Join us to celebrate the research of MD-PhD students, and CTSI trainees, scholars and pilot awardees representing multiple departments and colleges across the University of Florida. Attend the Zoom sessions below or click the links to learn more about the upcoming presentations.
Keynote speaker
Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD
Associate Professor at Duke University with appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Neurobiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Neurosurgery.
Agenda
9:00 a.m.
Introduction to MD-PhD & CTSI Research Day
9:20 a.m.
MD-PhD Presentations
William Dodd – Master of Ceremonies for MD-PhD
The MD-PhD Training Program is at the interface of discovery and development where we are transcending individual disciplines for the “team science” paradigm. Here, enthusiastic and interactive researchers, creative minds, and cutting-edge technology work together to apply and advance science. The goal of the MD-PhD Training Program is to enable scholars to obtain the best training in their intended research areas while working closely with an outstanding faculty.
11:15 a.m.
Keynote Speaker
Topic:
Translating Neuroscience: Obstacles and Opportunities
12:30 p.m.
Discussion with Dr. Dzirasa
Students will have an opportunity to meet with Dr. Dzirasa after his presentation.
1:00 p.m.
TL1 trainee presentations
The CTSI TL1 Training Program provides predoctoral trainees with the skills required to develop a career in multidisciplinary clinical and translational research. TL1 Teams are comprised of two or more PhD students from different degree programs in different colleges. Teams collaborate to develop new team-specific aims that expand the scope of their individual dissertation projects based on a common research interest, e.g., a human disease being investigated at different levels (molecular to population), with different experimental approaches or data analysis methods, and/or at different parts of the T0-T4 continuum.
KL2 scholar presentations
The KL2 Program is a multidisciplinary program for junior faculty, that provides two years of financial support and research training to develop the skills necessary to build a well-funded, collaborative career in clinical/ translational research.
UF CTSI Pilot Awardee presentations
CTSI Pilot Project Awards support research across UF’s broad range of scientific disciplines. It is expected that all research supported by these awards will result in one or more publications in a peer-reviewed journal and will provide critical preliminary data to support extramural applications.
watch the presentations online
Join the symposium
This MD-PhD research day is available online via UF'S video hosting site. Click below to join the stream and watch the presentations.
Contact us
For questions about the symposium, please contact Susan Gardner or William Dodd.
To learn more about any of the presentations and presenting scholars, view the posters, or to contact the presenters with questions or comments, click the corresponding presentation title link.
MD-PhD Presentations
KL2 and TL1 Presentations
UF CTSI Pilot Awardee Presentations
| presenter name | Mentor/CO-PI | college | presentation Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Killian, PhD, MSW | Zhe He, PhD (CO-PI) | FSU College of Social Work | Machine learning-based prediction of health outcomes in pediatric organ transplantation recipients: A study of single transplant center |
| Tian Lin, PhD | Natalie Ebner, PhD | UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback Training in Aging: An Individualized Training Protocol Facilitates Neurofeedback Success |
TL1 Teams and Presentations
“I’m Calling CPS”: Stigma surrounding postpartum mental health conditions
Presenters
Danielle Cooke, PhD Candidate
Rebecca Henderson, MD-PhD
Mentors
Joseph McNamara, PhD
Peter Collings, PhD
Description
Stigma is commonly cited as a barrier to mental health treatment seeking in the postpartum. However there has been limited research into stigma surrounding postpartum depression, and no studies examining stigma in postpartum psychosis and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The present study examines reported social distance, fear, perceived dangerousness, and danger to a child when presented with a hypothetical mother experiencing a postpartum mental health condition in a nationally representative sample.
Poster
powerpoint
“I’m Calling CPS”: Stigma surrounding postpartum mental health conditions
Questions or comments?
A TL1 Team Approach to CNS-Localized Delivery of Neurotrophic Factors for Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease
Presenters
Shaheen Farhadi, PhD Candidate
Adithya Gopinath, B.S., PhD Candidate
Mentors
Gregory A Hudalla, PhD
Habibeh Khoshbouei, PhD, PharmD
Description
Early clinical trials to treat patients with Parkinson’s Disease via intracranial administration of glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) have led to promising results including improvements in motor symptoms and increases in striatal dopamine storage. However, some patients experienced a plethora of adverse and toxic side-effects that were largely attributed to GDNF diffusion away from the target CNS tissue site. Here we present a strategy to restrict the diffusion of GDNF and improve bioactivity half-life at its intended target by endowing it with binding affinity for carbohydrates that are abundant on the cell surface and matrix via its fusion to the carbohydrate-binding protein galectin-3 (Gal3).
