Award Data

PROJECT SUMMARY We propose to develop a novel non-contact, label-free multimodality imager that provides real-time intraoperative identification of nerves within the surgical field-of-view to facilitate the prevention of unintended nerve damage (termed iatrogenic nerve injury) during surgical procedures, as they are a major source of postsurgical complications, e.g., chronic pain. In the United St ...

Abstract There is an unmet need to develop treatments for senile osteoporosis, a disorder characterized by an age-related reciprocal decrease in osteogenesis and increase in bone marrow fat. Senile osteoporosis resembles disuse osteopenia, suggesting its pathogenesis involves impaired bone mechanosensing. We discovered that the polycystin heterotrimeric complex (1PC1+3PC2) functions as a mechanose ...

Project SummaryEpilepsy is one of the most common brain disorders. Current drugs have limited efficacy. Identifying new targeted drugs that can be used as safer, more effective therapies is in urgent unmet need. Selective inhibition of the transient receptor potential canonical 3 (TRPC3) emerges as a novel strategy to impede epilepsy. However, the currently best selective TRPC3 inhibitor, Pyr3, ha ...

In this STTR effort, SkyNano will collaborate with Prof. Hongyu Zhou's laboratory at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) to demonstrate the utilization of environmental carbon in composite applications specific to meeting the needs of the Department of the Navy.  SkyNano will leverage our core technology which captures and converts environmental carbon dioxide into functional all-carbon ...

PROJECT SUMMARYSubarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to rupture of an intracranial aneurysm leads to delayed vasospasm resulting in neuroischemia (stroke). The overall morbidity (profound neurologic deficit in 10-20% of survivors) and mortality (50%) are high, and the disease affects a relatively young adult population. Therapeutic options to prevent delayed vasospasm and neuroischemia after SAH are c ...

PROJECT SUMMARY We propose to develop a novel contact, label-free multimodality-based sensing probe that provides real-time intraoperative identification of nerves within the thermal damage threshold range of a surgical tool. The tool will facilitate prevention of direct/indirect nerve damage (termed iatrogenic nerve injury) during surgical procedures, as they are a major source of postsurgical co ...

PROJECT SUMMARYMicroprocessor-controlled ankles have been shown to substantially improve mobility and stability in individuals with lower limb amputation, but these devices are typically only available to higher mobility users due to a lack of scientific evidence to justify insurance reimbursement. As such, many of the individuals with lower limb amputation that have the greatest need for advanced ...

PROJECT SUMMARY The American Academy of Dermatology reports that 1 in 4 Americans (~84.5 million) are impacted by skin disease. Skin disease is the fourth leading cause of disability worldwide, significantly impacts quality of life, and costs ~$75 billion annually to treat. Skin conditions like atopic dermatitis (AD) are commonly diagnosed by practitioners using clinical history and physical exam ...

PROJECT SUMMARY Despite a growing need for smoking cessation services, Latino smokers face notable disparities in cessation treatment. Consequently, there is a big opportunity, both from a scientific and a business perspective, to develop and test the most optimal culturally tailored approaches to enroll and engage Latino Smokers into cessation programs. The Kick Buts program owned by Agile Health ...

PROJECT SUMMARY Kennedy’s disease also known as spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by genetic polyglutamine expansion of the androgen receptor (AR). Recent research has shown that the mutant AR protein misfolds, aggregates, and abnormally interacts with other proteins, leading to hormone-dependent lower motor neuron degeneration and skeletal mus ...