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Project Summary Genetic predispositions in the human population are associated with unpredictable pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD), which result in the loss of treatment efficacy or increase risks of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). The FDA estimates that ADRs are the 4th leading cause of death in the US, and treatment costs related to ADRs exceed $136 billion annually. Drug-induced li ...

PROJECT SUMMARY The Botulinum Toxin Potency Assay using Tissue Chips program from FDA and NCATS highlights the need for novel engineered systems capable of reliably evaluating botulinum toxin (BoT) potency. Human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived motor neurons and muscle cells have been previously maintained in co- culture and shown to form functional synaptic contacts representing in v ...

PROGRAM SUMMARYMonoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have become mainstream therapeutic proteins in the biopharmaceutical industry (biopharma), and the demand for efficient analytical tools for their characterization and quality control continues to increase. During manufacturing and storage, cleavage of mAb’s primary structure can occur due to different fragmentation induced mechanisms, and the resultin ...

ABSTRACT The detection of chromosomal aberrations is a frontline diagnostic for the spectrum of blood neoplasms. Chromosomal aberrations, such as translocations, inversions, deletions and insertions, have been historically identified using cytogenetic methods or more recently through application of long read sequencing or optical mapping technologies. These methods have been less applicable in sol ...

ABSTRACT Schistosomiasis is a major parasitic disease which could impact one billion people with 252 million currently infected and 779 million at risk to acquire the infection in 74 countries. Current control strategies have relied on repeated treatments with the drug praziquantel alone – however, this strategy has proven inadequate due to minimal reduction of disease transmission, reinfection, ...

Abstract Phages are viruses that infect bacteria and have the potential to be used as a clinical tool for treating infectious diseases and gut microbiome-related disorders. Understanding phage-host interactions can improve the ability to use phages as a treatment option, and potentially lead to the development of new therapies. However, current methods for studying these interactions are low-throu ...

Project Summary Flow cytometry is widely used in basic and translational research and in clinical diagnostic assays. Spectral flow cytometry represents a revolutionary change in the approach to flow cytometry by using full spectral information from each fluorophore—by collecting the emission over the full spectrum and using multiple excitation sources for each fluorophore to obtain a spectral †...

PROJECT SUMMARY Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a prevalent autoimmune disease of the joints that involves autoimmunity, B and T cell infiltration, mitochondrial dysfunction, ECM degradation, oxidative stress and inflammation, that ultimately lead to cartilage destruction and bone reabsorption. Oxidative stress is a hallmark of RA: reactive oxygen species (ROS) inflict direct damage via the oxidation ...

PROJECT SUMMARY The Apto-Ankle project will create a novel low-cost, lightweight, unpowered passive compliant ankle that addresses the weaknesses of currently marketed hydraulic passive ankles by combining +/-10° of plantar and dorsiflexion with a gait dependent toe lock to provide energy storage and return, all without use of microprocessors or powered components. Appropriate for DMERC K-2 and K ...

RESEARCH SUMMARY The human genome encodes more than 1,600 transcription factors (TFs), along with additional cofactors, chromatin regulators, and structural proteins that collectively execute the regulatory instructions encoded within the nuclear DNA. Dysfunctions of these proteins, collectively known as Gene Regulatory Proteins (GRPs), are known to drive multiple diseases such as cancer, inflamma ...