Poster
powerpoint
A TL1 Team Approach to CNS-Localized Delivery of Neurotrophic Factors for Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease
Questions or comments?
A TL1 Team Approach to Personalization of Donor Human Milk for Preterm Infants
Presenters
Marion Marler Bendixen, RN, IBCLC, MSN, PhD Candidate
Natalie Harrison, PhD Candidate
Mentors
Leslie Parker, PhD, APRN, FAAN
Graciela Lorca, PhD
Description
Often an ample supply of recently expressed or frozen mother’s own milk (MOM) is not available due to the logistics of mother’s visits or insufficient milk supply requiring the preterm infant to be supplemented with donor human milk (DHM). DHM is pasteurized, therefore lacking live commensal bacteria. This study explores the personalization of MOM through comparing fresh and frozen mother’s milk over time as an agent to inoculate DHM to obtain enriched commensal microbes similar to MOM.
Poster
powerpoint
A TL1 Team Approach to Personalization of Donor Human Milk for Preterm Infants
Questions or comments?
A TL1 Team Approach to Identify Factors Affecting Rural Tobacco Users’ Participation in Research
Presenters
Rachel Damiani, M.A., PhD Candidate
Neo Gebru, MS, PhD Candidate
Mentors
Janice Krieger, PhD
Robert Leeman, PhD
Description
By interviewing rural tobacco users about their experiences engaging with research, we aim to better understand their unique challenges to ensure future research efforts are generalizable, rigorous, and representative of a diverse geographic population. Initial findings suggest that rural tobacco users have an overall positive perception of research, and many choose to participate in research for altruistic reasons (i.e. they want to help others). Further, participants noted described feeling stigmatized due to their tobacco use. Although most began smoking to fit in with their community, many now feel on the outs. Participants also reported logistical barriers to participating in research, including lack of transportation. Findings can inform the development of recruitment materials to resonate with rural adults, including by emphasizing the collective potential to help by participating. This interdisciplinary study highlights areas for collaboration to enhance the reach of health education and public health messages.
Poster
powerpoint
A TL1 Team Approach to Identify Factors Affecting Rural Tobacco Users’ Participation in Research
A TL1 Team Approach to Identify Factors Affecting Rural Tobacco Users’ Participation in Research
Questions or comments?
A TL1 Team Approach to a Multimodal Investigation of Attention and Implicit Learning: Network Level Mechanisms and Cognitive Rehabilitation in Traumatic Brain Injury
Presenters
Sarah Long, PhD Candidate
Catherine Tocci, PhD Candidate
Mentors
Aysegul Gunduz, PhD
William Perlstein, PhD
Description
Description:Our project aims to investigate the network level interactions of attention and learning during an attention network task (ANT) and an implicit learning contextual cueing (CC) task. Further, we will assess the effect attention rehabilitation strategies have on behavioral and neural responses pre/post-attentional intervention
Poster
powerpoint
A TL1 Team Approach to a Multimodal Investigation of Attention and Implicit Learning: Network Level Mechanisms and Cognitive Rehabilitation in Traumatic Brain Injury
Questions or comments?
A TL1 Team Approach on Predicting short-term and long-term effects of spinal cord stimulation: implications for clinical practice
Presenters
Rachel Judy, PhD Candidate
Kyle See, PhD Candidate
Mentors
Stephen Coombes, PhD
Ruogu Fang, PhD
Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an intervention for patients with chronic back pain. Technological advances have led to renewed optimism in the field, but mechanisms of action in the brain remain poorly understood. Our work will utilize traditional machine learning methods such as support vector machine and more complex models including deep learning to generate interpretable features within resting EEG signals. Through machine learning, we anticipate that SCS will have a significant effect on resting alpha and beta power in the sensorimotor cortex. Our collaborative project seeks to further the application of machine learning in cognitive neuroscience and allow us to better understand how therapies for chronic pain alter resting brain activity.
Poster
PowerPoint
A TL1 Team Approach on Predicting short-term and long-term effects of spinal cord stimulation: implications for clinical practice
A TL1 Team Approach on Predicting short-term and long-term effects of spinal cord stimulation: implications for clinical practice
Questions or comments?
