Congratulations to Dr. Holger Russ, an Associate Professor, for being awarded a grant for his research "Evaluate functionality of stem cell-derived thymic cells (STC) and optimize the differentiation protocol and methods for preservation of STCs" sponsored by Tolerance Bio. 

Another congratulations to Dr. Holger Russ for receiving a grant from the National Institute of Health for his research "Targeting PD-L1 interactome signaling to enhance immunotherapy efficacy in head and neck squamous cell cancer" as well as another grant for his research "Islet-specific CD8 T cells in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes". 

Congratulations to Dr. Jessie Barra for being awarded the Pathway to Stop Diabetes 2025 Initiator Award from the American Diabetes Association for her research "Immune Modeling and Intervention in Type 1 Diabetes Using Engineered Stem Cell-Derived β-Cells".

Congratulations Dr. Qingchen Yuan for being awarded the Graduate Award from the American Society of Hematology for his research, "Clonal hematopoiesis-associated loss of DNMT3A regulates immune training-to-tolerance switch in macrophages". 

Congratulations Dr. Matt Lee for being awarded a grant from The French Muscular Dystrophy Association (AFM) for his research "Contribution of impaired and maladaptive motor innervation of muscle fibers."

Congratulations to Dr Gemma Casadesus and Dr. Jeffery Harrison for receiving a grant from the National Institute of Health for the research "Evaluation of the neuroimmune mechanisms influencing therapeutic targeting potential of the LH/CG receptor in the menopausal and AD brain."

The University of Florida has introduced a new standardized email signature to help keep communications clear, professional, and on-brand. If you would like to check it out, please use the email signature generator below. 

If you have or are wanting volunteers in your lab, please remember to have them fill out our Research Volunteer Request form. This includes undergraduate volunteers as well. 

The University of Florida announced the micro quote threshold will increase from $10,000 to $15,000 beginning January 1, 2026. For purchase below $15,00, it shall be the Procurement Agent's discretion whether quotes are needed. Quotations are encouraged whenever possible. Purchases between $15,000-$149,999 will require written quotes from three or more vendors or a written justification on why quotations were not obtained. For orders $150,000 and above, formal competitive bids (ITB/ITN) are required for all purchases. 

The University of Florida announced that starting January 2026, past due notices will be sent weekly to PCard holder and UF GO users with PCard and Air Card transactions 30 days or more from the posted date (non-travel) or travel end date (travel). Past transactions will need to be processed by the end of the notification week to avoid the suspension of the associated PCard.