Award Data

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mental disease, including schizophrenia, depression and autism spectrum disorders, are still poorly understood, although it is clear that they mostly represent cortical disorders. The cortex is the primary site of higher mental functions, and despite extensive research, there is still no unified theory of how the cortex works. This is partl due to the fact that ...

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant This phase project has as its overall objectives to design engineer optimize and implement a novel genetically encoded fluorescent drug sensor FDS based on F rster Resonance Energy Transfer FRET by exploiting conformational rearrangements induced by drug interactions with human serum albumin SA SA is uniquely suited for a general drug sensor beca ...

AbstractThe alarming scope of the rapidly growing opioid epidemic has commanded the nation’s attention. The White House’s Council of Economic Advisers estimates that in 2015, the economic cost of the opioid crisis was over $504.0 billion (2.8% of GDP); and it is only expected to continue rising. Today, 1 in 5 fatalities amongst young adults is opioid related; with half a million fatal overdose ...

ABSTRACTExhaled breath is one of the most non-invasive human effluents that can be captured and analyzed, and yet it has minimal presence as a common clinical endpoint measurement in any branch of modern medicine. There has been a persistent technology gap for both breath sampling and breath analysis, despite the many vulnerable patient populations and age groups that could be aided by its use. Ex ...

The goal of this proposal is to develop a new treatment for strabismus, a visual disorder affecting 3-4% of the population, using a novel technology that we have recently formulated. This involves specific targeting and elimination of cholinergic motor neurons that innervate the extra-ocular muscles by injection of an antivesicular acetylcholine transporter-saporin (anti-VAChT-saporin). This appro ...

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 (provided by applicant): Cancer treatment today is in need of tumor-specific and effective therapies that do not harm the patient and thereby compromise treatment efficacy and prolong recovery time. A multi-modal therapeutic and imaging agent t hat does not damage healthy living tissue would have tremendous benefit to researchers and victims of this deadly disease. Nanomaterials have t ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Low levels of nutrients such as calcium contribute to osteoporosis and other significant health problems for millions of people worldwide. For many consumers, current methods of increasing dietary nutrients are inconvenient, costly, or unpalatable. This STTR Phase I project proposes to develop a novel method of increasing levels of one or more nutrients in veg ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Thromboembolic disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed world. Because platelets play a critical role in the activation and propagation of thrombosis, they represent important targets for new anti-thrombotic drugs. A potent inhibitor of human platelet function has been isolated from the bloodfeeding hookworm, Ancylostoma caninum. ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated pathogenic yeast that causes pulmonary infections and meningoencephalitis in humans and other animals. During the last 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of cryptococcosis throughout the world that mirrors the increase in not only HIV infections, but also in the growing number of immuno comp ...