Award Data

ABSTRACT Long-term survival rates for children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) currently exceed 90%. However, prolonged ALL chemotherapy, which lasts two to three years on average, is associated with significant fatigue and sleep disturbances in both children and their caregivers. In fact, patients and caregivers often identify excess fatigue and sleep disturbances as the most di ...

ABSTRACT Developing drugs that target the central nervous system (CNS) is hampered by an inability to perform direct in vivo preclinical measurements. Here, we propose to identify an optimal smoking cessation drug candidate by monitoring how our newly synthesized prodrugs alter real-time brain dopamine responses to nicotine. Varenicline (CHANTIX®) is the leading FDA-approved oral medication for s ...

Abstract Wearable pulse oximetry sensors are among the most ubiquitous medical technologies used in healthcare. Clinicians rely on pulse oximeters to monitor patient health during disease states and medical procedures. However, numerous studies have shown this technology to be racially biased; hypoxemia is three times more likely to go undetected in patients with dark skin compared to those with l ...

Project Summary/Abstract The Tiny Cargo Company offers a unique, orally administered medical countermeasure for treatment and prevention of the gastrointestinal (GI) side effects of cancer radiation therapy (RT). Our therapeutic is comprised of milk-derived extracellular vesicles (mEVs) loaded with a safe and highly effective radioprotective drug – a formulation that we call Milactatm. RT compli ...

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT A highly effective intervention to prevent perinatal depression, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for perinatal depression (MBCT), exists; however, critical implementation gaps prevent its wide use. And though universally recommended, not all prenatal care clinics effectively screen for perinatal depression (PD). Overcoming current implementation gaps is imperative to a ...

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT g' (pronounced "gamma prime") fibrinogen (GPF) is an alternative splice isoform of the blood coagulation factor fibrinogen. This fibrinogen variant contains a high affinity binding site for the coagulation factor thrombin that localizes thrombin on the growing blood clot. Thrombin binds to GPF via thrombin's heparin binding site. This allows thrombin to continue forming th ...

PROJECT SUMMARY Total joint arthroplasty (TJA) procedures are estimated to rise by over 300% by the year 2030. Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is the most significant complication following TJA with healthcare costs exceeding $1.6 billion annually. Treatment of PJI generally requires surgical intervention combined with a prolonged course of antibiotics costing $50,000 per patient. Despite thi ...

PROJECT SUMMARY. In this Phase I STTR project, Light Switch Bio will collaborate with Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Pennsylvania for the early-stage development of IR-Platin, a first-in-class photoactivated chemotherapy for treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), the sixth leading cancer worldwide. Most patients with HNSCC present with advanced disease ...

Fibrosis is an aberrant wound healing process characterized by progressive accumulation of extracellular matrix that ultimately destroys organ function. Progressive fibrosis is inherent to chronic kidney disease (CKD), which often leads to end-stage renal disease. Although patients can be maintained by hemodialysis while awaiting transplantation, their’s and their care-giver’s quality of life ...

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are commonly prescribed to improve mobility for individuals with neurological disorders. AFOs are included in the standard of care for the majority of ambulatory children with cerebral palsy (CP), a pediatric-onset movement disorder caused by insult to the developing brain. Current goals of treatment for individuals with CP center around increasi ...