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Pill-sized imaging system offers detailed images of esophageal lining, by Evan Godt, HealthImaging, January 11, 2013
Research done in collaboration with the NIBIB-funded Center for Biomedical Optical Coherence Tomography Reseach and Translation based at Massachusetts General Hospital, has led to the development of a pill-sized imaging system for the upper gastrointestinal tract. The capsule imaging system offers advantages over endoscopy, such as faster imaging time while providing accurate, three-dimensional pictures, and it does not require patient sedation. The tethered capsule technique was reported online January 13 in Nature Medicine.
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Human Cartilage Repair with a Photoreactive Adhesive Hydrogel Composite, Science Translational Medicine, January 9, 2013
Breakthrough research in human cartilage repair by NIBIB grantees Jennifer Elisseeff, Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University and Garry E. Gold at Stanford University may improve the treatment of cartilage defects. A pilot clinical study demonstrated the efficacy of an adhesive hydrogel biomaterial to support cartilage formation. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed repair tissue fill, growth, and integration with surrounding cartilage.
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Improving the accuracy of cancer diagnosis by Anne Trafton, MITnews
December 24, 2012
A new spectroscopy technique developed at an NIBIB-funded research center promises faster and less expensive breast cancer diagnosis. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy could reduce the rate of inconclusive diagnoses and be used during biopsy procedures, providing accurate results within seconds.
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Interdisciplinary Graduate Training in Teaching Labs, Science, by Ronald D. Vale and Joseph DeRisi,
December 21, 2012
NIBIB Training Program grantee Joseph DeRisi highlights the importance of cross disciplinary training programs, with special focus on the Physiology Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), a short-term, intensive, interdisciplinary research environment. Via teaching laboratories, students and faculty of mixed backgrounds in biology, physical science, and computation work collaboratively to explore areas outside their respective areas of expertise, gain exposure to other disciplines, and better understand a problem’s significance.
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New Nuclear Magnetic Resonance technique highlighted by Nature Reviews: Drug Discovery
December 12, 2012
NIBIB-funded researcher Stan Opella, Ph.D, has developed a new technique for determining the structure of G-Protein coupled receptors (GPCRs,) one which does not require the massive physiological modifications demanded from the current technology, X-ray crystallography. GPCRs are significant because more than half of all current medications target GPCRs and being able to determine their structure could speed drug development.
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Hatching Ideas, and Companies, by the Dozens at M.I.T, New York Times,
November 24, 2012
The
New York Times features NIBIB grantees Bob Langer and Ralph Weissleder
as being “on the front lines of turning discoveries made in the lab into a
range of drugs and drug deliver systems. Without this kind of technology transfer,
the thinking goes, scientific discoveries might well sit on the shelf, stifling
innovation.”
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Palette of fluorinated voltage-sensitive hemicyanine dyes, PNAS online, November
20, 2012
NIBIB-funded research has resulted in a new spectrum of voltage-sensitive dyes (VSDs)
that improves optical imaging of brain and heart electrical activity. Fluorinated
hemicyanine dyes provide spectral compatibility with newly available optical technologies,
offering better photostability and improving the signal to noise ratio (S:N) of
the optically recorded voltage activity in cells, tissues, and organs.
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Northwestern University press release describes ground breaking immunology research
funded by NIBIB
In a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS), NIBIB-funded researchers Stephen Miller
and Lonnie Shea at Northwestern University have developed innovative biotechnology
to selectively inhibit the part of the immune system responsible for attacking myelin–the
insulating material that encases nerve fibers and facilitates electrical communication
between brain cells.
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NIBIB grantees inducted into the National Academy of Engineering
Dr. Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic and Dr. Norbert Pelc have been inducted into the National
Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional distinctions conferred on
engineers.
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Probing of the Assembly Structure and Dynamics within Nanoparticles during Interaction
with Blood Proteins, ACS-Nano, October 30, 2012
A team of researchers including NIBIB investigator Kit Lam at the University of
California Davis has discovered a new class of nanoparticles capable of packaging
a diverse array of drugs. Research findings demonstrate structural and dynamic changes
within nanoparticles during interaction with blood proteins which will result in
better designed nanomedicines that will be therapeutically more efficacious.
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$4M Awarded to Case Western Reserve to Develop Structural Biology Instrument
Led by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Mark Chance, PhD, director
of the Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics at Case Western Reserve University
School of Medicine, has been awarded $4 million for work with the National Synchrotron
Light Source II (NSLS II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York.
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Researchers look to bring inexpensive supercomputing power to hospitals, Appro Industry
News, September 27, 2012.
With a $2.6M grant from NIBIB and support from GE Global Research, Massachusetts
General Hospital and Los Alamos National Lab, Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute researchers
are exploring ways to reduce exposure to radiation from X-ray and CT imaging scans
by harnessing the power of high performance computing and advanced video cards.
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World's Most Wired War Healer, Joachim Kohn, September 24, 2012 Wired.com
by Katie Drummond
Dr. Joachim Kohn, AFIRM's Director and an NIBIB Principal Investigator, takes
people ravaged by war and helps discover new ways to put them (literally) back together
through tissue engineering, renerative processes like bone and nerve repair, face
transplants, human transplantation, and an engineered skin substitute for burns.
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Comparative Effectiveness of POC Tests for Chlamydia in a Clinic Setting, Johns
Hopkins Medcine, September 14, 2012, by Charlotte Gaydos
Point-of-care tests for chlamydia as developed by NIBIB-funded researcher Charlotte
Gaydos are more cost-effective than traditional nucleic acid amplification test
(NAAT) in a clinic when specified characteristics (sensitivity, specificity, cost,
and willingness to wait in a clinic for POC test results) are met.
