Crews prepped for vaccines’ arrival

In August 2020, UHealth initiated planning for vaccine distribution by assembling a multidisciplinary COVID-19 vaccine taskforce. Over a 10-day period in December 2020, crews from across the health system worked in concert with construction crews to prepare a temporary structure behind UHealth Tower to ensure the entire vaccination process was safe and efficient. On Dec. 15, the first front-line UHealth employees rolled up their sleeves. By the end of April, UHealth had vaccinated more than 31,000 people with more than 60,000 injections that included first and second doses and the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The process was nimble enough to adapt to ever-changing rules yet smooth and efficient for anyone scheduling and arriving for vaccines. Throughout the vaccination rollout, Dr. Natasa Strbo, assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, continued to work with a North Carolina company called Heat Biologics on a different type of next-generation vaccine. Strbo and her collaborators were busy generating cell lines and testing the vaccine in preclinical models, which have shown it is both safe and effective. The team is now pursuing more sophisticated preclinical studies to pave the way for human trials.

Teams track the disease

Antibody testing has been an ongoing challenge. In response, Dr. David Andrews, associate professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Dr. Stephen Nimer, director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, led a clinical trial to study a new instrument that tests for neutralizing antibodies. “If the FDA approves this device, we’re going to be one of the early adopters,” said Andrews. He and his colleagues in the pathology department are also tracking viral variants. The team is using genomic sequencing to track which variants are present in South Florida and how deeply they have entered the population.

Holograms aid in surgeries

Through a grant from the Plantation-based company Magic Leap, two Miller School of Medicine surgeons and the University of Miami’s Information Technology Innovate Lab created a program that produces 3D holograms of a patient’s spine and brain from MRI images as a tool to improve the efficiency of surgeries. The revolutionary technology, explored by neurosurgeons Timur Urakov and Michael Ivan, uses augmented reality technology—a type of spatial computing—in headsets that allows users to see and interact with virtual objects, like a hologram of a patient’s brain tumor, existing within the physical world.

The program eliminates the need for surgeons to reference a patient’s MRI or CT scans in the operating room or take X-rays throughout the procedure to ensure they are following the unique anatomy of each patient. It also allows doctors to label or highlight parts of the hologram in different colors, which can help them explain their reasoning to patients or students for surgical decisions. Surgeons can also use the software to categorize tissue as healthy, questionable, or tumor-laden and demonstrate to patients exactly what they will be doing in the operating room.

Mobile clinic tackles HIV on the ground

A new, specially designed vehicle—the PrEP Mobile Clinic—is helping the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine enhance its ability to deliver pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication to at-risk communities. Miami has the highest rate of new HIV infections of any city in the country, according to Susanne Doblecki-Lewis, associate professor of clinical medicine in the Miller School’s Division of Infectious Diseases. Her goal is to increase access to PrEP by deploying the mobile clinic to sites across Miami-Dade County.

“It’s more relevant here than anywhere, really, to have effective prevention strategies available and on the table for those who need them,” said Doblecki-Lewis, who recently opened and oversees an on-campus clinic that offers many of the same services without scheduling or geographic restrictions. The two-year-old program’s testing and treatment services are offered at no cost, regardless of insurance status. PrEP treatment is more than 99 percent effective in preventing HIV infection when taken consistently, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1.1 million people in the United States would benefit from PrEP.

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