High levels of nutrients containing nitrogen and phosphorus can lead to harmful algal blooms in freshwater and seawater. As algal blooms develop, they consume oxygen in the water, which can cause dead zones that prevent other organisms from growing. Continuous monitoring of nutrients can detect conditions that may result in a harmful event. This project … Read more
Islands are cradles of biodiversity – home to many species found nowhere else on our planet. This project will document the biodiversity of islands located within the iconic yet understudied coastal lands and waters of the Gulf of Maine. Through surveys carried out by academic and community scientists alike, this research will explore the environmental … Read more
Isabella Trierweiler is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at Yale University. Polluted white dwarfs are stellar remnants which are actively accreting material from orbiting debris. Trierweiler will study these systems in order to gain insights into the compositions and motions of planetary systems. This … Read more
Project Summary: Anesthetic arousal is a complex neurological process. For some patients, arousal does not occur as planned, such as during delayed emergence or postoperative delirium, which increases the risk of postoperative complications. Aldehydes, toxic byproducts of oxidative stress, accumulate during anesthesia and disrupt synaptic function, promote neuroinflammation, and impair mitochondrial function. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 … Read more
EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX IN VASCULAR DEVELOPMENT AND DISEASE Project abstract The goal of this training proposal is to develop the principal investigator, Dr. Chien-Jung Lin, into an independent physician scientist. He has completed clinical training in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology, and postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University (WashU) before becoming Assistant Professor at Saint Louis University … Read more
Immunotherapy targeting α-synuclein (αsyn) and other amyloids is the most promising treatment for such diseases. Most involve whole antibodies (Abs) but much less attention was paid to Ab fragments, which have key advantages. We have generated 58 unique anti-αsyn single domain Abs (sdAbs, VHHs) from phage display libraries derived from B-cells of a llama immunized … Read more
PROJECT SUMMARY The skin is the largest organ of the human body, and host to a complex microbiome. The skin disease atopic dermatitis (AD), or eczema, affects approximately 10-30% of children and results in skin damage, infections, itching, and reduced quality of life. AD often precedes other allergic diseases such as asthma, in a phenomenon … Read more
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This proposal details a comprehensive five-year training program investigating mechanisms of immune dysfunction in children with chronic cholestatic liver diseases (CSLD). These diseases are characterized by accumulation of bile acids in circulation and are the leading indication for liver transplantation (LT) in children. Infections cause significant morbidity and mortality in children with chronic … Read more
Project Summary/Abstract: The Myc oncogene is a critical driver of tumorigenesis and is difficult to drug. In particular, ~42% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC) have high levels of Myc protein, which correlates with the poorest prognosis. While many cancer studies rely solely on transcriptomic analyses, RNA levels often do not correlate with protein abundance, highlighting … Read more
Project Summary/Abstract: Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) has demonstrated a 28-55% response rate in metastatic melanoma patients, leading to recent FDA approval. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is responsive to immunotherapeutic strategies yet the antigen-specific T cell repertoire and its therapeutic potential remain underexplored. The overall objective of this proposal … Read more