Horizons: AI-powered ACL injury prediction, advances in glaucoma testing and more research news

Research discoveries and innovations Making Life Better | September 2026

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. Read more

USF invention aims to replicate $30,000 glaucoma test with a $42 at-home alternative

A USF-developed smartphone app could help patients monitor glaucoma from home, making it easier to detect vision changes before permanent sight loss occurs. Read more

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. The study hopes to validate a new approach to managing one of the disease’s most common and disruptive symptoms.

MD/PhD student advances alternatives to chemotherapy through USF Health–Moffitt partnership

MD/PhD student Vincent Lok is advancing cancer immunotherapy research and exploring innovative alternatives to chemotherapy that harness the body's immune system to fight cancer. Read more

USF Health researchers find experimental drug may protect the heart in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

USF Health researchers uncovered a potential new therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy-related heart disease, a leading cause of death in patients with the condition. Read more

Welcoming new leadership and expertise

Shyam Kottilil brings a career of discovery and translational science to USF Health

Dr. Shyam Kottilil joins USF Health as vice dean for Clinical Research, bringing a career focused on translational science, chronic viral diseases, liver disease and virus-associated cancers. He will help expand USF Health’s clinical research enterprise while continuing work to move discoveries into better care for patients. Read more

Research roundup

Amid rising liver cancer rates linked to alcohol and metabolic disease, USF Health is advancing research on a drug that could work alongside GLP-1 therapies.

Emerging research at USF Health suggests that with some viruses, especially as people age, the most serious effects may surface years later, quietly unfolding in the brain. Read more

A groundbreaking discovery by Robert C. Gallo, MD, half a century ago helped establish the scientific foundation for modern cancer immunotherapy. Now, two of the world’s leading immunologists are revisiting the discovery and its enduring impact on medicine. Read more

USF HEALTH MORSANI COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

University of South Florida | Horizons | September 2026