A new Florida Physician feature highlights how researchers at the UF Sepsis and Critical Illness Research Center are combining clinical expertise, advanced genomics and artificial intelligence to improve outcomes for patients who survive sepsis.
The story, “Mounting an Offensive Against Sepsis,” features SCIRC Director Philip Efron, MD, and Guoshuai Cai, PhD, an assistant professor in the UF Department of Surgery and director of the UF Surgery Genomics Core.
Although advances in early recognition and treatment have helped more patients survive the initial sepsis event, many survivors continue to experience serious long-term complications, including cognitive impairment, frailty and an increased risk of death. SCIRC investigators are working to better understand these lasting effects and develop more precise approaches to treatment and recovery.
Cai and his research team are building an extensive database of human cell samples from patients with sepsis. Supported by a $2.1 million National Institutes of Health grant, the team is using advanced single-cell profiling, statistical modeling, artificial intelligence and UF’s HiPerGator supercomputer to identify patterns that may help predict how individual patients will respond to sepsis.
These discoveries can then be translated into more personalized therapies designed to improve not only survival, but also patients’ quality of life and long-term recovery.
“Our work is shifting toward precision therapies designed to improve not just survival but also the quality of recovery, helping patients get home and regain their health after critical illness,” Efron said.
Read “Mounting an Offensive Against Sepsis” in Florida Physician.