of UF Health’s outreach initiatives are aligned with our goal to create the healthiest generation, but we can’t accomplish that just from within our hospitals and clinical practices. There are many out there who don’t have access to our services, so we must mobilize our efforts to improve their quality of life. Our surrounding communities need us, and we will deliver.

Colleges: Training Tomorrow’s Health Care Providers

From the time of the academic health center’s founding in 1956, we have operated as a single academic enterprise dedicated to training a variety of professionals and to introducing knowledge that will safeguard the health of Florida’s citizens.

UF College of Dentistry

The only state-supported dental school in Florida, the college offers advanced education programs in endodontics, esthetics, general dentistry, oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics and dental public health.

UF College of Medicine

U.S. News & World Report ranked the college No. 15 nationally for research among public institutions and No. 36 among all medical schools. The college comprises 28 research-oriented and clinical science departments, the School of Physician Assistant Studies and a graduate training program in biomedical sciences leading to master’s and doctorate degrees as well as a combined M.D./Ph.D. training program.

UF College of Nursing

The premier educational institution for nursing in Florida, the college offers B.S.N., D.N.P. and Ph.D. degrees. The B.S.N. program has three tracks: the traditional B.S.N., the Accelerated B.S.N. for students who have degrees in other fields, and the R.N. to B.S.N. program, which is fully online. U.S. News & World Report ranks the Doctor of Nursing Practice program No. 24 among public programs nationally and No. 36 among all institutions.

UF College of Pharmacy

Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the No. 5 pharmacy college nationally, the UF College of Pharmacy develops future leaders in pharmacy practice and science. The college ranks No. 3 nationally in NIH research funding and features preeminent researchers who are leading major medical breakthroughs in areas such as drug discovery and development, drug safety and precision medicine.

UF College of Public Health and Professions

The college is ranked No. 9 in National Institutes of Health research funding among schools of public health at public universities. Across its eight departments — biostatistics; clinical and health psychology; environmental and global health; epidemiology; health services research, management and policy; occupational therapy; physical therapy; and speech, language, and hearing sciences — the college offers two bachelor’s, seven master’s, eight Ph.D. and three professional programs to more than 2,500 students.

UF College of Veterinary Medicine

The UF College of Veterinary Medicine, ranked 9th in the nation among veterinary colleges by U.S. News & World Report, is Florida’s only veterinary medical college. The college offers programs in shelter medicine, aquatic animal health, infectious disease and physiological science research aimed at enhancing animal, human and ecosystem health. The UF Veterinary Hospitals treat tens of thousands of small and large animals each year.