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Scripps Florida, University Of Florida In Talks To Merge Biomedical Research Operations

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Scripps Research is in talks to merge its Jupiter-based biomedical operation with the University of Florida‘s academic health center’s research division in a relationship that pairs private and public institutions.

In 2003, Scripps expanded to Florida on a 30-acre campus adjacent to Florida Atlantic University. Officials said Thursday this merger will spur cooperation with other institutions in Florida, including FAU.

Florida paid Scripps $310 million to open a Florida lab in an effort to entice biotech firms to the state, and Palm Beach County added $269 million.

Then Gov. Jeb Bush had envisioned 50,000 jobs in 15 years. Though the goal has not been met, Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience later came to Jupiter. Scripps has grown to 40 faculty-led laboratories supported by a 500-member team, achieving the promising of that many jobs.

In addition, Palm Beach County bought 70 acres of vacant land for $70 million across from Scripps in Palm Beach Gardens with an intention of developing a “biotech village.” Scripps has been leasing the land, known as the Briger tract, for $1 per year and an option to have the deed transferred to the biotech company. The property hasn’t been developed and other portions of the Briger property have been sold for commercial and resident development, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Officials predict the University of Florida-Scripps relationship will generate additional jobs in expanding economic development.

“Our shared vision for propelling biomedical research forward is based on the great mutual respect our two institutions have for each other,” said Dr. Peter Schultz, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Scripps Research based in La Jolla, California.

 

“UF is an outstanding partner for Scripps Florida — the two institutions have complementary basic and translational research capabilities and strengths which, when combined, will enhance their collective reputation and impact on Florida,” Schultz added. “We have built an outstanding research institute in Scripps Florida with generous support from the state and from local communities and we believe it will have its biggest impact on Florida and greatest opportunity for further growth as part of UF, one of the country’s leading research and educational institutions.”

Shared research could potentially include cancer, drug discovery, immunology and infectious disease, neuroscience, including Alzheimer’s disease and other aging-related disorders, as well as and structural biology and molecular medicine.

UF has spent $942 million in research expenditures during the past fiscal year, including $143 million in National Institute of Health grants, which is tops in the state. Scripps has received $33 million from NIH.

UF already has research collaborations with Scripps.

The agreement will build on that relationship by capitalizing on each of their strengths, said Dr. David R. Nelson, M.D., senior vice president for health affairs at UF and president of UF Health, the university’s academic health center.

UF and Scripps Research plan to name Patrick Griffin, Ph.D., to lead the joint operation. Griffin is now chairman of the department of molecular medicine at Scripps Florida and directs its Translational Research Institute.

“Our shared vision focuses on improving the health of humanity and developing innovations to optimize quality of life,” Nelson said. “With this venture, we will both be positioned to take medical research to the next level in a way that is win-win for the people of Florida and beyond.”

University of Florida President Kent Fuchs said this relationship can spur relationships with other state university-system institutions, including FAU and Florida International.

“This would be the next logical step, adding to the impact Scripps Research has already made in Florida,” Fuchs said. “They have been great stewards of the state’s investment in biotech, and we look forward to partnering on this next phase to add value and grow additional research and tech collaborations.”

 

“This news is welcome because it aligns with the commitment of Florida’s public universities to work together for the greater good. FAU is looking forward to expanding on our existing collaborations with UF and Scripps Florida by identifying educational and research opportunities that leverage our shared strengths,” FAU president John Kelly, Ph.D., said. “These include exploring common interests in areas like autism, neuroscience, molecular biology and data science to advance medicine.”

The University of Florida has collaborated with FAU and other universities on the 1Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

In 2020, 1Florida ADRC received a five-year $15 million NIH grant to expand its work with a heightened focus on further understanding dementias in diverse populations.

The University of Florida and FAU also have collaborated on the NIH-funded National Drug Early Warning System coordinating center to identify emerging drug abuse trends.

Scripps announced in March one of its researchers, Dr. Michael Farzan, was in the process of developing a COVID-19 vaccine that is broken down to powder, shipped to delivery sites without refrigeration and mixed with water before injecting individuals.

Farzan is the chairman of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the Scripps Research Institute.

