Award Data

Methods for the delivery of therapeutics, tracking dyes, genes and other substances into complex neural tissue, organotypic cultures and cell types are limited in their effectiveness. The biolistic process, based upon acceleration of carrier particles to sufficient velocity, has recently been shown to be a relatively effectual delivery method for neuronal systems. However, cell damage and tissue d ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Solazyme, Inc. in collaboration with the City University of New York (CUNY) proposes to develop a novel recombinant protein expression platform by transforming the photosynthetic microalgal species Dunaliella salina. The organism's autotrophic production of nutrients from sunlight and extreme halotolerance will allow new biomanufacturing processes to overcome t ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Alcohol dependence is a chronic disorder with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental underpinnings. Alcohol's societal impact is widespread; it is estimated that there are 17.6 million individuals who abuse or depend on alcohol in the United States. (Grant et al, 2004). Alcohol dependence is considered the third leading preventable cause of death in the Unite ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Heart failure is a leading cause of mortality in modern society, and is results from the death of cardiac myocytes. Contractile function of failing hearts can be restored by injecting the heart with embryonic stem cell-derived cardiac myocytes (ESCMs) which integrate into the host tissue. To facilitate production of ESCMs, high throughput screening systems are ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose to develop an automated screen for small molecules that modulate insulin promoter activity. The assay is based upon a mouse insulinoma, MIN6, that normally expresses insulin mRNA. This cell was engineered to stably contain two cassettes that use a fluorescent reporter protein to monitor insulin promoter activity and a housekeeping gene activity. The ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this grant is to develop fluorescence endoscopy instrumentation to facilitate the surgical management of breast cancer, with possible application to other types of cancer. The specific aims for this project are to develop a combination holographic notch filter adapter and switchable high-intensity LED light source adapter for currently availabl ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Photopolymerization has provided a powerful tool for tissue engineering through localized synthesis of therapeutic materials in situ. To date, strategies to create photopolymerized networks on the surface of a tissue, such as the inner lumen of a blood vessel or on the fracture surface of a bone have received the most attention. The proposal will demonstrate a ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Apoptosis is well recognized as an important biological process that controls cancer development and progression and the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs depends largely on their ability to induce apoptosis. Modern biology has suggested that cancer drug discovery based on molecular differences between tumor and normal cells is a feasible approach. Bcl-2, a cr ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose a new manufacturing process for multifunctional coatings of biomedical implants. Towards this goal, polymer coatings applied by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are exceptional candidates for the coating of implanted biomedical devices as indicated by their use in FDA approved drug-eluting stint (Cypher stint, J&J) uses a vapor-deposited polymer (pary ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Lung disease is America's third largest cause of death. Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) afflicts approximately 150,000 patients every year in the US. Lung disease costs the American economy $148 billion yearly in total expenditures. While treatment for heart disease and cancer has been marked by a significant fall in their rates of death (36.6% for h ...