Award Data

PROJECT SUMMARY Rodent-borne viral outbreaks are increasing in both frequency and impact. As weather patterns evolve, rodent populations are affected and may multiply in areas where increased contact with humans results in infection. Hantaviruses, including Andes (ANDV) and Sin Nombre (SNV), are transmitted through the excreta of infected rodents and, when aerosolized, infect humans. In the Americ ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Novel drugs that improve overall survival with decreased morbidity are critical in the war on cancer. Acenta Discovery Inc. has partnered with the Toretsky Lab of the Lombardi Cancer Center to create and preclinically evaluate novel inhibitors of the protein Akt. An Akt inhibitor would have tremendous value in improving the lives of patients with many types ...

DESCRIPTION (Applicant's Abstract): The investigators have developed a plasmid vector that expresses the normal human alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) gene in human respiratory epithelium when delivered as a plasmid-cationic liposome complex. In subjects with inherited AAT deficiency, they showed that liposome mediated transfer of the normal AAT gene to the nasal respiratory epi ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Molecular interactions are central to the understanding of basic biology and cellular function, are paramount to all molecular assays (research and in vitro diagnostics), are essential in biomarker discovery and critical toward evaluating therapeutics. However, the tools available to quantify these interactions have limitations, in so far as they either rely up ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Molecular interactions form the foundation of biology and chemistry. They are central to life itself and determine catalytic activity, cellular function, and therapeutic efficacy. The vast majority of diagnostic procedures depend on some type of specific molecular interaction. Therefore, the ability to perform pure liquid-phase molecular binding analysis at hi ...

ABSTRACT Despite the overefficacy of diabetic retinopathyDRtreatmentit continues to be the leading cause of blindness in working age AmericansOvermillion adults in the US have diabetesOf thesewill develop DR andwill develop vision threatening DRVTDRCurrentlyless than half of all patients with diabetes receive the recommended annual dilated eye exam andof those diagnosed with VTDRonlyundergo timely ...

PROJECT SUMMARY Drug overdoses are the leading cause of death in the United States with approximately 72,000 people dying from drug overdose in 2017. Many of these fatalities occurred in individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD), which is one of the greatest public health issues confronting the United States today. Digital Recovery Support Services (DRSs) that include peer support, psychoeducatio ...

PROJECT SUMMARY ABSTRACTUltrasound isand is poised to remaina ubiquitous biomedical imaging modalityIt is safefasteffectiveand affordableUltrasound imaging innovations are being actively developed to provide inexpensive solutions to public health concerns in areas as diverse as early cancer detectiontargeted drug deliveryand image guided surgeryYet significant barriers to research and innovation i ...

Summary Accelerating emergence and re-emergence of a wide array of viral epidemics has been a deadly feature of the 21st century. Potent or even effective therapies are rarely available to combat these diseases, and in general, the world remains unprepared to manage future outbreaks. The most recent outbreak of the Ebola virus resulted in over 11,000 fatalities, more than 20,000 orphans, and econo ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Atherosclerosis is the underlying cause of most cardiovascular disease and considerable evidence supports the role of hypercholesterolemia as a risk factor for this disease. In preliminary work, we found that tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), at a dose lower than approved for human use, was effective in reducing plasma levels of both total cholesterol and tri ...