A TL1 Team approach to determine the influence of human gut microbial activities on cancer progression
Presenter
Rachel Newsome, PhD Candidate
Mentor
Description
The objective of our TL1 grant proposal is to determine the influence of human gut microbial activities on cancer progression and therapeutic efficacy in a novel system that enables the visualization of these complex interactions.
Poster
A TL1 Team approach to determine the influence of human gut microbial activities on cancer progression
Questions or comments?
KL2 Scholars and Presentations
Longitudinal profiling of the gut microbiome during and after rifamycin-based therapy for latent tuberculosis infection
Presenter
Marie Nancy Séraphin, PhD
Mentors
J. Glenn Morris, Jr., MD
Michael Lauzardo, MD
Description
The anti-TB drug rifampicin (RMP) exhibits highly variable serum concentration curves in different population groups, thus affecting TB treatment efficacy. Annually, 600,000 people develop resistance to RMP. There is a growing list of drugs whose pharmacokinetic properties are modified by the gut microbiota. However, our knowledge of the possible impact of biotransformation by gut microbiota on RMP exposure dose is limited. This KL2 project investigates anti-TB drug-induced changes in the gut microbiota and the effect on RMP exposure dose during latent TB therapy.
Poster
Longitudinal profiling of the gut microbiome during and after rifamycin-based therapy for latent tuberculosis infection
Questions or comments?
Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis: Toward Identification of Biomechanical, Neuromuscular, and Somatosensory Mechanisms
Presenter
Mentor
Description
Carpometacarpal osteoarthritis (CMC OA) is a disabling disease marked by pain and functional loss. This project aims to elucidate the biomechanical, neuromuscular, and somatosensory mechanisms that contribute to the symptomology of CMC OA by using a combination of orthopaedic biomechanics and quantitative pain testing.
Poster
Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis: Toward Identification of Biomechanical, Neuromuscular, and Somatosensory Mechanisms
Questions or comments?
MD-PhD Trainees and Presentations
Adropin as a novel protective factor after subarachnoid hemorrhage
Presenter
William Dodd
Mentor
Description
Dysfunctional cerebral blood vessels are a hallmark of the post-hemorrhagic stroke syndrome known as delayed cerebral ischemia. We have identified a novel protein that can help mitigate post-hemorrhagic blood vessel dysfunction.
Poster
Adropin as a novel protective factor after subarachnoid hemorrhage
Questions or comments?
Hectd3 promotes pathogenic Th17 lineage through Stat3 activation and Malt1 signaling in neuroinflammation
Presenter
Jonathan Cho, PhD
Mentor
Dorina Avram, PhD
Description
Polyubiquitination promotes proteasomal degradation, or signaling and localization, of targeted proteins. Here we show that the E3 ubiquitin ligase Hectd3 is necessary for pathogenic Th17 cell generation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model for human multiple sclerosis. Hectd3-deficient mice have lower EAE severity, reduced Th17 program and inefficient Th17 cell differentiation. However, Stat3, but not RORγt, has decreased polyubiquitination, as well as diminished tyrosine-705 activating phosphorylation. Additionally, non-degradative polyubiquitination of Malt1, critical for NF-κB activation and Th17 cell function, is reduced. Mechanistically, Hectd3 promotes K27-linked and K29-linked polyubiquitin chains on Malt1, and K27-linked polyubiquitin chains on Stat3. Moreover, Stat3 K180 and Malt1 K648 are targeted by Hectd3 for non-degradative polyubiquitination to mediate robust generation of RORγt+IL-17Ahi effector CD4+ T cells. Thus, our studies delineate a mechanism connecting signaling related polyubiquitination of Malt1 and Stat3, leading to NF-kB activation and RORγt expression, to pathogenic Th17 cell function in EAE.
Poster
powerpoint
Hectd3 promotes pathogenic Th17 lineage through Stat3 activation and Malt1 signaling in neuroinflammation
Questions or comments?
NR3C2 Genotype is Associated with Spironolactone Response in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction Patients
Presenter
Leanne Dumeny
Mentor
Description
With significant interpatient variability in response to spironolactone, an aldosterone receptor antagonist, we sought to determine if variants in genes associated with aldosterone metabolism were associated spironolactone efficacy in heart failure patients.
