This year’s call for proposals encouraged researchers to leverage technology to enhance arts-based health programs, improve accessibility and develop evidence-based practices that promote overall wellness, under the theme “Innovative Synergy: Bridging Arts and Wellness with Technology.” As technology continues to transform how we live, work and create, the opportunity to explore the connection between the arts and wellness through a technological lens has never been more promising.

The awards were founded by Central Florida’s Pabst Steinmetz Foundation to recognize teams building sustainable models for arts and wellness innovation. The teams involve collaboration between the College of Arts and Humanities, at least one internal university partner and a community organization, in order to promote cross-disciplinary collaboration and research.

“Partnerships between UCF and community always create magic and inspiration as they enrich our community’s capacity; the 2024 awardees/initiatives are no exception. We look forward to the impact each creates,” says Margery Pabst Steinmetz, who co-founded the foundation with her husband Chuck Steinmetz.

The winners were selected for their significant potential to positively impact the community through a collaboration of arts, science, wellness and engagement in their research.

Scientific Proof of Music Therapy’s Impact on Alzheimer’s Disease

In collaboration with UCF’s Lake Nona Medical Center and UCF Health Faculty Physician Practice at Lake Nona, this innovative research aims to investigate the effects of music therapy on individuals with Alzheimer’s disease by examining molecular changes in salivary exosomes. Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles released by cells that carry biomarkers reflecting brain health, making them an ideal tool for studying the molecular effects of music therapy in Alzheimer’s. By analyzing biomarkers such as serotonin, dopamine, amyloid-beta and tau proteins, the study seeks to uncover how music therapy impacts mood, memory, and anxiety and potentially slows neurodegeneration in patients with Alzheimer’s .

UCF School of Performing Arts Professor and violinist Ayako Yonetani lends her expertise in music therapy and performance, which is crucial for developing effective music therapy sessions. Under her guidance, the project will include live classical music, as familiar and emotionally significant compositions are known to elicit stronger therapeutic responses. Yonetani’s unique combination of skills in both the performing arts and the therapeutic applications of music will help bridge the gap between the arts and science, ensuring that the music therapy sessions are effective and tailored to the needs of Alzheimer’s patients.

“Music is more than just art and entertainment — it has the power to enhance brain function and well-being,” Yonetani says. “About a decade ago, we discovered that Mozart’s music could boost frontal lobe function by 50%. While its benefits for Alzheimer’s patients have long been recognized, definitive proof has been challenging due to the difficulty of measuring brain function noninvasively.”

This pioneering collaboration between our Pegasus String Quartet at the music department and the College of Medicine bridges music and the brain, using innovative saliva-based technology developed at UCF to provide concrete evidence of its effects. I hope we continue to explore music’s remarkable influence and uncover new ways it can enrich our lives.”

The research aims to enhance the quality of life for patients by utilizing personalized music therapy. The noninvasive nature of salivary exosome analysis makes it an accessible and scalable method that could be widely adopted in clinical settings. Caregivers, who often experience significant emotional and physical stress, will also benefit from the improvements in patients’ mood and cognitive function, as well as the structured and meaningful interactions facilitated by music therapy.

In addition to benefiting Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers, this research holds significant implications for the healthcare and research communities. The study’s findings could pave the way for the incorporation of music therapy as a complementary treatment, providing valuable clinical evidence to support its use. By demonstrating how music therapy influences molecular biomarkers, this research has the potential to revolutionize diagnostic and monitoring tools for Alzheimer’s, with possible applications in other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and various forms of dementia.

Ultimately, this research has the potential to establish music therapy as a scientifically supported and widely accessible treatment for Alzheimer’s, which could transform clinical practices and improve patient care.

This project involves researchers from the College of Arts and Humanities, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, and the Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the UCF College of Medicine, including:

• Ayako Yonetani, School of Performing Arts
• Kiminobu Sugaya, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine
• Mariana Dangiolo, geriatrics and palliative medicine, College of Medicine
• Amoy Fraser, director of clinical and aerospace health research, College of Medicine

Immerse, Rehearse, Perform: An Innovative VR Experience for Overcoming Stage Fright

This project, developed by the CREATE team at UCF, aims to address performance anxiety — specifically public speaking anxiety — in schools. Utilizing immersive virtual reality (VR) technology, the initiative enables users to practice public speaking in a virtual classroom environment. The primary focus is on secondary and high school students, but the VR experience can be beneficial for anyone preparing for public speaking, including professionals such as ministers, motivational speakers, singers and individuals preparing for presentations.

“Our project will combine new technologies in the use of virtual reality and the creation of digital assets in order to produce a complete, interactive, and immersive experience that can assist a user in practicing skills to help overcome anxiety, nervousness, and fear in public speaking and presentations,” says Stella Sung, Director of UCF CREATE.

While existing VR applications assist with performance anxiety during job interviews and public speaking events, this project enhances the experience further. Users can customize their VR practice sessions to simulate a range of disruptions — such as student chatter, tone shifts or camera jitters — and receive simulated audience feedback, providing a more realistic practice environment. This VR tool allows users to rehearse their material repeatedly in various conditions, offering the flexibility to practice at any time and in the comfort of their own homes.

The Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida has expressed a need for technology that can help students overcome performance anxiety and build their confidence. By partnering with UCF CREATE, the students now have access to advanced VR tools, along with opportunities for personal growth and development. The project is designed to be scalable, with the potential to reach schools, community centers, places of worship and other UCF organizations throughout Central Florida.

This project goes beyond skill-building as exposure to VR technology sparks interest in STEM fields and promotes digital literacy within the community, encouraging lifelong learning. It also has the potential to evolve into a commercially available application, expanding its reach and offering a valuable tool for public speaking in various fields.

