NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA GRAND ROUNDS

BY MICHELLE KOIDIN JAFFEE

University of Florida neuroscientist Jennifer Bizon, PhD, an expert in brain aging, has been named chair of the UF College of Medicine’s department of neuroscience.

Bizon, who has served as interim chair of the department since April 2020, succeeds longtime chair Lucia Notterpek, PhD, who is now associate dean for biomedical research at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine.

With an annual grant portfolio of over $21 million, UF’s department of neuroscience is ranked No. 5 nationally in funding from the National Institutes of Health.

“It is a true privilege to have the opportunity to lead such a talented group of faculty and students who demonstrate a clear passion for scientific discovery and quality education. I look forward to facilitating department collaborations and programmatic efforts with colleagues across our academic health center,” said Bizon, who also serves as a professor of neuroscience and co-director of UF’s Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory Clinical Translational Research, or CAM Center. “Embracing the concept of inclusive excellence, our department will further continue its efforts to recruit and advance an increasingly diverse community of neuroscientists.”

Over the last 10 years, the department has greatly expanded its national visibility and scientific impact, said Colleen Koch, MD, MS, MBA, dean of the UF College of Medicine.

“With Dr. Bizon’s leadership and through collaborations with others in UF’s neuroscience community, including the McKnight Brain Institute and the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at UF Health, the department of neuroscience has the momentum to lead the state and nation in discovery-based research and to expand educational opportunities in the neurosciences for students and trainees at all academic levels,” Koch said.

A native of Burlington, North Carolina, Bizon earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a doctorate in neurobiology and behavior at the University of California, Irvine. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the department of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University.

Prior to her arrival at UF, Bizon spent seven years as a psychology professor at Texas A&M University, where she was vice chair of the Neuroscience Executive Committee. She was recruited to UF as part of an initiative to expand the university’s research in cognitive aging, Jennifer Bizon, PhD, reviews images with colleagues

supported by the McKnight Brain Research Foundation.

Bizon is a National Institute on Aging-funded principal investigator who studies brain aging and its implications for cognitive function, with a long-term goal of identifying strategies and interventions to promote cognitive resilience at advanced ages. She has published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles and been named both a UF Term Professor and a UF Research Foundation Professor.

Orlando Health Acquires FHV Health

Effective April 12, 2021, Orlando Health completed its acquisition of FHV Health, a multi-specialty group with locations throughout Lake, Sumter and Marion Counties. FHV Health consists of 19 physicians and 10 locations including primary care, cardiology practices and urgent care facilities.

“FHV Health has provided its patients with access to distinguished physicians and providers for more than two decades,” said David Strong, Orlando Health president and chief executive officer. “We’re honored to continue that legacy while also bringing to this community the highest quality of patient care for which Orlando Health team members and physicians are recognized.”

“We are excited to join the Orlando Health family, which has a strong history of providing exceptional care to the communities it serves,” said Jose R. Rosado, MD, vice chairman of FHV Health. “Joining Orlando Health allows us to further advance our ability to provide innovative and quality services.”

Founded almost 25 years ago, FHV Health brings together specialists in vascular surgery, primary care and cardiology to detect diseases earlier and treat them more effectively. The practice has provided access to world-renowned medical innovation and nationally recognized heart and vascular experts. FHV Health cardiologists were the first to bring procedures like cardiac catheterizations, coronary stenting as a superior alternative to traditional “clot-buster” therapy, and minimally invasive abdominal aortic aneurysm repair to the area, increasing patient options for lifesaving and diagnostic procedures.

“The mission of FHV Health has always been to bring together the talents and expertise of leading physicians to our patients and this alignment with Orlando Health does just that,” said David C. Lew, MD, chairman of FHV Health. “We’re looking forward to increasing the positive health impacts we can make in our communities as we look to the future.”

DOH-Marion Issues Rabies Alert After Cat in Zuber-Area Tests Positive

The Florida Department of Health in Marion County has issued a rabies alert after a cat in the Zuber area tested positive for rabies. People who live or work in the Zuber area, particularly those who live south of West Highway 326, west of Northwest 44th Avenue, north of Northwest 53rd Street and east of Northwest Highway 225A, should maintain a heightened awareness that rabies is active in the area.

An animal with rabies could infect other animals that have not received a rabies vaccination. Domestic animals are at risk if they are not vaccinated; rabies is always a danger in wild animal populations.

Rabies is a disease of the nervous system and is fatal to humans and warm-blooded animals. The only treatment for human exposure to rabies is rabies-specific immune globulin and rabies immunization. Appropriate treatment started soon after the exposure will protect an exposed person from the disease.

For more information on rabies, visit www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/rabies.