Goal #3: Address health needs of populations

Andrea Ford, Ph.D., a speech-language pathologist and assistant professor in the University of Cincinnati (UC) Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, has been awarded a four-year, $765,000 K23 grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Dr. Ford marks the first UC College of Allied Health Sciences NIH K grant recipient.&nbsp;Ford’s research focuses on supporting the language and communication development of preschoolers with autism by adapting the Extensions of Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) model, a technology-driven framework commonly used in health care. The model amplifies best practices through case-based problem-solving and ongoing mentoring. &nbsp;“About 75% of preschoolers with autism experience a language delay,” Ford said. “By working directly with educators and caregivers, we can expand access to evidence-based interventions that foster meaningful communication.”One of Ford’s mentors is Jareen Meinzen-Derr, Ph.D., who said communication is a fundamental human connection that’s often taken for granted. &nbsp;“Through this work, Dr. Ford is not only equipping educators with tools to bridge the communication divide between their students and the world, she is also applying a methodology that supports broad, scalable implementation. This effort will empower educators and their students to thrive,” said Meinzen-Derr, a professor in UC’s College of Medicine and a Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center researcher.

Cincinnati Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training

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University of Cincinnati

Andrea Ford, Ph.D., a speech-language pathologist and assistant professor in the University of Cincinnati (UC) Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, has been awarded a four-year, $765,000 K23 grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Dr. Ford marks the first UC College of Allied Health Sciences NIH K grant recipient.&nbsp;Dr. Ford’s research focuses on collaborating with educators and caregivers to increase access to evidence-based communication interventions for preschool children with autism.&nbsp;Throughout the submission of her K23, Dr. Ford received CCTST mentorship, qualitative methods and dissemination and implementation support. Her K23 mentorship team includes those from the CCTST leadership team, Jareen Meinzen-Derr, Ph.D., CCTST co-director, and Brittany Rosen, Ph.D., CCTST director of evaluation and dissemination and implementation. In addition to continuing to receive mentorship guidance, she will also receive support through the CCTST BERD program.&nbsp;For more information about Dr. Ford’s research and her K23 award, please visit the article <a href="https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2025/09/uc-researcher-receives-allied-healths-first-nih-k-grant.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">posted by UC News</a>.

University of Cincinnati Speech-Language Pathologist Receives CCTST Support for Successful K23 Award 

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Gainesville, Fla. — Ninety-three percent of patients with a new cancer diagnosis were exposed to at least one type of misinformation about cancer treatments, a UF Health Cancer Center study has found.Most patients encountered the misinformation — defined as unproven or disproven cancer treatments and myths or misconceptions — even when they weren’t looking for it.The findings have major implications for cancer treatment decision-making. Specifically, doctors should assume the patient has seen or heard misinformation.“Clinicians should assume when their patients are coming to them for a treatment discussion that they have been exposed to different types of information about cancer treatment, whether or not they went online and looked it up themselves,” said senior author Carma Bylund, Ph.D., a professor and associate chair of education in the UF Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics. “One way or another, people are being exposed to a lot of misinformation.”Working with oncologists, Bylund and study first author Naomi Parker, Ph.D., an assistant scientist in the UF Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics, are piloting an “information prescription” to steer patients to sources of evidence-based information like the American Cancer Society. The study paves the way for other similar strategies.Most notably, the study found the most common way patients were exposed to misinformation was second hand.“Your algorithms pick up on your diagnosis, your friends and family pick up on it, and then you’re on Facebook and you become exposed to this media,” Parker said. “You’re not necessarily seeking out if vitamin C may be a cure for cancer, but you start being fed that content.”And no, vitamin C does not cure cancer.Health misinformation can prevent people from getting treatment that has evidence behind it, negatively affect relationships between patients and physicians, and increase the risk of death, research has shown. People with cancer are particularly vulnerable to misinformation because of the anxiety and fear that comes with a serious diagnosis, not to mention the overwhelming amount of new information they have to suddenly absorb.While past research has studied misinformation by going directly to the source — for instance, studying what percentage of content on a platform like TikTok is nonsense — little research has looked at its prevalence or how it affects people.The team first developed a way to identify the percentage of cancer patients exposed to misinformation. UF researchers collaborated with Skyler Johnson, M.D., at Huntsman Cancer Institute, an internationally known researcher in the field.The survey questions were based on five categories of unproven or disproven cancer treatments — vitamins and minerals, herbs and supplements, special diets, mind-body interventions and miscellaneous treatments — and treatment misconceptions. The myths and misconceptions were adapted from National Cancer Institute materials and included statements like “Will eating sugar make my cancer worse?”The team surveyed 110 UF Health patients diagnosed with prostate, breast, colorectal or lung cancer within the past six months, a time when patients typically make initial treatment decisions.Most had heard of a potential cancer treatment beyond the standard of care, and most reported they had heard of at least one myth or misconception. The most common sources were close friends or family and websites, distant friends/associates or relatives, social media and news media.The findings mark a shift in misinformation research, with major implications for the doctor-patient relationship, said Bylund, a member of the Cancer Control and Population Sciences research program at the UF Health Cancer Center.“I still think media and the internet are the source and why misinformation can spread so rapidly, but it might come to a cancer patient interpersonally, from family or friends,” she said.Most patients rarely discussed the potential cancer treatments they had heard about with an oncologist, the study also found.Next, the researchers plan to survey a wider pool of patients, then study the outcomes of interventions designed to decrease misinformation exposure, like the information prescription.

