David Borchelt, a professor of neuroscience affiliated with the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute of UF, emphasized the importance of verifying promising research results before investing in clinical studies or testing potential therapies in people. Bexarotene has known side effects that include effects on the liver, blood and other metabolic systems.

“We wanted to repeat the study to see if we could build on it, and we couldn’t,” he said. “We thought it was important that something like this, which got a lot of publicity and patients were immediately looking to try to get access to this drug, that it was important to publish the fact that we couldn’t reproduce the most exciting part of the study. Maybe there should be some caution going forward in regard to patients.”

Borchelt and Kevin Felsenstein, an associate professor of neuroscience, said a drug called bexarotene that their team orally administered to mice did not reduce amyloid plaques, waxy buildups on the brain that are a key culprit in Alzheimer’s disease. Their findings will be published in the May 24, 2013, issue of the journal Science magazine, with two additional articles detailing similar results from other researchers.

The research follows up on a 2012 Science article that claimed bexarotene had reversed Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in mice afflicted with the plaques. Authors of that study also administered the drug orally.

The paper “indicated that with as little as three days of treatment, they basically cleared the amyloid deposits from these animals, as well as restored cognitive abilities,” Felsenstein said of the 2012 paper.

He said the results of the original study were surprising, given decades of research that had failed to find a therapy successful in dismantling amyloid plaques.

“We can shut down the production of amyloid in these animal models and the deposits in these animal models don’t disappear,” Felsenstein said. “These deposits have been described by some as cement, and it will take a lot to get rid of them. The fact that something could actually make them disappear in literally a couple of days is — again — very remarkable.”

Interested to see how bexarotene might work to break down amyloid plaques, Felsenstein and Borchelt selected mice approximately the same age as those used in the 2012 study and orally administered the drug to the mice. Tests confirmed the drug had reached its target genes in the mice, and that it elevated levels of a protein called apolipoprotein E. Some scientists believe one of the forms of this protein may prevent the buildup of amyloid brain plaques in people who don’t have Alzheimer’s disease.

But elevated levels of the protein in the mice studied by UF researchers seemed to have no effect on the animals’ amyloid plaques. Samples taken after seven days of treatment with bexarotene showed no significant difference in the number or size of plaques in the animals’ brains. Two teams of researchers from other institutions also were unable to replicate the breakdown of amyloid plaques.

Felsenstein emphasized that his team does not claim the previous study indicating bexarotene’s effectiveness is “totally wrong.”

“We’re just saying right now it’s extremely difficult to replicate and there may be little nuances, that there’s something that we don’t quite understand,” he added. Felsenstein and Borchelt both work at UF’s Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease.

The other two research groups who published papers in this week’s journal Science were led by Dr. Bart De Strooper, director of the VIB Center for the Biology of Disease in Belgium, and Sangram S. Sisodia, director of the Center for Molecular Neurobiology at the University of Chicago.

The insecticide would work by interfering with an enzyme found in the nervous systems of mosquitoes and many other organisms, called acetylcholinesterase. Existing insecticides target the enzyme but affect a broad range of species, said entomologist Jeff Bloomquist, a professor in UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute and its Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Acetylcholinesterase helps regulate nervous system activity by stopping electrical signaling in nerve cells. If the enzyme can’t do its job, the mosquito begins convulsing and dies. The research team’s goal is to develop compounds perfectly matched to the acetylcholinesterase molecules in malaria-transmitting mosquitoes, he said.

“A simple analogy would be that we’re trying to make a key that fits perfectly into a lock,” Bloomquist said. “We want to shut down the enzyme, but only in target species.”

Malaria is spread by mosquitoes in the Anopheles genus, notably Anopheles gambiae, native to Africa. The disease is common in poor communities where homes may not have adequate screens to keep flying insects out.

Malaria is caused by microscopic organisms called protists, which are present in the saliva of infected female mosquitoes and transmitted when the mosquitoes bite.

Initial symptoms of the disease can include fever, chills, convulsions, headaches and nausea. In severe cases, malaria can cause kidney failure, coma and death. Worldwide, malaria infected about 219 million people in 2010 and killed about 660,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 90 percent of those infected lived in Africa.

Bloomquist and colleagues at Virginia Tech, where the project is based, are trying to perfect mosquito-specific compounds that can be manufactured on a large scale and applied to mosquito netting and surfaces where the pests might land.