 

Source:  WPTV

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University Of Florida Health Continues Expansion Into Northeast Florida

UF Health North nearly doubled the size of its campus with the opening of its new 168,000-square-foot bed tower last May. The latest addition to the North Jacksonville medical campus on Max Leggett Parkway, just a few miles from Jacksonville International Airport, is the 92-bed hospital with all-private patient rooms on four floors of the fivestory building.
The second floor has 20 beds for women’s services, including 12 large delivery suites that serve as the location for labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum care — allowing mothers, babies and loved ones to stay in one room until discharge. A 24-bed intensive care unit is located on the third floor, and the fourth and fifth floors each have 24 medical and surgical suites.
The $85 million expansion, along with the existing medical office complex, provides residents in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia greater access to much-needed health care services.

“The success of UF Health North and the enthusiasm that the community has shown have exceeded even our highest expectations,” said Leon L. Haley Jr., MD, MHSA, CPE, FACEP, chief executive officer of UF Health Jacksonville and dean of the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville. “We knew that this rapidly growing area of Jacksonville needed a health care facility of its own, a place that offers the very best possible medical care, and we’re incredibly proud of the way we have been accepted.”

UF Health North opened its medical office building in February 2015. The six-story building includes a full-service 24/7 emergency room, outpatient surgery suites, imaging and other diagnostic services, a midwife-led birth center and four floors of physician offices. The operation has already earned a 5-star rating for patient satisfaction in emergency room and outpatient surgery care by Professional Research Consultants, a national health care research group.

“It’s not just our physicians and other medical providers who make this campus special. It’s the incredible attitude and compassion that everyone who works here brings every day, recognizing that patients are at the heart of everything we do,” said Wayne Marshall, vice president of UF Health North. “This is an incredible resource. I couldn’t be more excited for this community and for the future of our organization.”

University of Florida Health Science Center’s Jacksonville Campus

Just north of Downtown Jacksonville lies the regional campus of the University of Florida — the UF Health Science Center Jacksonville. Its facilities intertwined within UF Health Jacksonville’s hospital and outpatient buildings, the Health Science Center includes the UF colleges of Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. Similar to its sibling campus in Gainesville, the Health Science Center in Jacksonville also includes a full UF library, dedicated clinical research facilities and a medical simulation laboratory.
About 450 faculty members and 16 clinical departments comprise the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville. More than 370 UF medical residents and fellows train in Jacksonville in one of 44 medical specialty or subspecialty programs. Residencies and fellowships are the final stages of a physician’s training before going into practice.
In addition, third- and fourth-year medical students from UF’s main campus in Gainesville complete rotations at UF Health facilities in Jacksonville. Under the supervision of a physician, this allows medical students to have hands-on training in the fundamentals of patient care through multiple medical specialties, helping students select their future fields of practice.

RESEARCH

In addition to patient care and education, research is the third pillar of academic medicine. Physicians and residents at the UF Health Science Center Jacksonville have completed more than 550 clinical research studies, with community-based, patient-centered projects often a major focus. The campus received $21.5 million in research funding in 2016, with 72 percent of that money from federal sources like the National Institutes of Health. Over the past four years, total external funding has increased by 40 percent.

COLLEGE OF NURSING

The Jacksonville campus of the UF College of Nursing offers an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing for people who already hold a bachelor’s degree in another field. While the college has Jacksonville faculty, it also employs modern communications technology to offer interactive teleconferenced seminars from the Gainesville campus. Differentiating the college from other nursing schools in the area, UF nursing students regularly work alongside pharmacy students and medical residents in simulation scenarios aimed at optimizing patient outcomes by improving communication and interprofessional teamwork skills.

COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

The UF College of Pharmacy is ranked as the No. 1 pharmacy college in the state by U.S. News & World Report. The college features preeminent researchers who are leading major medical breakthroughs in areas such as drug discovery and development, pharmacometrics and systems pharmacology, and precision medicine.
In 2017, the college welcomed 271 students into the professional PharmD program. Of that group, 51 enrolled at the Jacksonville campus. Students enjoy small class sizes that allow them to build quality relationships with professors and classmates, as well as take advantage of leadership opportunities.

“We are fortunate to have renowned faculty physicians and research experts among the hundreds of dedicated personnel on our campus,” said Leon L. Haley Jr., MD, MHSA, CPE, FACEP, dean of the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville. “While providing exceptional patient care and forging new discovery, they help ensure our trainees and students receive all the support and resources they need and ultimately have an educational experience that is second to none.”

Source: Florida Trend
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