University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute

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University of Florida

Did you know nearly every newly diagnosed cancer patient encounters false or misleading information about treatments, even if they are not searching for it? A UF Health Cancer Center study uncovers how pervasive cancer treatment myths are and why doctors must address them proactively. Read the full article to see how UF researchers are tackling this challenge with new strategies to help patients access reliable, evidence-based information when it matters most.

Study Finds Most Cancer Patients Exposed to Misinformation; UF Researchers Pilot 'Information Prescription'

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Although survey studies indicate that quitting smoking may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease—a leading cause of disability and expense—randomized cessation interventions have not been examined for long-term effects on brain health. Building on two successful University of Kansas (KU) Medical Center-affiliated trials (Quit2Live and Kick It at Swope), Jaime Perales Puchalt, Ph.D., and Laura Martin, Ph.D., and their team will investigate the feasibility of reaching out to former participants and collecting data on dementia years later.&nbsp;Many of the approximately 1,000 adults who were enrolled in those trials agreed to future contact, and the group was representative of smokers in the United States. In one trial, counseling and varenicline were randomized against counseling and a placebo; in the other, counseling and varenicline were single-arm, and the intervention condition had higher quit rates.For the Lauren S. Aaronson Pilot Award, Perales and Martin spotted an opportunity to bridge established cessation cohorts and Alzheimer’s prevention questions. If feasible, the model generalizes that any group with a past trial and consent could test similar re-contact and assessment strategies, accelerating the field while keeping costs realistic.First, they will do a feasibility check, calling approximately 50 previous participants for a follow up, verify contact rates, and inquire about their willingness to participate in an Alzheimer's or brain health study, including any perceived obstacles or enablers to particular study elements. Next, they will ask 10 respondents to finish a brief assessment bundle. Cognitive testing, blood-based biomarkers, and imaging are among the planned data; the pilot also provides basic insights into scheduling, communication, and retention, as well as early trends in outcomes.Because there is no baseline cognitive battery from the original trials, sampling will be deliberate. Cognitive decline manifests later than some biomarkers, so the team expects to prioritize midlife and older-adult ages for cognition while selecting younger participants when it makes sense with biomarker timing. The original trials recruited adults (often midlife, ~45), with today’s reachable pool spanning an age range of 35–65 and some in their 70s; choices will be guided by the outcome of interest.An Advisory Board will help adapt materials and approach for the populations being contacted, such as what to say by phone, what mailings should look like, and how to return results in clear, plain language to participants.The project also brings together population-health and brain-health groups at KU Medical Center, leveraging long-running cessation studies to seed Alzheimer’s research—an efficient use of prior investments that others could replicate.The goal of the project is to get enough data to apply for an R01 and have additional cohorts. Additionally, the hope is to turn this into a sustained program and publish findings that guide prevention and future trials.

Frontiers Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the University of Kansas

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University of Kansas Medical Center

Examining the effects of quitting smoking on long-term brain health.

Feasibility of Re-contacting Former Tobacco Cessation Trial Participants to Collect Dementia-Related Data

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University of Cincinnati Speech-Language Pathologist Receives CCTST Support for Successful K23 Award

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