It will take at least four to five years before the team has developed and tested a compound enough that it’s ready to be submitted for federal approval, Bloomquist said.

The team recently published a study in the journal Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology comparing eight experimental compounds with commercially available insecticides that target the enzyme.

Though they were less toxic to mosquitoes than commercial products, the experimental compounds were far more selective, indicating researchers are on the right track, he said.

“The compounds we’re using are not very toxic to honeybees, fish and mammals, but we need to refine them further, make them more toxic to mosquitoes and safer for nontarget organisms,” he said.

In the project, Bloomquist tests experimental compounds on Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, held in a quarantine facility on the UF campus. He worked at Virginia Tech for 20 years and came to UF in 2009. Bloomquist joined the project at the behest of lead investigator Paul Carlier, a professor of organic and medicinal chemistry in Virginia Tech’s College of Science.

Funding for the project came from a five-year, $3.6 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

In Florida, malaria was a significant problem in the early 20th century, transmitted by native Anopheles mosquitoes. The disease has been greatly curtailed via mosquito-control practices but even today, cases are occasionally reported in the Sunshine State.

The Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida will honor Nathaniel Reed, its 2013 Citizen of the Year award winner, and two honorees at 6:30 p.m. June 11 at Shula’s Hotel and Golf Club in Miami Lakes.

The award was established to recognize Florida residents who have made a substantial contribution to enhancing the quality of life for Floridians. An external selection committee of leading citizens, drawn from various backgrounds in Florida, chose the 2013 award winner and honorees. They are:

• Winner: Nathaniel Reed
  vice chairman, Everglades Foundation; vice chairman, Florida Conservation Coalition

  Reed was selected for an impressive and lengthy track record of selfless service at the highest level on issues related to conserving Florida’s precious environmental resources.

  In 1969, Reed was appointed chairman of the department of air and water pollution control and was central to the reversal of two nationally significant cases of environmental deterioration: the signing of the Florida Jetport Pact that halted the construction of an airport close to the Everglades; and the abandonment of the Cross-Florida Barge Canal project. During these Florida years, he was credited with a major role in the purchase of 22 new state parks and wilderness areas, and he chaired hearings to establish air quality regions in the state.

  In 1971, Reed accepted the invitation of President Richard Nixon to become Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and National Parks. He remained in that position through the Gerald Ford administration.

  Reed returned to Florida in 1977 and subsequently served seven governors on a wide range of committees and commissions. He is best known as the highly visible chairman of the Commission on Florida’s Environmental Future that recommended a $3 billion investment in the remaining wild lands in Florida, the most ambitious land acquisition program in U.S. history.

• Honoree: Martha Barnett
  partner, Holland & Knight; past president, American Bar Association
  Barnett was selected as an award honoree for her distinguished legal career and her efforts to protect the legal rights of all Floridians. Considered a groundbreaker for her work championing minorities, Barnett was a member of a pro-bono legal team that for two years negotiated a legislative settlement for survivors of the 1923 Rosewood massacre. Barnett was elected president of the American Bar Association in 2000. She was the second woman to head the ABA in its history and the first to chair its House of Delegates.
• Honoree: Ellen Freidin
  campaign chairwoman, Fair Districts Now and FairDistrictsFlorida.org
  A game changer in Florida’s 2012 elections, Friedin was selected for her distinguished legal career and tireless commitment to electoral fairness. She was campaign chair of the nonprofit and nonpartisan organization Fair Districts Now Inc., the organization behind the successful effort to gather 676,811 signatures for two ballot initiatives — Amendments 5 and 6 — aimed at amending the Florida constitution to require more compact legislative and congressional districts.

As part of the selection, the winner and honorees will be invited to address those attending the June 11 gathering. Michael Putney, senior political reporter for WPLG, Local 10 in Miami, and host of “This Week in South Florida with Michael Putney,” will emcee the program. Gov. Bob Graham will also offer brief remarks on the importance of leadership and civic engagement for our state.

Reception begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:15 p.m. The cost is $250 per person or $2,000 per table of 10. A portion of ticket purchases is tax deductible. All proceeds support the mission of the Bob Graham Center for Public Service.

For more information, contact Sherry Feagle at 352-846-1575. The RSVP deadline is May 31.

