Award Data

Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is a rare genetic disorder that affects about 1 in 25,000 individuals globally. While usually benign, these tumors result in severe morbidity and mortality in affected individuals. Almost all NF2 patients lose their hearing, and many lose the ability to walk and even to see. NF2 patients’ average age at death is 36 years, many of whom die in adolescence or early ad ...

Obstetricians measure fetal heartrate (FHR) and uterine contractions to evaluate fetal health during pregnancy and labor. This monitoring is performed to decrease the development of complications while minimizing the need for unnecessary obstetric interventions and is especially important for women with high-risk pregnancies. However, many women, especially in rural areas, do not have the time or ...

Abstract In normal pregnancy, the cervix remains closed until term and then dilates under the influence of uterine contractions. In cases of cervical insufficiency (CI), the cervix dilates in the second trimester in the absence of uterine contractions, which leads to a preterm birth. Infants born prematurely are at risk of lifelong morbidities including chronic lung disease, feeding difficulties, ...

Project Summary/AbstractMood disorders, like many psychiatric conditions, have their onset in emerging adulthood and often last a lifetime. Mental illnesses have an excessively large loading of Disability Adjusted Life Years, making early intervention crucial for both individuals and society. Differentiating bipolar disorder (BD) from major depressive disorder (MDD) based on the Diagnostic and Sta ...

PROJECT SUMMARY In light of the opioid crises, minimizing postoperative pain and postoperative opioid requirements to reduce chronic opioid dependency among surgical patients have become major concerns for surgeons and anesthesiologists. Effective intraoperative nociception control can mitigate these concerns. Unfortunately, existing nociceptive monitoring tools use indicators that are inherently ...

EpiZode: Noninvasive Seizure Screening in Preclinical Models of Epilepsy There is an urgent need for research into treatment options for epilepsy and other seizure disorders. Animal models are increasingly used to understand disease mechanisms and to screen promising therapeutic approaches. Animal epilepsy model use typically requires expensive and labor-intensive experimentation, with invasive EE ...

Rates of obesity have steadily increased in the United States, with approximately 50 percent of Americans projected to be classified as obese by 2030. Interestingly, obesity even seems to be a risk factor for the severity of illness in response to COVID-19 disease. Although behavioral (dieting and exercise), pharmacological, and surgical approaches exist for weight loss, many individuals who lose ...

Project Summary/Abstract !Amblyopia is vision loss caused by neglect of a structurally normal eye due to strabismus, asymmetric refraction (anisometropia), or deprivation. It is irreversible if not treated by age 7, but half of all patients in the U.S. are undetected and untreated until after it is too late, making it the leading cause of preventable vision loss. Rebion (Rebiscan, Inc) has develop ...

Project Abstract An estimated 5.7 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia (ADRD) and one in ten people age 65 or older show symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. As ADRD progresses so does the level of dependency on others. As the disease progresses, higher levels of dependence in people with Alzheimer’s disease are associated with significantly increased burden and costs ...

Project Summary/AbstractDiabetic retinopathy (DR) is a major co-morbidity for patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The incidence and severity of DR increase with duration of diabetes and approximately 30 percent will experience vision-threatening deficits. Work over the past decade has shown that the neural deficits observed in DR occur early in the natural history of the disease and likely p ...