Top Medicine Researchers at Florida State University for 2026

Florida State University’s recent medicine research spans a wide range of questions, from cardiovascular function and physiology to infectious diseases, mental health, and aging. Looking across the last year, the work reflected here shows how researchers are connecting clinical insight with biological mechanisms and practical interventions.

Below, you’ll find a snapshot of scholars whose recent publications highlight that mix of patient-centered research, experimental study, and public health relevance. Together, their work offers a useful view of what is moving through the institution’s medicine community right now.

Featured Researchers

Joseph C. Watso

Joseph C. Watso’s recent work at Florida State University centers on cardiology, physiology, and complementary medicine, with studies on sprinting, hydration, kidney injury biomarkers, and cardiac responses to heat.

Activity over the last year: 21 indexed journal articles.

Top publications:

• Upper Leg Muscular Co-Contraction During Maximal-Speed Sprinting in Male Club Ice Hockey Athletes (Jan 2025)
• Hypohydration augments the acute increase in urinary biomarkers of kidney injury following the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run (Oct 2025)
• Cardiac responses to environmental heat exposure in young and older adults (Jul 2025)

Lisa Hightow‐Weidman

Lisa Hightow-Weidman’s publications combine infectious diseases, epidemiology, and general health professions, spanning digital HIV prevention, youth care interventions, and a review of generative AI in mental health.

Activity over the last year: 30 indexed journal articles.

Top publications:

• Evaluating Generative AI in Mental Health: Systematic Review of Capabilities and Limitations (Feb 2025)
• Implementation Strategies for Digital HIV Prevention and Care Interventions for Youth: A Scoping Review (Mar 2025)
• Mediation Analysis of Internalized Homophobia, Self-esteem and Mental Health in Adolescent Sexual Minority Men: A Repeated Measures Study (May 2025)

Antonio Terracciano

Antonio Terracciano’s recent studies in clinical psychology and neuropsychology examine loneliness, cognition, and dementia across longitudinal cohorts and harmonized international data.

Activity over the last year: 14 indexed journal articles.

Top publications:

• Loneliness and cognition in older adults: A meta-analysis of harmonized studies from the United States, England, India, China, South Africa, Mexico, and Chile (Jan 2025)
• Marital status and risk of dementia over 18 years: Surprising findings from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (Mar 2025)
• Loneliness and Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease, Axonal Damage, and Astrogliosis: A Coordinated Analysis of Two Longitudinal Cohorts (Jan 2025)

Ravinder Nagpal

Ravinder Nagpal’s work connects molecular biology, physiology, and food science through microbiome-based therapeutics, gut virome and mycobiome research, and sepsis-related neural connectivity.

Activity over the last year: 15 indexed journal articles.

Top publications:

• Microbiome-based therapeutics towards healthier aging and longevity (Jul 2025)
• Functional connectivity within sensorimotor cortical and striatal regions is regulated by sepsis in a sex-dependent manner (Jan 2025)
• Implication of Gut Mycobiome and Virome in Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus: Uncovering the Hidden Players (Feb 2025)

Henna Budhwani

Henna Budhwani’s recent publications focus on infectious diseases, general health professions, and health, especially HIV and stigma reduction, vaccination interventions, and PrEP uptake.

Activity over the last year: 13 indexed journal articles.

Top publications:

• Results of a workshop intervention trial to reduce HIV and intersectional stigma among sexual and gender minorities and healthcare workers in the Dominican Republic (Mar 2025)
• Greater Improvements in Vaccination Outcomes Among Black Young Adults With Vaccine-Resistant Attitudes in the United States South Following a Digital Health Intervention: Latent Profile Analysis of a Randomized Control Trial (Mar 2025)
• Development of evidence-based tools using human-centered design to promote PrEP uptake for young men who have sex with men of color (Mar 2025)

Joseph D. Vondrasek

Joseph D. Vondrasek’s recent medicine research emphasizes complementary medicine, cardiology, and physiology, with studies on hydration status, blood pressure regulation, and biomarkers of kidney stress.

Activity over the last year: 13 indexed journal articles.

Top publications:

• Hypohydration augments the acute increase in urinary biomarkers of kidney injury following the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run (Oct 2025)
• Apparently healthy young black adults report lower total fluid intake and exhibit higher plasma copeptin than young White adults (Mar 2025)
• Differential effects of female aging on sympathetic blood pressure regulation at rest and during stress in humans (Apr 2025)

José R. Pinto

José R. Pinto’s publications in cardiology and molecular biology explore hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, myosin energetics, troponin T interactions, and nuclear lamina remodeling in cardiomyocytes.

Activity over the last year: 14 indexed journal articles.

Top publications:

• Heterogeneous Dysregulation of Myosin Super-Relaxation and Energetics in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (May 2025)
• The role of the troponin T interactions with actin in regulation of cardiac thin filament revealed by the troponin T pathogenic variant Ile79Asn (May 2025)
• Phenotype specific nuclear lamina remodeling in hiPSC derived cardiomyocytes bearing TNNT2 sarcomeric variants (Oct 2025)

Ilana Logvinsky

Ilana Logvinsky’s recent work spans pulmonary and respiratory medicine, toxicology, and cardiology, including analyses of bleeding risk, adverse events, and complicated pneumonia cases.

Activity over the last year: 12 indexed journal articles.

Top publications:

• Apixaban- and Rivaroxaban-Associated Bleeding: A Retrospective Analysis Using the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (Jun 2025)
• Lecanemab Associated Status Epilepticus and Psychosis With Serious ARIA-E (Amyloid Related Imaging Abnormalities – Edema): Case Report (May 2025)
• Dangers of Antimicrobial Autotherapy: Empyema Necessitans in a Young Female with Inadequate Antibiotic Treatment for Pneumonia (May 2025)

What Florida State University's Medicine Community Is Working On

Across Florida State University’s medicine research, cardiology and cardiovascular medicine appears most often, with physiology close behind, suggesting sustained interest in how the body regulates function under stress, disease, and aging. Complementary and alternative medicine also shows up repeatedly, alongside infectious diseases and general health professions, pointing to a community that is balancing mechanistic inquiry with prevention, care delivery, and intervention-focused research. The result is a broad portfolio that moves between laboratory questions, clinical observation, and public health application.

• Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine - seen across 4 of the featured researchers
• Physiology - seen across 3 of the featured researchers
• Complementary and alternative medicine - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
• Infectious Diseases - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
• General Health Professions - seen across 2 of the featured researchers

These recent publications show a medicine research community working across scales, from molecules and biomarkers to interventions, implementation, and population health. If you want to keep tracking research activity, explore more of the institution’s output and consider tools like Resub to streamline citation discovery, manuscript formatting, and submission prep.

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