Poster:
NR3C2 Genotype is Associated with Spironolactone Response in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction Patients
Questions or comments?
Engineering nanoparticles to treat brain tumors
Presenter
Adam Grippin, PhD
Mentors
Duane Mitchell, MD, PhD
Jon Dobson, PhD
Description
Cancer vaccines produce impressive responses in a subset of patients, but are limited by the inability to differentiate responders from non-responders. Here, we use nanoparticles to enable MRI-based prediction of treatment outcomes.
Poster
powerpoint
Engineering nanoparticles to treat brain tumors
Questions or comments?
Functional Neural Changes in Response to Head-Down Tilt Bedrest with Elevated CO2 During a Sensorimotor Dual Task
Presenter
Aditya Mahadevan, BS
Mentor
Description
Spaceflight and microgravity cause well-characterized changes in sensory weighting processes, central fluid distribution, and musculoskeletal structure and it is important to assess how these changes affect our ability to integrate sensorimotor information. Ground-based spaceflight analogues incorporating 6° head-down tilt bedrest (HDBR) are often used to simulate microgravity and its associated physiological changes but, recently, it has been hypothesized that combining HDBR with elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) might better mimic the conditions of a closed environment like the International Space Station. Dual task cost is a sensitive indicator of change in central motor function, and one that is affected by HDBR. Here, we examine how a 30-day HDBR intervention, including 0.5% ambient CO2, changes human performance and functional brain activity during single and dual task conditions. The task involved three phases in which participants i) counted the number of times an oddball stimulus was presented among distractor stimuli; ii) tapped one of two buttons in response to a visual cue at a rate of 1 Hz; and iii) performed both tasks concurrently. 11 participants (6 males) underwent functional MRI (fMRI) during the task: twice prior to HDBR+CO2, twice during HDBR+CO2, and twice following HDBR+CO2, allowing us to assess changes with HDBR+CO2 as well as subsequent recovery. Behavioral measures included reaction time and tapping accuracy during both the tapping and dual conditions, as well as counting accuracy during the counting and dual conditions. fMRI data were evaluated at an uncorrected p<.001. These exploratory analyses revealed areas following varying patterns of change and recovery, with some regions displaying only an initial change with the intervention while other regions displayed a dose-dependent effect. Across all task conditions, changes were found in the precentral, postcentral, and superior frontal gyri, all areas associated with sensorimotor or cognitive functions. Patterns of activation change as they correlate with behavioral change differed by task condition. The tapping condition showed better accuracy/shorter reaction time with more activation, but the dual task condition showed a more compensatory pattern. When compared to our previous HDBR investigation, we found that the increased ambient CO2 may have altered patterns of activation change seen throughout the brain. Together, these findings provide information about the additional and/or interactive effects of CO2 administration with HDBR and about how spaceflight conditions may impact the brain’s ability to maintain function during sensorimotor interference.
Poster
powerpoint
Functional Neural Changes in Response to Head-Down Tilt Bedrest with Elevated CO2 During a Sensorimotor Dual Task
Questions or comments?
Using a novel neonatal mouse model to identify determinants of norovirus virulence
Presenter
Emily Winesett Helm
Mentor
Description
Norovirus is the leading cause of severe childhood diarrhea globally and a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis for individuals of all ages. Despite its clinical relevance, very little is known about the pathogenic mechanisms underlying norovirus-induced disease. The use of the murine norovirus (MNV) model system has greatly increased our understanding of norovirus biology; however, the absence of symptoms in immunocompetent adult mice limits its utility in understanding mechanisms of disease. We recently discovered that genetically wild-type neonatal mice develop acute, self-resolving diarrhea upon infection with acute MNV-1, a disease course mirroring human norovirus pathogenesis. By using this novel neonatal mouse model, we have now been able to investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms and key cellular targets of norovirus-induced disease.
Poster
powerpoint
Using a novel neonatal mouse model to identify determinants of norovirus virulence
Questions or comments?
Using a combination of Gangliosides and Cell Surface Vimentin as surface biomarkers for isolating Osteosarcoma Cells
Presenter
Henrietta Fasanya
Mentors
Dietmar Siemann, PhD
Hugh Fan, PhD
Description
Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary bone tumor and the third leading cause of pediatric cancer deaths. Approximately, 80% of patients will present with metastasis, however only 20% of these cases are clinically detectable at diagnosis. Current imaging modalities can only detect tumor masses of a significant size. Our group has identified novel biomarkers that can detect circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients. Future studies are aimed to monitor CTCs in patients over the course of their treatment and determine if there is a correlation between CTCs present and their clinical outcome.
