From projects that explore the link between emotion and oxytocin in autism to the use of dogs to help alleviate post-traumatic stress symptoms in veterans, FAU researchers are tackling critical questions related to brain science and health.
To help in that battle, 12 FAU researchers were recently awarded grants totaling more than $100,000, as part of the Stiles- Nicholson Brain Institute’s 2021 Pilot Grant Awards program.
“The Institute’s Pilot Award program is one of our most important academic research support activities,” said Randy D. Blakely, Ph.D., executive director of the Brain Institute. “Investigators receiving these awards apply the funds toward the acquisition of critical technologies and foundation data that can allow them to apply for major research awards. In fact, our return on investment historically is over 2,000%.”
Research studies must be designed to be completed in one year and often promotes the training of undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral researchers, as well as the creation of new faculty collaborations.
“The winners of this year’s competition were drawn from what was a truly competitive pool of applicants, one that reflects the breadth of neuroscience represented by the Brain Institute, and features scientists from five colleges,”
Blakely said.
Here’s a look at the winners:
Development of sulindac encapsulated PLGA nanoparticles: novel approach to target
neuronal cells
Shailaja Allani, Ph.D., Herbert Weissbach, Ph.D., James Kumi-Diaka, Ph.D., departments of chemistry and biochemistry and biological science, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, and Waseem Asghar, Ph.D., department of electrical engineering and computer science, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Epigenetic consequences of intermittent cocaine exposure in rats
Andrea Cippitelli, Ph.D., department of biomedical science, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Behavioral consequence of neural synchronization of executive network
Sang Wook Hong, Ph.D., and Summer Sheremata, Ph.D., department of psychology, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Brain-gut-immune effects of oral therapy with combination benzimidazoles and chitin microparticles for late-stage breast cancer
Ceylan Isgor, Ph.D., and Vijaya Iragavarapu- Charyulu, Ph.D., department of biomedical science, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
Emotion recognition and the oxytocin gene: An autism study
Nancy Jones, Ph.D., and Krystal Mize, Ph.D., department of psychology, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Assessment of biopsychosocial indicators linked to canine intervention treatment response in veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress symptoms
Cheryl Krause-Parello, Ph.D., and Beth Pratt, Ph.D., Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and Institute for Human Health and Disease Intervention, and Christine Spadola, Ph.D., Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work, College of Social Work and Criminal Justice
Palmitoylated membrane protein 2 as a target for improving memory in adult mice
Robert Stackman, Jr., Ph.D., department of psychology, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
An integrated framework to define the role of the thalamus in predictive coding and learning
Carmen Varela, Ph.D., department of psychology, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Gene therapy for Alzheimer’s disease using AAV-granulocyte-colony stimulating factor and AAV-choline acetyltransferase gene vectors
Jang-Yen Wu, Ph.D., department of biomedical science, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
The awarding of four new $25,000 Pilot Research awards collectively support the activities of seven faculty researchers. Three of these projects were funded through a gift from philanthropist David J.S. Nicholson under the auspices of the David and Lynn Nicholson Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research.
Here’s a look at the researchers’ projects
Deciphering the Role of APP O-Glycosylation in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease
Maré Cudic, Ph.D., Deguo Du, Ph.D. and Shallaja Allani, Ph.D., department of biomedical science, Charles E. Schmidt College
of Science
Role of the Myokine Cathepsin B in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease
Henriette van Praag, Ph.D., department of biomedical science, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
Greasy and Glowing - Developing Modular Lipid Reporters to Probe the Role of Lipids in Neurodegeneration
Maciej Stawikowski, Ph.D., department of chemistry and biochemistry, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, and Qi Zhang, Ph.D., department of biomedical science, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
The fourth project was funded by the Palm Health Foundation as a component of the Institute’s new program in computational brain science and health.
Modeling RNA to Inhibit Brain Disorders
Ilyas Ildirim, Ph.D., department of chemistry and biochemistry, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Three FAU graduate students were recently each awarded a $1,000 stipend enhancement award as matching funds to a gift from the Heichemer Family Foundation, whose giving supports the new Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute building
in Jupiter.
The students will conduct research under FAU’s Program in Neuroimmunology and Glial Biology, led by Ning Quan, Ph.D., professor of biomedical science, FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute.
Here’s a look at the three students, their mentors and projects:
Mentor: Ning Quan, Ph.D.
Project: Microglia regulate neurodevelopment downstream of neuronal IL-1R1 signaling
Mentor: Randy D. Blakely, Ph.D., David J. S. Nicholson Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience and executive director of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute
Project: Identification of genes responsible for neuronal and systemic health
Mentor: Gregg Fields, Ph.D., professor, department of chemistry and biochemistry, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and executive director of FAU’s Institute for Human Health and Disease Intervention
Project: Delivery of therapeutic agents across the blood-brain barrier for treatment of glioblastoma and
neurodegenerative diseases