The survey of 507 Floridians found that although many see undocumented immigrants as threats to their economic well-being and personal safety, they still had “pockets” of sympathetic views toward those trying to establish themselves as U.S. residents, said Tracy Irani, director of the UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education, or PIE Center, the research group that led the study.

“They definitely have some concerns and some less favorable perceptions about undocumented immigrants, but despite that, still, the majority feels positively about there being some pathway toward citizenship for undocumented immigrants,” Irani said. “To me, that’s the big takeaway.”

Jack Payne, UF’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, said the immigration survey results point out precisely why the university must take a leading role in studying immigration and educating the public about the pros and cons of immigration reform.

“To solve an issue, you must understand that issue,” Payne said. “Immigration is a critical issue for Floridians – it’s affecting agriculture, which is a key economic driver in our state, it affects our public schools, and our health care system … we can’t separate ourselves from it.”

Irani said the study found significant knowledge gaps about current and pending immigration policy.

Among those gaps: Many respondents knew that undocumented immigrants often work in agriculture or outdoor industries, such as construction or roofing, but only 6 percent of respondents knew that many work in the hospitality industry.

About 58 percent of respondents did not know that babies born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants are automatically granted U.S. citizenship.

And more than half of the survey’s respondents were unaware of the E-Verify system being considered as a mandatory check to see if potential employees are authorized to work in the United States, she said.

Seventy-three percent of survey respondents said they believe undocumented immigrants are a burden on the economy more than an asset, and 58 percent of respondents agreed with the statement “undocumented immigrants reduce the number of good jobs for Americans.”

Despite those negative feelings, 85 percent said the government should either allow undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. and eventually become citizens or require them to leave and return and become citizens only if they meet specific requirements. Only 15 percent said they would prefer the government to force undocumented immigrants out of the U.S. permanently.

The survey showed that 44 percent of respondents reported knowing someone who came to the U.S. in the last 10 years, either documented or undocumented. Thirty-nine percent of those said they consider that person a friend.

Survey respondents were asked to assign levels of importance to a number of topics, and immigration was not among their chief concerns. Only 70 percent of respondents reported it as extremely or highly important, dead last behind the economy, health care, water, the federal budget deficit, housing, K-12 education and higher education.

The survey respondents were selected as a demographically representative sample of adult Florida residents. This is the second of four surveys PIE Center officials hope to conduct every year, to track public sentiment over time. Besides immigration, the other topics include water, endangered species, and perceptions about organic and non-organic foods and agricultural practices used to grow them.

The PIE Center will host a webinar on immigration reform and its implication for agriculture on May 28. To register, go to www.piecenter.com/easy-as-pie/. The center also created an immigration webpage: www.piecenter.com/immigration.

Here are specifics:

Friday, May 24

Approximately half of the O’Connell Center west lot (small lot next to McKethan Stadium) will be reserved for convention use.

The O’Connell Center main parking lot and Garage 7, large commuter Lot on Gale Lemerand Drive, law school east/west commuter lots, and Fraternity Row lots will be available for convention attendees and university students, faculty and staff on a first-come first-served basis.

Saturday, Sunday, May 25-26

The entire O’Connell Center north lot and garage will be available for convention attendees and university students, faculty and staff on a first-come first-served basis.

The large commuter lot on Gale Lemerand Drive, law school east/west commuter lots, Fraternity Row lot, engineering complex lot and the UF Bookstore and Welcome Center Garage will be available to convention attendees and university students, faculty and staff on a first-come first-served basis.

UF employees and students are urged to anticipate these impacts and be prepared to seek alternate parking during this event. Visit www.parking.ufl.edu or call 392-PARK for additional campus parking information.

The new “umbrella” term reflects the health system’s strong ties to UF, a key part of what differentiates the academic health center — with its focus on excellence in research, teaching and patient care — from its competitors.

The move to UF Health grew out of extensive research conducted over the past year and represents the next stage in the organization’s evolution as one of the nation’s most successful academic health centers. The rebranding effort will help position the organization more powerfully among peers and competitors as a respected regional and national health care resource, said Dr. David S. Guzick, senior vice president for health affairs and president of UF Health.

Broad name recognition will help attract and retain the most talented physicians, nurses, faculty, staff and students as well as secure research funding. That translates to better care, better health and better outcomes for patients.

“While our overall name is changing, our focus remains the same: to provide high-quality, patient-centered care that leads to outstanding outcomes,” Guzick said. “We will continue to build on the teamwork and collaboration that is the foundation for our strength and success.