Poster
powerpoint
Using a combination of Gangliosides and Cell Surface Vimentin as surface biomarkers for isolating Osteosarcoma Cells
Questions or comments?
Hippocampal Transcriptomic Profiles Reflect Strategy Selection During Cognitive Aging
Presenter
Garrett Smith
Mentor
Description
Cognitive impairment is associated with differential regulation of genes linked to specific neural systems. Previous studies, however, have not identified links between behavior and transcription in the dentate gyrus. We employed a behavioral task designed to emphasize dentate function, and correlated performance on the task to transcription in the DG. We confirmed differential regulation of synaptic and neurogenesis genes in the dentate that were related to impaired performance on this putative test of dentate function in middle-age animals. This differential gene regulation may relate to the emergence of impaired hippocampal-dependent cognition with age.
Poster
powerpoint
Hippocampal Transcriptomic Profiles Reflect Strategy Selection During Cognitive Aging
Questions or comments?
Pglyrp3, a novel critical regulator of breast cancer development and metastasis
Presenter
Mathew Sebastian
Mentor
Description
Though breast cancer mortality has decreased by ~40% over the past several decades, most of this improvement is within treatment of patients diagnosed with stages I-III of breast cancer. The metastatic stage IV breast cancer, however, continues to be a major life-threatening disease with little improvement in overall survival. Thus, a better understanding of the basic processes of cancer progression and eventual metastasis formation is needed with the therapeutic goal of metastasis prevention. However, identifying new targetable factors has proven elusive. Through computational analysis of RNA-Seq data generated using a spontaneous breast tumor forming murine model, peptidoglycan recognition protein 3 (Pglyrp3) was predicted to be a major regulator of breast cancer metastasis; however, it has never been described in the context of breast cancer. To determine the role of Pglyrp3 in breast cancer, we tested the genetic requirement for Pglyrp3 in breast tumor progression using cell line and mouse models of triple negative breast cancer and luminal invasive ductal carcinomas, respectively. Here, we describe the identification of Pglyrp3 as a novel breast cancer factor that plays an essential role in breast cancer progression. Using the 4T1 triple negative breast cell line in an orthotopic model, we found loss of Pglyrp3 leads to decreased tumor volumes (P<.001) and lung metastases (P<.0001) as compared to scrambled control in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised models. We then validated these observations and found that when isolated primary tumors from luminal MMTV-PyMT invasive ductal carcinoma with and without Pglyrp3 were implanted into immunocompromised mice, Pglyrp3-KO tumors were significantly smaller in size (P<.0001) with decreased lung metastases (P<.01). To assess whether the initial stages of metastasis and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) are rate limiting with Pglyrp3 deficient cells, we bypassed the initial stages of EMT by injecting Pglyrp3 deficient cells intravenously and found that they were able to metastasize equally as well as control cells suggesting that Pglyrp3 regulates the initial stages of EMT. Together, these data demonstrate a new role for Pgylrp3 as a novel regulator of breast cancer progression.
Poster
powerpoint
Pglyrp3, a novel critical regulator of breast cancer development and metastasis
Questions or comments?
Participant-Driven Goal Setting in the Management of Multiple, Complex Chronic Diseases: Preliminary Findings from the Wellness Incentives Navigation (WIN) Pragmatic Clinical Trial
Presenter
Aditi Patel, PhD, MPH
Mentor
Description
Goal setting between patients and providers can improve self-confidence, self-efficacy, and satisfaction with health care for individuals living with comorbid chronic diseases. There is evidence to support patient engagement in chronic disease management to improve clinical health outcomes. The purpose of our investigation is to describe and characterize participant-driven wellness goals among Medicaid enrollees as supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Poster
Participant-Driven Goal Setting in the Management of Multiple, Complex Chronic Diseases: Preliminary Findings from the Wellness Incentives Navigation (WIN) Pragmatic Clinical Trial
Questions or comments?
