Award Data

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall goal of this application is to develop and validate a potential biomarker based assay to determine if it can be used as a noninvasive test to detect the stage of hepatic fibrosis and to predict fibrosis progression in HIV/HCV co-infected patients. Significant fibrosis and cirrhosis are premalignant conditions that greatly increase the risk of the de ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Alzheimer's disease (AD) occurs in one out of eight Americans of age 65 and affects 43% of the elderly over 85. Current FDA-approved drugs only provide symptomatic relief of AD. There is a pressing need to discover newdisease-modifying medications. AD is multifactorial in origin and progression. A drug attenuating several underlying factors is a preferred ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Even though the association of -amyloid peptide (A ) deposition and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) underpins the major hypothesis for disease progression and possibly causation and several drugs addressing the formation or removal of -amyloid plaques have entered clinical trials, no effective therapy exists to date for AD. This reality calls for new targets th ...

DESCRIPTION: We identified the Myrica cerifera (Southern Bayberry) extract using a systematic screen as a potent reducer of the structural protein tau, which accumulates in a group of diseases called the tauopathies . The most prevalent tauopathy is Alzheimer's disease, for which there is renewed interest in the identification of tau- based therapeutic approaches to treat this devastating d ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): DC-SIGN (dendritic cell specific ICAM-3-grabbing non-integrin), a membrane protein of C-type lectin family, is found in high levels on monocyte-derived DCs, some macrophages, and activated B cells. In vivo, DC-SIGN- positive cells were demonstrated in lymph nodes, tonsils, skin, and the subepithelial region of the cervix. DC- SIGN has been shown to bind to a nu ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Acinetobacter are strictly aerobic, non-fermentative Gram-negative bacilli that are of major concern in human health, in particular the species Acinetobacter baumannii. They are responsible for clinically important infections that cause a wide variety of maladies including pneumonia, skin and wound infections, bacteremia and meningitis. In addition, A. baumanni ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In the United States, around 76,250 new cases of melanoma and 9,180 melanoma-related deaths are predicted for 2012. With the therapeutic options currently available, metastatic melanoma patients face the bleak prospectof at best, 10 month's survival and a one-in-ten chance of surviving for 10 years. Surgery and radiation therapy are the mainstay of treatme ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Institute of Medicine (IOM) strongly recommends that all breast cancer patients who are ending active treatment have a survivorship plan. Such a plan should assist patients in moving back to their primary care physician (PCP), provide advice for reducing risk for cancer recurrence or new cancer development, and address the remaining psychosocial challenge ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a deadly plasma cell malignancy. Treatment advances have improved clinical outcomes over the past decade, but the disease remains incurable, thus creating a need for new and innovative treatmentoptions. The MM drug pipeline includes several proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory agents, and other classes of agents that target signal ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Management of Type 1 diabetes requires vigilant monitoring by patients who often encounter numerous barriers that can impede proper management. Barriers can include educational, psychosocial, and support issues. PolarisHealth Directions, a small business, and University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing have partnered to develop the Technology-enabled Type 1 Di ...