Award Data

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cationic lipid-like compounds are commonly used in vitro and in vivo to deliver DNA to cells for the purposes of expressing exogenous genes. A number of clinical trials have indicated the promise of these agents for gene therapy, however lipid-based delivery remains less effective than the alternative viral vectors. Nevertheless, vast improvements have been mad ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The arachidonic acid (AA) lipoxygenase pathway plays an important role in tumor progression through regulating cell survival, proliferation, and angiogenesis. Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed neoplasm and the second leading cause of male death in the United States. During PCa progression, it is found that the expression of 12-lipoxygenase ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): While the human genome sequence is known, medical advances will require knowledge of how individual genes and proteins assemble into functional biological networks. These networks are built in part through physical interactions between proteins. Protein interaction networks can now be probed using highthroughput experimental methods, yet challenges remain: dat ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall goal of this project is to develop a novel method for MRI quantification of postinfarct myocardial viability. Ultimately, the commercial embodiment of this method will be a software package that will convert a set of 2D cardiac MRI images to a 3D Myocardial Viability Map (MV) with a voxel-by-voxel resolution. In human clinical use, the package woul ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The development of transgenic mouse models for cystic fibrosis (CF) has been an important contribution to our understanding of CF and of CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) function. However, because of the dissimilarity between mouse and human anatomy and physiology, there are limitations in what can be discerned about CF pathology and in development ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Psoriasis is a common immune-mediated disease that affects approximately 2% of the US and European populations and significantly impacts the quality of life. T cells are recognized as primary mediators of the disease and new generation therapies aimed at eliminating reactive T cells or interfering with the immunologic cascade caused by their activation have bee ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Our objective is to provide a closed-tube system for rapid PCR, mutation scanning and genotyping that does not require fluorescently-labeled probes. For many genetic diseases, it is difficult and expensive to screen for all possible mutations that may cause the disease. We propose a relatively simple solution for rapid amplification, scanning and genotyping in ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Completion of the human genome and the advent of expression profiling have permitted comprehensive characterization of the transcriptional signatures of different disease states. Quantitative fluorescent real-time polymerase chain reaction-based methods have emerged as a powerful tool in molecular diagnostics as they combine extraordinary dynamic range of quant ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): West Nile (WN) virus is a flavivirus that can cause fatal human encephalitis. Over the past four years, this virus has established itself across the United States. There are no approved vaccines or therapies to protect against WN virus. This project is designed to develop an effective anti-WN virus RNA interference therapy. Our hypothesis is that small interfer ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): All orthodontic treatment is based on the application of optimal forces that minutely displace teeth initiating a biological response that alters both hard and soft tissues. Because of the precision of control, most treatment is carried out with fixed appliances that are capable of delivering forces and moments to the crowns of teeth. More limited treatment an ...