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New Study Shows Promise in Using RNA Nanotechnology to Treat Cancers and Viral Infections,
UKNOW September 4, 2012 by Allison Perry
A new study by University of Kentucky researchers, carried out in the laboratory
of Pexiuan Guo, an NIBIB PI, shows promise for developing ultrastable RNA nanoparticles
that may help treat cancer and viral infections by regulating cell function and
binding to cancers without harming surrounding tissue.
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Challenges for Training at the Interface, Bioengineering & Biomedical Science, by Qing Nie, July 23, 2012
NIBIB Training Program grantee Qing Nie discusses the challenges of the development and maintenance of training programs at the interface between biology and existing traditional disciplines.
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New Silk Technology Preserves Heat-Sensitive Drugs for Months without Refrigeration,
July 09, 2012
NIBIB funded researcher, David Kaplan, at Tufts University has discovered a new
silk stabilization technology to preserve vaccines and antiobiotics without refrigeration.
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RTI International Launches Comprehensive Online Nanomaterial Registry, June 19,
2012
Funded by NIBIB, NCI, and NIEHS, RTI International has launched the Nanomaterial
Registry, a comprehensive resource for the nanomaterial community.
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Differentiation of Multipotent Vascular Stem Cells Contributes to Vascular Diseases,
Nature Communications, June 6, 2012
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Turning Plant Virus into Cancer Weapon, 3 wkyc.com, May 2, 2012, by Monica Robins
Nicole Steinmetz, Ph. D., NIBIB grantee and researcher at Case Western Reserve University
uses plant virus nanoparticles to attack brain and breast tumors, as well as colon
and prostate cancer.
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Engaging Undergraduates in Global Health Technology Innovation, Science,
April 27, 2012
Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Ph. D., a long-term NIBIB grantee and Stanley C. Moore
Professor of Bioengineering at Rice University, together with her colleagues recently
won the Science prize for Inquiry Based Instruction by challenging students to find
novel technical solutions to global health problems.
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Microfluidic Chip Demonstrates Rapid, Low-Cost, Point-of-Care Flu Detection, BU
College of Engineering, 2012, by Mark Dwortzan
A four-year NIBIB-funded study of 146 patients with flu-like symptoms has validated
a prototype rapid, low-cost, accurate, point-of-care device which could provide
clinicians with an effective tool to quickly diagnose both seasonal and pandemic
strains of influenza, and thus limit the spread of infection.
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Ultrasound Technique Breaks Down Blood Clots, Medical Design Briefs, March
1, 2012
With a grant from the NIBI, the team of Adam Maxwell, Charles Cain, Hitinder Gurm,
and Zhen Xu at the University of Michigan are investigating the use of histotripsy
(surgical technique using high intensity ultrasound for fractionation of tissues)
to breakdown clots for the non-invasive treatment of deep vein thrombosis.
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Imaging Science and the Economy: Federal Funds Provided Lifeline for a Start-Up
Company, February 3, 2012
One of the fastest growing clinical applications of the powerful medical imaging
modality MRI is the parallel imaging method, where multiple radio frequency (RF)
receiver coils are used in simultaneous signal processing to speed up imaging.
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Luck & Desire, Southwest Spirit, February 2012, by Nathaniel Reade
A hit & run car accident paralyzed Rob Summers and changed his life. With determination,
written goal setting, and innovative technology, he is now able to stand and has
regained some body function. Reggie Edgerton, a spinal cord researcher at UCLA and
an NIBIB grantee, provided Summers with just what he needed - a device that acted
like a hearing aid for the spinal cord. Summers’ health is improving dramatically.
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A Deeper Peek into Living Organisms, Nature, January 26, 2012, by Francesca
Cesari & Deepa Nath
NIBIB researcher Claude Lechene and colleagues report the first use of an approach
called multi-isotope imaging spectrometry (MMIS) in living organisms. This technique
has outstanding resolution: it provides data in the sub-micrometre range, allowing
analysis of structures as small as cellular regions.
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NIH Awards NITRC Phase II Contract to TCG, TCG, December 19, 2011
NITRC currently gives researchers around the world access to software tools and
data to advance neuroinformatics research. Most of the resources are free, and many
have communities of interest associated with them, allowing researchers to share
advice and ideas for use of the data and tools. The new contract is funded by a
consortium of NIH Institutes, including NIBIB, and will allow TCG to continue and
expand NITRC.
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NIH Funds $400,000 IUPUI Biomedical Engineering Grant, Type 1 Diabetes Implications,
IUPUI, December 13, 2011
Biomedical researchers at IUPUI’s Purdue School of Engineering and Technology were
awarded $400,000 to study a synthetic hydrogel matrix that could potentially trigger
both cell proliferation and differentiation. This technique could impact the treatment
of Type 1 Diabetes, and bone, cartilage, and other cell deficiencies.
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Quyen Nguygen: Color-coded surgery, TEDMED, December, 2011
Surgeons are taught from textbooks which conveniently color-code types of tissues,
but that's not what it looks like in real life -- until now. Quyen Nguyen, an
NIBIB K08 awardee, demonstrates how a molecular marker can make tumors light up
in neon green, showing surgeons exactly where to cut.
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Researchers Map, Measure Brain’s Neural Connections:
June 1, 2011
Computer scientists at Brown University have created software to examine neural
circuitry in the human brain. The 2-D neural maps combine visual clarity with a
Web-based digital map interface, and users can view 2-D maps together with 3-D images.
The program aims to better understand myelinated axons, which have been linked to
pathologies such as autism. Results are published in IEEE Transactions on Visualization
and Computer Graphics.
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