Award Data

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): RNA-protein interactions play critical roles in cellular regulatory processes and in the life cycles of many pathogenic viruses, including HIV, hepatitis C, and West Nile virus, and thus represent attractive targets for therapeutics. Much of our previous work has centered on identifying and characterizing the components of key interactions and developing cell-b ...

DESCRIPTION: (provided by applicant): Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease caused by mutations in the gene encoding CFTR that results in a significantly shorter lifespan as well as associated pathologies. Unfortunately, none of the currently available treatments are able to halt the progression of the disease. The predominant CFTR mutation, deltaF508, results in a mutant protein that is retai ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The prolonged inflammatory response to an implant is one of the primary causes for the failure to integrate implanted devices into tissue. The source of inflammation common to almost all implants is the foreign body response. Based on evidence in the literature and from our research team, the inflammatory response is mediated by the reactive oxygen species gene ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this proposal is to develop a protein assay technology that will parallel the newly developing oligonucleotide microarray techniques. We will develop a peptide system capable of performing high throughput real time measurements in parallel on a microfluidic chip. We will develop the chemistry to prepare these chips in Phase I and develop the s ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is to complete the feasibility prototype of an adjustable systemic-pulmonary artery (SPA) shunt. Children with single ventricle physiology (SVP) and reduced pulmonary blood flow (PBF) are palliated with an SPA shunt until approximately 6 months of age. Current shunts are made from simple (unadjustable) polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) vascular gr ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): With the recent observations that stem-like cells outside the central nervous system (CNS) can differentiate into neurons, it is no longer inconceivable to suggest that stem cells derived from human umbilical cord blood (hUCB) could be used for cellular transplant therapy for neurological disorders, such as stroke. However, the greatest confounds of cell trans ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): With the observations that stem-like cells from outside the central nervous system (CNS) can differentiate into neurons and neural stem cells can differentiate into a variety of blood cells, it is no longer inconceivable to suggest that stem cells present in umbilical cord blood could be used to generate neural cells for transplantation treatment of neurodegen ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cepheid develops integrated sample preparation and detection systems for rapid molecular diagnostic applications at a point of use environment. Currently, Cepheid has the GeneXpert system, which is a cartridge and instrument platform for integrated sample preparation and real-time PCR detection of target nucleic acids in biological samples. The current config ...

DESCRIPTION: Surgical excision of hard and soft tissues of the head and neck or high impact trauma can lead to lead to major tissue deficits. Reconstruction of the lower jaw typically involves bone, gingiva, and teeth. Current mandibular distraction devices are used in combination with reconstruction plates, but while the reconstruction plates take the contour of the jaw, the distraction devices h ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Triplex-directed control of epidermal hyperproliferation Epidermal hyperproliferation is a characteristic feature of skin cancer development, especially during the tumor promotion stage. Many of the signal transduction pathways and effector molecules involved in control of the proliferation of epidermal cells have now been identified. Furthermore, the nucle ...