“UF Health represents who we are today,” he continued. “As an organization that does everything from leading-edge research to urgent MRIs on people and on horses, it’s essential to unify our teaching, research and clinical care efforts under a single heading.”

The name change does not herald a merger or acquisition between UF and Shands, nor does it alter day-to-day operations. Both are legally separate organizations whose governance and leadership structures remain the same. Employees will continue to be employed either by the university or by
Shands. As UF Health is a collaboration of the UF Health Science Center and Shands, employees will help support the system’s shared vision and goals, which were first outlined three years ago today when the “Forward Together” strategic plan was unveiled.

“The Shands name will continue to be front and center for our hospitals and programs in Gainesville,” said Timothy M. Goldfarb, chief executive officer of Shands HealthCare. “What’s made the Shands name so well-respected is that we are part of the University of Florida. Patients travel hours to seek care here and other quality organizations want to affiliate with us in part because of this academic foundation.”

The system’s hospitals in Gainesville will retain the Shands name paired with UF Health. Examples include UF Health Shands Hospital, UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital and UF Health Shands Rehab Hospital. However, the system’s Jacksonville-based hospital, Shands Jacksonville, will instead adopt a university-centric moniker, although it will remain a separate private hospital corporation working in close collaboration with the university.

“In Jacksonville, our hospital will transition to a new name, UF Health Jacksonville,” said Russ Armistead, chief executive officer for UF Health Jacksonville. “Research conducted in the fall of 2012 indicated that the hospital’s tie to UF has positive brand recognition in the highly competitive Jacksonville market.”

For the most part, the UF health-focused colleges and institutes will retain their current names, such as the UF College of Medicine and the UF Institute on Aging. The exception is the UF Shands Cancer Center, which will evolve to the UF Health Cancer Center. In Gainesville, the faculty group practice, UF Physicians, will change to UF Health Physicians.

“Three years ago, we put together a strategic plan that has helped us work together to better serve our patients and communities,” Guzick said. “The UF Health brand embodies the achievements we have made in that process.”

Now through June 2, state and local law enforcement will show zero tolerance for motorists who fail to use their safety belts. Not wearing a safety belt is a primary traffic violation, which means if you are stopped, you will likely receive a ticket.

“As we kick-off the busy summer driving season it’s important that everyone buckles up every time they go out, both day and night” said UFPD Maj. Brad Barber. “Our officers are prepared to ticket anyone who is not wearing their seat belt – ‘Click It or Ticket.’”

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 52 percent of the 21,253 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2011 were not wearing seat belts. Deaths involving seat belt nonuse are more prevalent at night than during the day. According to NHTSA, 62 percent of the 10,135 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2011 during the overnight hours of 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m. were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.

In 2011, seat belts saved an estimated 11,949 lives nationwide according to NHTSA. While this year’s “Click It or Ticket” enforcement mobilization runs from May 20 through June 2, officers are out enforcing seat belt laws year-round.

“Click It or Ticket” is a cooperative effort of the Florida Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and law enforcement agencies across the state and nation.

For more information go to http://www.police.ufl.edu/.

The North Central Florida Non-Profit Center will hold a summit meeting in Emerson Alumni Hall.

University of Florida students and employees with orange decal holders who normally park in this area may need to seek alternate parking on that date. Additional green/red shared parking available to orange decal holders has been created on the top level of Garage 5 to help alleviate event parking issues at the O’Connell Center area.

For more information on campus parking and transportation, visit www.parking.ufl.edu or call 352-392-PARK.

Categorized into 21 market sectors, Statista.com provides companies, business customers, research institutions and the academic community with direct access to quantitative data on media, business, finance, politics and a wide variety of other areas of interest or markets.

Faculty, students and staff can download graphs, which will be a useful resource for student papers and faculty lectures, as well as a reference tool that indexes, sources and links to original sources of data.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s seemingly endless supply of natural wonders includes insects, spiders and other arthropods that creep, crawl, burrow and fly, and the University of Florida will educate residents about these creatures during Bug Week, a multimedia event May 20-24.