This project includes researchers from UCF Create, E2i Creative Studio (iST), and Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida:

• Stella Sung, UCF CREATE, School of Visual Arts and Design, College of Arts and Humanities
• Ronald Hargrove, UCF CREATE, School of Visual Arts and Design, College of Arts and Humanities
• Maria Murillo, UCF CREATE, School of Visual Arts and Design, College of Arts and Humanities
• Eileen Smith, E2i Creative Studio, Institute for Simulation and Training, Pegasus Research Center
• Michael Carney, E2i Creative Studio, Institute for Simulation and Training, Pegasus Research Center
• Maria Harrington, Nicholson School of Communication and Media, College of Sciences
• Tasha Banks Robinson, Parramore Club, Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida

The multimedia performance, The Warped Side of the Universe, will feature composer and multi-Grammy winner Hans Zimmer, theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, and visual-effects artist and multi-Academy Award winner Paul Franklin as they weave phenomena into their show from space and time, such as supernova explosions and recently discovered gravitational waves that reach Earth. The evening will be experienced through music, video simulations, poetry and prose.

Joining in the performance at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts will be the musicians now on tour with Zimmer in Europe and a UCF string quartet. This is the first time Zimmer, Thorne and Franklin have come together to present this production.

“Many artists are motivated by science,” said Costas Efthimiou, a UCF associate professor of physics who knows Thorne and was instrumental in asking him to be a part of the April 8-16 festival. “I tried to think of a topic that would allow us to create an event in which both sides – scientist and artists – could be part of.”

Thorne, science advisor for Interstellar, is a professor emeritus at California Institute of Technology, and is known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics. The UCF performance is built on his friendship with Zimmer and Franklin, and their collaboration on director Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster movie starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Michael Caine.

“I hope that the movie Interstellar inspires viewers to appreciate the beauty and power of science, and stimulates them to go learn more about this marvelous universe in which we live,” said Thorne, who hopes one day to view Earth from space.

Zimmer, who will conduct the music for The Warped Side of the Universe, is one of the most successful film composers of all time. He has also created the music for more than 150 films, including The Lion King, the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Gladiator, Rain Main, The Last Emperor, Inception, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and Driving Miss Daisy.

Zimmer, who used to visit the planetarium as a child to watch the stars and listen to music, has assembled a touring band that shares his love of science and discovery, such as songwriter and guitarist Michael Einziger of the band Incubus, who studied the history of science at Harvard, and violinist Ann Marie Simpson, who has taught college conceptual physics and chemistry and has performed with Mick Jagger, Pharrell Williams and Ringo Starr.

Franklin, who has created visual effects for more 30 films – including Inception and Interstellar, both of which brought him Academy Awards – will help bridge science and music at the UCF Celebrates the Arts performance.

Also on stage will be a quartet comprised of one UCF graduate student and three faculty members, including Chung Park, UCF director of orchestras.

Park said UCF is just the place to present this kind of exploratory performance combining STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and the arts.

“This is exactly the kind of place it could work well. If it’s going to work anywhere, it’s going to work here,” he said. “Everyone is so STEM, STEM, STEM these days, but at UCF we know we need to add some art to that.”

Park will play viola for the evening, along with faculty members Ayako Yonetani on violin and Laurel Stanton on cello, and graduate student Iryna Usova on second violin.

The Warped Side of the Universe will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9, as one of the many events presented at UCF Celebrates the Arts, which is all free and open to the public. Tickets are required for all performances, but no more advance tickets are available for this show. Anyone hoping to obtain tickets for this performance should register for a hall pass and wait in line before the performance. Seats not claimed by ticketholders 10 minutes before the show may become available at the discretion of the floor manager.

More than 1,000 university students, 100 faculty members and some collaborative programs with outside partners will showcase theatre, dance, orchestra, choirs, big band, chamber music, cabaret, concert bands, opera, visual arts, studio art, gaming, animation, photography and film.

This is part of a series of stories about the April 8-16 events at UCF Celebrates the Arts 2016. All events are free, but tickets are required for performances and entrance into the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave., Orlando. Ticketing and full schedule details are posted at .

Judy Duda, chair of the Dean’s Executive Council for UCF’s College of Arts and Humanities and (CAH) a local arts patron, endowed the fund as a way to encourage others to support UCF’s music program.

“My intent was to support the şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ąâ€™s comprehensive campaign, but I am also passionate about music and attracting talented young musicians. This was a way to serve both needs,” Duda said.

Duda met Yonetani 20 years ago. Yonetani had come to UCF from the Julliard School of Music and Duda was coordinator for the Concert Series at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Slavia.

UCF did not have a concert hall and St. Luke’s, less than 10 miles away, offered an acoustically appropriate setting for UCF Orchestra performances. Yonetani and her students participated in these performances and Duda grew to admire the violinist’s dedication to her protégés.

“I thought UCF had a treasure in Ayako and I wanted to do what I could to help her build the string section,” Duda said.

Duda, who over the years developed a personal friendship with Yonetani, decided to do something to help.

She contacted the UCF Foundation and the Dean of the College of Arts & Humanities and contributed the funds necessary to establish the Ayako Yonetani Music Endowed Scholarship for violin and viola students.

Yonetani learned of the scholarship following her performance for Music Department presentation at a CAH Dean’s Executive Council meeting. As she was packing her violin after the performance, Dean José Fernández made the surprise announcement.

Yonetani said although the endowment was unexpected she is excited about the prospect of attracting more donors to help bring more of the most talented students to UCF.

To contribute or for more information contact Laura Pooser at Laura.Pooser@ucf.edu – 407-823-1195.