Why Alex

Janice Krieger, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications STEM Translational Communication Center director, and a multidisciplinary group of UF researchers were honored for their project ALEX. It was named one of the seven innovations of year at the 4th Annual Standing InnOvation awards event presented by UF Innovate.…

Janice Krieger, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications STEM Translational Communication Center director, and a team of researchers has been awarded a National Institute on Aging (NIA) grant to use the virtual health assistant ALEX (Agent Leveraging Empathy for eXams) to recruit older adult minorities for clinical trials.…

The STEM Translational Communication Center (STCC) at the University of Florida today announced that Taylor Ashley has joined the Center as a postbaccalaureate research assistant. The appointment is effective from June 24, 2021 through June 30, 2022. Ashley is joining the Center as part of UF Health Cancer Center’s Postbaccalaureate…

UF researchers and colleagues, led by the UF STEM Translational Communication Center, are exploring new approaches to communicating health interventions to patients, including use of an internet-based virtual humans that patients can access through an app.

Despite efforts to improve colorectal cancer (CRC) screening with a goal of reducing mortality and health outcome disparities, CRC is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths among Black women in the U.S.  Researchers explored the use of a virtual health assistant to promote CRC screening among Black women.

University of Florida STEM Translational Communication Center (STCC) post-doctoral associate Melissa Vilaro and STEM Center Director Janice Krieger  are the co-authors of “Tailoring Virtual Human-Delivered Interventions: A Digital Intervention Promoting Colorectal Cancer Screening for Black Women” published in the Journal of Psychological, Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Cancer on Sept.…

University of Florida STEM Translational Communication Center Director Janice Krieger and a team of researchers have been awarded a $152,492 supplement to the $3.04 million  grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is testing the efficacy of using virtual technology to increase colorectal cancer screening among rural and…

Minority populations, particularly Black men, have a greater incidence, prevalence, and mortality rate from prostate cancer than other groups. Because of this, communicating pertinent medical information and disseminating materials specific to Black men is critical to combat this trend.

Mobile health technology affords patients the opportunity to get the medical expertise they need without a physical visit to a practitioner’s office or a run to the emergency room. But, for it to be truly worthwhile, the technology must be accessible to patients and simple enough to navigate.