Bug Week includes projects and programs from around campus and showcases the strength of the university’s entomology program, said Ruth Borger, assistant vice president for information and communication services with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

“We have one of the biggest and best entomology departments in the country, and we want people to know about it,” said Borger, who helped organize Bug Week. “With summer approaching and bugs becoming more active, we think this is an ideal time to show how our expertise can help average people understand the bugs they see around their homes, yards and communities.”

Much of Bug Week is geared toward helping residents avoid unpleasant encounters with species that pose a threat to health or property, said Chris Moran, UF director of communications.

“I’m a newly arrived resident myself,” said Moran, who came to UF from Texas this year. “So I can appreciate how people move to Florida, see an unfamiliar bug and wonder ‘Is this a problem?’ We tried to keep that idea in mind when we planned our activities.”

Bug Week includes outreach to local, state and national media, with stories on removing ticks safely, avoiding bed bugs while traveling, preventing bee stings, recognizing signs of Formosan termite colonies and discouraging mosquitoes. Another story focuses on UF/IFAS efforts to study invasive pests that haven’t yet reached Florida but pose a threat.

Those stories are posted on a website, http://bugs.ufl.edu, along with profiles of common Florida bugs, a question-and-answer column on pest management, bug-related news items from around the world, a list of bug resources at UF/IFAS, and even a recipe for those bold enough to try eating bugs. The Twitter hashtag is #UFBugs.

The website will be updated regularly after Bug Week ends, and will include seasonal material and audience-participation features, Borger said.

“The website is beginner-friendly, and it’s meant to be fun and colorful, as well as informative,” she said. “It’s going to be home to some incredible contests and public outreach activities, so we hope that our visitors will check back often.”

One theme running throughout the website: helping users understand the difference between beneficial and harmful bugs. Not every bug that’s ugly or fearsome is harmful, and not every bug that’s attractive is beneficial, said Bug Week technical adviser Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman, an assistant extension scientist with the UF/IFAS entomology department.

“We really want people to come away with the idea that they can live in harmony with bugs in many instances, and that there are environmentally friendly options to discourage bugs that you don’t want around the house,” Gillett-Kaufman said. “We want people to break away from the old thinking that you see a bug and the first thing you do is reach for a can of bug spray.”

Approximately 50 million people in the United States pop a daily aspirin pill to treat or prevent heart disease. Of these, at least half take more than 100 milligrams of the drug — more than one baby aspirin — a day. Although aspirin has been widely used in cardiovascular medicine over the past 20 to 30 years, a review of research papers suggests that the widely used over-the-counter medicine does not benefit everyone to the same degree, report Dr. Ki Park and Dr. Anthony A. Bavry in the May issue of Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine.

“Not all patients with coronary disease are the same,” said Park, a physician in the department of medicine’s division of cardiovascular medicine.

Park and Bavry’s algorithm leads physicians through a series of questions that consider the patient’s age, sex and current health status. The answers help them determine whether the course of care should include aspirin.

“It’s an evolving assessment that should be repeated every few years as conditions change,” Park said.

Most studies on the effects of aspirin therapy in patients who had previous heart attacks have focused on men. While examining the literature, Park and Bavry found that less is known about the effects of aspirin on women, people with diabetes, the elderly and even patients who are at risk of a heart attack but have never had one.

“In this paper we highlight gaps in knowledge where we don’t fully know if aspirin should be used or not,” said Bavry, an assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine. “There’s still room to study its optimal use.”

While people may see aspirin as a harmless drug, taking a daily aspirin does carry some risk of side effects such as gastrointestinal bleeding. Park and Bavry’s review contains an analysis to help physicians determine whether the risks outweigh the benefits.

Their review showed that while aspirin therapy remains a good way to prevent further heart attacks, more is not better. A low-dose aspirin, such as an 81-milligram pill, gives the same amount of protection as a standard dose of 325 milligrams and lowers the risk of bleeding.

But even at a lower dose, the current literature suggests certain patients may not benefit from aspirin therapy. In women, for instance, evidence shows aspirin can help prevent certain types of stroke, but does not appear to prevent heart attacks as effectively as it does in men. On the other hand, women appear to have a lower risk of gastrointestinal bleeding than men do.

Risk factors also change with age and the estimated 10-year risk for heart disease. The rise in use of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins also can affect whether a patient should take aspirin. And aspirin therapy for patients with diabetes, who are automatically considered to be at high risk for cardiovascular disease, remains controversial.

“A lot goes in to estimating a patient’s risk,” Bavry said.

