Award Data

Saphenous vein graft (SVG) failure following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a critical clinical problem, with recent studies revealing that as many as 25% of vein grafts develop stenosis within 12-18 months after surgery, and up to 50% of grafts occlude within 5-10 years. CABG surgery is the gold standard treatment for patients with severe multi-vessel disease, with over 370,000 procedu ...

PROJECT SUMMARY Since 2014, Congenital Syphilis (CS) cases in the United States, caused by the transplacental transmission of the bacterium Treponema pallidum from mother to child, have increased at an alarming rate. Targeted surveillance studies indicate a rise andgt;185% from 2014 to 2018 alone. Women who acquire syphilis within 4 years of pregnancy will transmit the infection to 80% of their fe ...

Precise, customizable drug delivery remains a long-term goal, for HIV in particular, as such technologies would allow therapies tailored to a patient’s biological makeup and potentially improve adherence. Extended-release methods address part of the issue, but face limitations. A novel drug delivery system could offer better pediatric dosing, via both oral and new routes of administration. Exist ...

SUMMARY Arboviruses present a constant threat to human and animal health worldwide. They are transmitted by hematophagous arthropods, primarily mosquitoes. One of them, Aedes aegypti, is the primary vector of several widely spread arboviruses such as Zika, dengue and West Nile viruses, and for most of them, human-licensed vaccines do not exist or are suboptimal. These pathogens are transmitted int ...

Dental CBCT is a 3D imaging modality widely adopted to help dentists detect and diagnose jaw lesions. Due to minimum information loss (compared to conventional 2D radiography) and low radiation exposure (compared to conventional CT), it has become the “go-to” radiographic technique in various dental fields. Gaps: Accompanying the clear benefits of dental CBCT is an overwhelming amount of 3D da ...

PROJECT SUMMARYAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease resulting in the progressive loss of limb, trunk, and head and neck (bulbar) motor function and is the most common adult-onset motor neuron disease. The disease is characterized by significant across-patient heterogeneity in the onset region and in pattern and progression rate, making early and accurate diagnos ...

Project Summary The objective of this STTR proposal is to develop a system for longitudinally tracking the locations and morphologic changes to all Pigmented Skin Lesions on the patient’s body. The proposed software will build on a previously developed Total Body Photography (TBP) system, called Lumo Scanner, that can provide unprecedented resolution across the entire body surface. Skin cancers, ...

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Two million Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) occur per year in the US, killing andgt;90,000 patients and costing ~$50-100 billion (adjusted by CPI to 2020 dollars). HAIs are the 6th leading cause of death in the US, ahead of diabetes and kidney disease. Reducing HAIs is a top priority of the US Department of Health and Human Services1 and experts have called for nov ...

While studies support the efficacy of comprehensive, school-wide interventions in reducing bullying, these types of programs can require significant time and financial resources for implementation, resulting in barriers to providing school-based bullying prevention, especially in low-income and rural communities. Additionally, although training bystanders to act as “defenders” on behalf of tar ...

Project Summary/Abstract U.S. prison systems face sharply increased demands in caring for older people living in prisons. Alzheimerandapos;s Disease and related dementias (ADRD) are age-related diseases. Prison populations are over- represented by minority populations who experience disparities in prevalence and incidence of dementia. Prison health, social, and security staff perceive they lack th ...