Award Data

Traumatic brain injuryTBIis a substantial health care issue affecting both civilian and military populationsAlthough extremes of head injury are recognizablemild to moderate TBImmTBIis more difficult to diagnose leading to a need for the identification of circulating biomarkers of brain injury that may facilitate early identificationUsing a rat model of TBI we identified a novel marker of neuronal ...

Drug discovery is challenging and expensiveespecially in the phase of lead optimization whichpredicts binding to a targetComputational approaches can add substantial valueComputingrelative binding free energiesRBFEbetween congeneric molecules using molecular dynamicsMDgreatly reduces the search space and considerably improves convergenceThe Silicon TherapeuticsSTXINSITE platform uses an RBFE proto ...

Project Summary Abstract Many pharmaceutical agents are highly potentbut are unable to exert substantial therapeutic activity against disorders of the brainbecause the blood brain barrierBBBeffectively prevents their access to the site of intracerebral diseaseFor examplethe majority of glioblastoma patientsdespite the best efforts of current medical caredie within two years after diagnosisHencethe ...

Abstract The goal of this project is to validate an innovativehighly sensitive retinal eye tracking technologythe tracking scanning laser ophthalmoscopeTSLOas a prognostic and monitoring tool for neurodegenerative disordersnamely multiple sclerosisMSThe applications of effective treatments for multiple sclerosis are constrained bythe absence of methods for early detection andquantitativehighly sen ...

Project Summary The use of technologies for imagingrecording and modulating brain activity is rapidly advancing neuroscienceNotablymicroelectrodes are used to locally record neural activity or to perturb circuit functionFunctional magnetic resonance imagingfMRIis widely used to image large scale patterns of hemodynamic fluctuations accompanying neural activityAlthough these techniques have become ...

Herpes simplex virusesandHSVHSVcause a wide range of serious diseasesincluding oral genital lesionscorneal blindness and eczema herpeticumHSVand HSVare both transmitted sexually and can infect babies during birthTherapy for HSV relies primarily on nucleoside analogs such as acyclovirACVwhich are insufficiently effectiveand resistant viruses are becoming common among immunosuppressed personsTherefo ...

Abstract Deep brain stimulationDBSwith implantable electrodes has been used for reduction of ethanol abuse and drug seeking behaviors in EuropeThe use of such deep brain stimulation procedures has been problematic because of concerns about invasiveness of the procedureApplicant has developed a new noninvasive method of transporting magnetic particles directly to target sites within the brainWe pro ...

Abstract E cigaretteE ciguse has rapidly proliferated worldwideIt is speculated that E cig use may exceed conventional cigarette use withinyearsCigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and disabilityAs E cigs are a relatively new productstudies are needed to determine their long term detrimental effectssome of which may be similar to the long term detrimental effects of nicotine ...

PROJECT SUMMARY State of the art techniques result inyear solid organ graft loss ofto overin cardiopulmonary organ transplantationEstablishment of donor specific immunological toleranceDSITa condition in which a recipient accepts a transplant without immunosuppressionwhile retaining the ability to fight infectionswould reduce graft loss and transplant related complicationsThe only identified metho ...

Project Summary AbstractThe objective of this proposal is to perform proof of concept experiments on a new hand held surgical instrument that provides dexterity at the tip of a rigid bronchoscopeThis approach is less invasive than traditional open surgeryand will be safer than the current rigid bronchoscopic approachwhich lacks dexterity in port delivered instrumentsOur new system will feature nee ...