GRE Enhancement of AAV Does Not Improve Transduction Efficiency
Presenter
Frederick “Ricky” Ashby, MPH, MD-PhD Candidate
Mentor
Description
Previous work has suggested that AAV transduction is affected by the glucocorticoid pathway in self-complementary vectors. It remains to be established whether this can be exploited for improving AAV gene therapy. The results show that, contrary to previous unpublished work, GRE enhancement of AAV does not improve transduction efficiency.
Poster
powerpoint
GRE Enhancement of AAV Does Not Improve Transduction Efficiency
Questions or comments?
Sexual harassment experiences across the academic hierarchy
Presenter
Chu Jane Hsiao
Mentor
Connie Mulligan, PhD
Environments that fortify power dynamics are more likely to foster and sustain sexual harassment. Current estimates suggest there is little difference in prevalence of experiences in medical students, residents, and faculty. However, it remains unclear how recall bias and differences in time queried impact these numbers. We surveyed trainees and faculty within the same institutional culture about sexual harassment experiences in 2018. We found a consistent trend whereby medical students were most likely and faculty were least likely to experience sexual harassment.
Poster
Sexual harassment experiences across the academic hierarchy
Questions or comments?
Determining how early after surgery should we study total knee arthroplasty mechanics?
Presenter
Lindsey Palm
Mentor
Description
Fluoroscopic knee kinematics of a total knee arthroplasty design at 6-12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after surgery.
Poster
Determining how early after surgery should we study total knee arthroplasty mechanics?
Questions or comments?
Generation of islet-reactive Tregs to prevent diabetes in NOD mice
Presenter
Puchong Thirawatananond
Mentor
Description
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease leading to major complications despite advancements in glucose monitoring and exogenous insulin. Adoptive cell therapy with polyclonal Tregs have been proven to be safe, but have lacked efficacy in outcome measures of T1D prevention. This research seeks to improve adoptive Treg cell therapy by providing islet antigen-specificity while preventing potential adverse events due to TCR chain mispairing.
Poster
powerpoint
Generation of islet-reactive Tregs to prevent diabetes in NOD mice
Questions or comments?
Tau Phosphorylation of Ser208 Promotes Aggregation of Wild Type tau in Alzheimer’s disease and Other Tauopathies
Presenter
Yuxing Xia, BS
Mentor
Description
Tau protein abnormally aggregates in tauopathies, a diverse group of neurologic diseases that includes Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In early stages of disease, tau becomes hyperphosphorylated and mislocalized, which can contribute to its aggregation and toxicity. Supporting the involvement of pSer208 in tau pathology, a novel monoclonal antibody 3G12 specific for tau phosphorylation at Ser208 revealed strong reactivity of tau inclusions in the brains of PS19 and rTg4510 transgenic mouse models of tauopathy. 3G12 also labelled neurofibrillary tangles in brains of patients with AD but revealed differential staining compared to CP13 and 7F2 for other types of tau pathologies such as in neuropil threads and neuritic plaques in AD, tufted astrocytes in progressive supranuclear palsy and astrocytic plaques in corticobasal degeneration. These results support the hypothesis that tau phosphorylation at Ser208 strongly contributes to unique types of tau aggregation and may be a reliable marker for the presence of mature neuronal tangles.
Poster
powerpoint
Tau Phosphorylation of Ser208 Promotes Aggregation of Wild Type tau in Alzheimer’s disease and Other Tauopathies
Tau Phosphorylation of Ser208 Promotes Aggregation of Wild Type tau in Alzheimer’s disease and Other Tauopathies
Questions or comments?
Targeting Corticotropin Peptide Family In Treatment Of Neurodegenerative, Metabolic, and Oncological Disease
Presenter
Zachary Krumm
Mentor
Description
Central Corticotropin family signalling as well as activation of the HPA-Axis results in significant alterations in metabolic, immune, and gene regulatory function. Targeting these pathways to modulate treatment for chronic disease, either as a monotherapy or as a treatment adjuvant, has emerged as a promising avenue in neurodegenerative, metabolic, and potentially oncologic paradigms. We have developed a monoclonal antibody that targets Corticotropin Relasing Hormone (CRH) for use as both a therepuetic intervention and a research tool to further explore the role of stress metabolism in the progression of chronic disease and behavior.
Poster
Powerpoint
Targeting Corticotropin Peptide Family In Treatment Of Neurodegenerative, Metabolic, and Oncological Disease
Targeting Corticotropin Peptide Family In Treatment Of Neurodegenerative, Metabolic, and Oncological Disease
Questions or comments?
