Wayne State research team developing AI model to aid in early detection of SARS-CoV2 in children

Currently, there are no methods to discern the spectrum of COVID-19’s severity and predict which children with SARS-CoV-2 exposure will develop severe illness, including MIS-C. Because of this, there is an urgent need to develop a diagnostic modality to distinguish the varying phenotypes of disease and risk stratify disease.

Wayne State secures more than $5 million in NIH funding for cerebral palsy research

The National Institutes of Health is supporting a Wayne State University School of Medicine physician-researcher’s work at preventing and treating cerebral palsy in the form of two new five-year R01 grants worth a collective $5.59 million.

Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Ranked No. 1 in NIH Funding

The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing (JHSON) is ranked No. 1 among schools of nursing for total funding received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for fiscal year 2020. Its grants range in topics from health equity, resilience, gender norms, aging, cardiovascular health, health of Indigenous people, HIV, trauma, violence, and more.

FAU Receives NIH Grant to Enhance Social Engagement in Older Adults

FAU researchers have received a two-year, $675,000 grant from the National Institute of Aging to test a mathematical model designed to optimize social and physical engagement in this population. The objective of the study is to identify strategies that will facilitate and enhance social interactions with and among older adults and counter age-related decline by pinpointing activities that will allow the social life of older adults to flourish.

NIH Re-Funds ACTG for the Next Seven Years

The AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the largest global HIV research network, has been re-funded for the next seven years by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and collaborating NIH Institutes.

FAU Receives $5.3 Million NIH Grant to Detect Cognitive Change in Older Drivers

Testing a readily and rapidly available, discreet in-vehicle sensing system could provide the first step toward future widespread, low-cost early warnings of cognitive change in older drivers. The use of an advanced, multimodal approach involves the development of novel driving sensors and integration of data from a battery of cognitive function tests, eye tracking and driving behaviors and factors. These in-vehicle technologies could help detect abnormal driving behavior that may be attributed to cognitive impairment.

UAH collaboration with HudsonAlpha expands knowledge of how our cells work

In an effort to better understand how our cells work, scientists have studied the function of 208 proteins responsible for orchestrating the regulation genes in the human genome. A paper appearing in the journal “Nature” describes the collaborative effort.

UA Little Rock receives nearly $450,000 to develop deep learning methods to identify cells that advance complex diseases

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor has received a $443,854 grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop unique deep learning methods to identify key cell networks in complex diseases. Dr. Mary Yang, professor of information science and director of the Midsouth Bioinformatics Center at UA Little Rock, will conduct research that will help doctors and scientists further understand how complex diseases evolve and develop in the body as well as how to identify effective drug targets.

Cincinnati Children’s and University of Cincinnati Name New Chair of Pediatrics, Chief Medical Officer, Research Foundation Director

Tina L. Cheng, MD, MPH, will be the new chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the new chief medical officer at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and director of the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation.

FAU Scientists Receive $1.7 Million NIH Grant for Novel Neuroinflammation Study

Researchers have received a $1.7 million NIH grant for a novel project that is the first to investigate how the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1) influences neurotransmission through a direct action on neurons and how this action triggers behavioral changes. They will establish nIL-1R1 as a crucial link that could convert neuroinflammation to neural dysfunction, providing a new pathogenic mechanism for anxiety, depression, and cognitive dysfunction. Results from this work could suggest new targets for the treatment of psychopathology.

Public Health Leadership Paramount to Emerging Coronavirus Pandemic

In the 1960s, public health officials led the U.S. and worldwide efforts that resulted in smallpox becoming the first human disease ever eradicated from the face of the earth. FAU researchers and collaborators discuss the urgent need for public health leadership in the wake of the emerging coronavirus pandemic.

New High-Throughput Method to Study Gene Splicing at an Unprecedented Scale Reveals New Details About the Process

Genes are like instructions, but with options for building more than one thing. Daniel Larson, senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute, studies this gene “splicing” process, which happens in normal cells and goes awry in blood cancers like leukemia.

Stem Cell Therapy Helps Broken Hearts Heal in Unexpected Way

A study in Nature shows stem cell therapy helps hearts recover from a heart attack, although not for the biological reasons originally proposed two decades ago that today are the basis of ongoing clinical trials. The study reports that injecting living or even dead heart stem cells into the injured hearts of mice triggers an acute inflammatory process, which in turn generates a wound healing-like response to enhance the mechanical properties of the injured area.

Better Biosensor Technology Created for Stem Cells

A Rutgers-led team has created better biosensor technology that may help lead to safe stem cell therapies for treating Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and other neurological disorders. The technology, which features a unique graphene and gold-based platform and high-tech imaging, monitors the fate of stem cells by detecting genetic material (RNA) involved in turning such cells into brain cells (neurons), according to a study in the journal Nano Letters.

Blood vessel damage, not nerve damage may be cause for side effects of traumatic brain injury

The effects of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) are pretty clear – problems with memory, headaches, and emotions – but what’s unclear is the underlying pathological causes for those symptoms. According to new research led by researchers at the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in collaboration with the Uniformed Services University (USU), those underlying pathological causes may actually involve more extensive blood vessel damage than previously known. These findings could help target better treatment of these common injuries.

CNS Gift to the CNS Foundation Doubles Innovative Clinical Research Initiative, Creating Annual NINDS/CNSF K12 Scholar Awards

The Congress of Neurological Surgeons Foundation (CNS Foundation) announced a second K12 award will be funded by a generous gift from the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS). The award is made possible through a collaboration with the Foundation of the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

IU School of Medicine awarded $36 million NIH grant for Alzheimer’s disease drug discovery center

The IU-led center is one of only two multi-institution teams in the nation selected as part of a new federal program intended to improve, diversify and reinvigorate the Alzheimer’s disease drug development pipeline.