Award Data

Project Summary Pediatric myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is an eye condition in which one is unable to bring distant objects into proper focus. It is the leading cause of vision impairment in the world. The estimated economic impact of uncorrected refractive error is estimated to be a loss of $202 billion of global gross domestic product. The prevalence of myopia and high myopia are increa ...

PROJECT SUMMARYSpinal fusion is the standard treatment for persistent neck and back pain, but the hardware used to stabilize the fusion can harbor or even promote bacteria that lead to persistent, difficult-to-treat infections that are costly and damaging to patient health. Among the available materials for spinal fusion, polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) cages stand out due to their strength, biocomp ...

Project Summary: The goal of this project is to create two prototypes of a novel live spike sorting system which can be used by investigators to spike sort streams of neural data recorded by multi-channel, high channel and ultra-high channel probes. In most in-vivo extracellular recording conditions, an electrode can pick up neural spikes from several nearby neurons resulting in so-called “multi ...

Project SummaryA broad range of neurological indications, including schizophrenia, pain, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, and autism have been linked to G-protein coupled receptor proteins (GPCRs), making them attractive targets for therapy. Understanding GPCR dysfunction is essential for effective therapeutic development. However, deciphering the functions of GPCRs remains a daunting task in ...

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating acute inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract resulting in intestinal necrosis, systemic sepsis and multi-system organ failure found mostly in infants born prematurely. Despite modern medical advances in the past decade, the etiology remains elusive and morbidity and mortality are still unacceptably high. It has been concluded that the ...

Summary Oral mucositis, a severe oral ulceration, is a common toxic effect of radio- or chemoradio-therapy (RT or CRT) and a limiting factor to using the optimal dose of radiation for effective cancer treatment. Intensity modulated RT (IMRT) and stereotactic Body RT (SBRT) spare more normal tissues and lessen chronic side effects, but not oral mucosa in head and neck cancer patients. To date, Pali ...

Project Summary/Abstract Clinical training aids such as surgical mannequins and procedural trainers are important tools for teaching proper technique to physicians and first responders. However, the majority of these training tools were developed for adult anatomies. Pediatric patients are often more challenging to treat, but few resources exist for advanced simulation in pediatric critical care e ...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, debilitating inflammatory disease with high medical and societal costs afflicting more than 1.6 million Americans. Blockade of TNFα-driven inflammation with approved anti-TNFα biologics (such as Humira®, Remicade®, Simponi®, and Enbrel®) is an effective treatment for many patients suffering from RA. However, due at least in part to the immunogenicity o ...

ABSTRACT Approximately 600,000 people live with partial hand limb loss (PHLL) in the United States, with an estimated 14,500 new cases occurring each year. Despite the advances in miniaturized electronics and motors, there has been very little advancement in mechatronic prosthetic digits for this underserved patient population. In fact, to date, there is only one myoelectric prosthetic option for ...

ABSTRACT The ability to measure and manipulate local brain circuit activity in living, behaving animals is essential to understanding the complexities of brain function and dysfunction. A novel, penetrating high-density carbon fiber electrode array composed of flexible, ultrathin conductive carbon microfibers was recently developed under the BRAIN Initiative to study neural microcircuit dynamics. ...