Interrogating the Cancer Noncoding Transcriptome via Novel Bioinformatics Methodology
Presenter
Dan Stribling
Mentor
Description
This work describes ongoing bioinformatics methods development to empower discovery of new drivers of via the noncoding transcriptome. Set primarily in the context of Kaposi’s Sarcoma Herpesvirus, this poster describes the development of bioinformatics tools to unlock the potential of recent ribonomics techniques such as qCLASH for miRNA discovery, miRNA targetome characterization, and lncRNA annotation.
Poster
poiwerpoint
Interrogating the Cancer Noncoding Transcriptome via Novel Bioinformatics Methodology
Interrogating the Cancer Noncoding Transcriptome via Novel Bioinformatics Methodology
Questions or comments?
Visual Mismatch Negativity and Structural Connectivity in Hoarding Disorder
Presenter
Binh Nguyen, BS
Mentor
Description
Hoarding disorder (HD) is a psychiatric illness characterized by difficulty and distress with discarding items of minimal value and accumulation of clutter that reduces quality of life and functional use of living spaces. Because HD was only recently defined as a distinct disorder in the DSM-5, we lack a full understanding of its underlying neurobiology. Thus our group is studying visual mismatch negativity, an EEG waveform reflecting environmental change detection/perceptual accuracy that may be impaired in HD, as well as probing structural brain changes via neuroimaging that could serve as objective biomarkers and correspond to HD symptomatology and severity.
Poster
powerpoint
Visual Mismatch Negativity and Structural Connectivity in Hoarding Disorder
Questions or comments?
Pilot Awardees and Presentations
Machine learning-based prediction of health outcomes in pediatric organ transplantation recipients: A study of single transplant center
Presenter
Mike Killian, PhD, MSW
CO-PI
Zhe He, PhD
Description
The purpose of the current study was to test and examine ML models predicting the experience of hospitalization and mortality in samples of pediatric kidney, liver, and heart transplant recipients from a large solid organ transplant program. Preliminary results from this study will inform work with national transplant data and pediatric data from OneFlorida Data Network.
Poster
powerpoint
Machine learning-based prediction of health outcomes in pediatric organ transplantation recipients: A study of single transplant center
Questions or comments?
Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback Training in Aging: An Individualized Training Protocol Facilitates Neurofeedback Success
Presenter
Tian Lin, PhD
Mentor
Description
This pilot data showed the first evidence that some older adults can learn to up-regulate brain activity in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex via real-time fMRI based neurofeedback training during a selective attention task.
Poster
powerpoint
Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback Training in Aging: An Individualized Training Protocol Facilitates Neurofeedback Success
Questions or comments?
About Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD
Kafui Dzirasa completed a PhD in Neurobiology at Duke University. His research interests focus on understanding how changes in the brain produce neurological and mental illness, and his graduate work has led to several distinctions including the Somjen Award for Most Outstanding Dissertation Thesis, the Ruth K. Broad Biomedical Research Fellowship, the UNCF·Merck Graduate Science Research Fellowship, and the Wakeman Fellowship. Kafui obtained an MD from the Duke University School of Medicine in 2009, and he completed residency training in General Psychiatry in 2016.
Kafui received the Charles Johnson Leadership Award in 2007, and he was recognized as one of Ebony magazine’s 30 Young Leaders of the Future in February 2008. He has also been awarded the International Mental Health Research Organization Rising Star Award, the Sydney Baer Prize for Schizophrenia Research, and his laboratory was featured on CBS 60 Minutes in 2011. In 2016, he was awarded the inaugural Duke Medical Alumni Emerging Leader Award and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers: The Nation’s highest award for scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. In 2017, he was recognized as 40 under 40 in Health by the National Minority Quality Forum, and the Engineering Alumni of the Year from UMBC. He was induced into the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2019.
Kafui has served as an Associate Scientific Advisor for the journal Science Translational Medicine, a member of the Congressional-mandated Next Generation Research Initiative, and on the NIH Director’s guiding committee for the BRAIN Initiative. He currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for TEDMED.
Kafui is an Associate Professor at Duke University with appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Neurobiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Neurosurgery. His ultimate goal is to combine his research, medical training, and community experience to improve outcomes for diverse communities suffering from Neurological and Psychiatric illness.