Leslie Parker, an assistant professor of nursing, will lead a four-year study to examine whether the customary clinical practice of assessing the amount of residual gastric contents in an infant’s stomach actually improves care or whether it can cause harm. Residual gastric contents are the volume of fluid remaining in the stomach after a feeding.

“Research has never evaluated whether this widely accepted clinical practice is beneficial to these very low birth weight infants and whether it can actually cause real harm to infants,” Parker said. “We hope this study can assess the risks and benefits of this practice and whether alternate methods can improve care.”

Approximately 63,000 very low birth weight infants born in the United States annually are too immature to coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing, thus requiring the use of feedings through tubes inserted orally or through the nose traveling down the esophagus into the stomach. The customary clinical practice when tube-feeding is to determine if any breast milk or formula remains in the stomach by removing residual gastric contents through a tube into a syringe prior to each feeding.

Traditionally, the presence of a large volume of fluid left in the stomach after a feeding is thought to be due to feeding intolerance or an early symptom of necrotizing enterocolitis — a serious complication in premature infants often leading to the death of intestinal tissue.

Future nutritional decisions are based on the volume or color of the fluid removed from the stomach. If the aspiration and assessment finds a large volume of fluid, it is common to omit a feeding or not increase the amount of milk delivered to the infant and to supplement with nutrition delivered intravenously, which can be associated with serious complications.

Parker and her research team will study two groups of very low birth weight infants in the neonatal intensive care unit at Shands at the University of Florida. One group will receive routine care. This includes assessment of residual gastric contents, monitoring for vomiting, measuring the size of the abdomen and assessing for bloody stools. The second group will not receive routine removal of residual gastric contents but will be assessed by the other routine methods of care.

Parker will evaluate the nutritional and gastrointestinal outcomes of both groups of infants to assess the risks and benefits of aspiration. All of the infants will receive breast milk from either their mothers or donors.

“It is our hope that the results of our study can have translational impact to evidence-based practice for patients,” Parker said. “I hope that my program of research can improve short- and long-term health outcomes for very low birth weight infants by improving their nutritional status and decreasing complications due to prematurity.”

The 2013 International K-12 Teacher of the Year Award winner is Donald DeVito from Sidney Lanier Center School. In second and third place are Maria Eugenia Zelaya from Eastside High School and Judith Weaver from High Springs Community School. Robert Ponzio from Oak Hall School receives an honorable mention.

The awards committee looked at the extent to which the applicant’s teaching activities promote internationalization and opportunities for students to become interested in international issues through activities.

The Sidney Lanier Music Program, where DeVito teaches music and special education, is global in scope and is linked with universities and music programs internationally through research, cooperative music projects and professional music education organizations. Examples include projects in Haiti, Pakistan, Guinea, England, Ireland and Brazil in which his students either receive adapted music education activities with universities in these countries or engage with other students and children in creating music and sharing curriculum using Skype and interaction through the International Society for Music Education. DeVito has spearheaded projects that have provided aid and education to international populations.

Zelaya teaches Spanish at Eastside, where she uses computer games and programs for activities to help students master the language, and she incorporates instruction in Latin American culture, as well. In addition to her teaching duties, she sponsors several clubs, including the Spanish club, Eastside Striders and Conferencia, which received first place in a state competition. Maria is also a member of the teaching staff of College for Kids. College for Kids is a summer program for middle school students organized by Community Education at Santa Fe College.

Weaver is the media specialist for middle grades. She recently spearheaded a unit of study centered on the book “A Long Walk to Water,” by Linda Sue Parks. More than 400 students in grades 4-8 read how children in Africa walk for sometimes six hours per day to obtain water. As a culminating activity, on World Water Day, students participated in a rotation of speakers who taught about topics such as water scarcity, groundwater pollution, village life in Sudan and Tanzania, invasive and native species, global warming, water filtration systems and other topics.

Ponzio is the chair of Fine Arts at Oak Hall School, director of the Cofrin Gallery and an internationally exhibiting artist. He and his principal worked together to solidify a partnership school agreement with an excellent secondary school in Changzhou, China. Ponzio was one of the driving forces behind the venture and that they are now in the sixth year of the partnership.

The awards were given on Wednesday, May 8 at the UF International Center during a reception honoring the awardees along with school representatives, family and friends. Finalists and their corresponding schools will receive a monetary award.