Award Data

Abstract Increases in life expectancy together with demographic trends have fueled a rapid increase in America’s elderly population. As the number of older Americans has grown, so has the prevalence of aging-associated diseases, including Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and other related dementias (ADRD). An estimated 5.4 Million Americans had AD in 2012, and that number is expected to double by 2030 ...

Abstract The advance of biotechnology is dependent on approaches for rapidly iterating through genetically engineered enzymes and pathways. While computational and gene synthesis techniques have seen considerable innovation in the last few decades, screening variants for desired activities has lagged behind, with few notable advances. Indeed, microwell plates, a nearly 60-year-old technology, rema ...

PROJECT SUMMARY The Immuno-oncology (IO) arena affords a new and exciting approach to stimulate the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. The generation of anti-cancer T cells is predominantly triggered by phagocytosed cancer cells stimulating innate immune signaling pathways in professional antigen presenting cells (APC’s). This signaling process is largely governed by STING (stimulator o ...

The goals of this Phase II application: 1) determine the translational significance of the i-SMEF (improved Synchronization Modulation Electric Field) in a preclinical animal model using adult Yorkshire pigs with kidney autotransplantation; and 2) determine the optimal parameters of the i-SMEF in protection against ischemic injury of the donor kidneys during cold storage and improvement of the tra ...

The melanocortin peptide therapeutic setmelanotide, (ImcivreeTM), is highly effective in the treatment of the rare obesity syndromes, POMC and leptin receptor deficiency. However, the drug is ineffective for the most common syndromic obesity, melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) deficiency (MC4R haploinsufficiency), found at a prevalence greater than 1/1000 individuals. Further, the drug is ineffective ...

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) needs a capability to collect and provide immediate presumptive analysis of radiological/nuclear samples of concern at the source of collection. Such in-field technologies should be capable of detecting and identifying trace quantities of elements and/or chemicals containing plutonium (Pu) and uranium (U), with a focus on chemicals specific to the nuclear ...

Physical activity (PA) is a modifiable risk factor for a number of preventable chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, strokes, obesity, and diabetes. These conditions constitute health disparities for African American men. Behavioral interventions have proven to be effective in promoting increases in physical activity. While behavior change programs have been shown to assist participa ...

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Drug resistance to HIV is a major threat to achieving long-term viral suppression in HIV+ individuals. Up to 16% of newly infected individuals acquire HIV with resistance to at least one of the major antiretroviral classes, and incomplete viral suppression and virologic failure are often associated with drug resistance. Therefore, current DHHS guideline recommends drug r ...

For effective protection against radiated threats, produced by high altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) caused by nuclear detonations and high-power microwave (HPM) Directed Energy (DE) weapons it is important to understand not only the physics of the threats, but also to quantify the effects on mission-critical electrical systems. EMP/HMP simulators enable threat level testing of MCS and provid ...

PROJECT SUMMARY Diabetes is one of the most important health issues in the world. The number of people living with diabetes has quadrupled since 1980, with the greatest increase in prevalence in low and middle-income countries. Not only is diabetes a major cause of morbidity and mortality, but it can also devastate the finances of families and strain countries’ financial resources. World Health ...