Shaping the future of health
The Morsani College of Medicine has active research programs in basic, translational, and clinical sciences. Research is carried out in Departments, Institutes, Centers and at our Veterans Hospitals and our primary teaching facility, Tampa General Hospital. In addition, there are rich collaborations with the Colleges of Public Health, Nursing and Pharmacy as well as the USF College of Arts and Sciences.
Our goal is to pursue new knowledge in the biomedical sciences, clinical sciences, and healthcare delivery, relevant to human health and disease. Please explore our research initiatives using the tabs above. The resources tab provides information for current faculty to facilitate research efforts.
Laura M. Bohn, PhD
Senior Associate Vice President of Research, USF Health
Vice Dean for Research, Morsani College of Medicine
Professor, Molecular Pharmacology & Physiology
Email: lbohn@usf.edu
Research Day
Celebrating health science research
Despite their different questions and disciplines, they shared a common goal: advancing the science that shapes how people live and receive care.
Those conversations, and hundreds more like them, filled the USF Marshall Student Center during the 36th annual USF Health Research Day, the university’s largest celebration of health sciences research.
Read more about USF Health Research Day 2026.
Health Science Innovation
When Nausea and Vomiting Are Something Else Entirely, It's Not Gastroparesis: A Report of Two Cases
Gastroparesis, a chronic motility disorder, is a diagnosis of exclusion that necessitates careful evaluation for structural and surgically correctable causes. Although the medical differential diagnosis emphasizes functional etiologies, anatomic abnormalities are often under-recognized despite guideline recommendations for thorough endoscopic and structural assessment. Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, early satiety, and delayed gastric emptying may be indistinguishable from true motility...
Clinicians' self-reported HPV vaccination recommendations for sexual and gender minority patients
CONCLUSIONS: In summary, participants generally reported high likelihood of recommending the HPV vaccine, with recommendations differing very little by patient sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Evidence-based, cost-effective management of gastric outlet obstruction: An algorithm of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Emergency General Surgery Algorithms Work Group
Gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) can result from several etiologies. GOO due to peptic ulcer disease occurs in fewer than 5% of all patients with complicated duodenal ulcers and in <1% to 2% of those with gastric ulcers. Malignant disease is now a more common etiology. Patients with GOO present with severe vomiting, abdominal pain, severe dehydration, and electrolyte derangement requiring resuscitation. The initial imaging evaluation is a computed tomography scan with po contrast, which will...
Prenatal Phenotypic Features of Five Fetal Cases With RNU4ATAC-Associated Microcephalic Osteodysplastic Primordial Dwarfism Type I
CONCLUSION: IUGR, microcephaly and ACC can be detected in fetuses with MOPD1 at around 18 weeks of gestation. Interestingly, skeletal dysplasia was not a consistent prenatal finding. Variants in the non-coding RNU4ATAC gene need to be detected by GS or targeted approaches beyond standard ES.
USF researchers develop AI system that predicts ACL injuries before they happen
USF researchers are developing an AI-powered wearable that uses machine learning and real-time feedback to help identify risky movements and reduce the risk of ACL injuries before they occur.
USF researchers develop AI system that predicts ACL injuries before they happen
Can dry needling relieve multiple sclerosis pain? USF Health researchers are testing it
USF Health researchers are studying whether dry needling can safely reduce chronic leg pain and improve mobility in people with multiple sclerosis. Led by Amir Tabatabaei and the USF Health School of Physical Therapy, the study hopes to validate a new approach to managing one of the disease’s most common and disruptive symptoms.
Can dry needling relieve multiple sclerosis pain? USF Health researchers are testing it
Over 100 USF Health physicians recognized among Tampa Bay’s Top Doctors for 2026
Tampa Magazine's 2026 Top Doctors list is out, and more than 100 USF Health physicians earned spots across 55+ medical specialties.