While a brain injury can be difficult to locate, new research identifies a single region of the brain that can be used to examine the impact of a concussion or repeated hits to the head.

The finding, published in Science Advances, also supports the emerging idea that traumatic brain injury is not limited to people who sustain a concussion; it can result from repetitive head hits that are clinically silent–those that do not produce the visible signs or symptoms of a concussion. These subconcussive hits have been increasingly recognized as a potential threat to long-term brain health and as a possible cause of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Jeffrey Bazarian, professor of emergency medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, and public health sciences and a co-author of the study, says that the location of a brain injury varies widely from person to person. This is a major obstacle for physicians trying to diagnose brain injury using imaging techniques.

“This study is important because we found that no matter where the head gets hit, the force is translated into a single region of the brain known as the midbrain,” says Bazarian, who treats concussion patients and conducts research related to traumatic brain injury. “Midbrain imaging might be a way in the future to diagnose injury from a single concussive head hit, as well as from repetitive sub-concussive head hits.”

Fourth-year medical student Adnan Hirad, the first author of the research added, “Our findings do not dispute the fact that head-injury effects are distributed throughout the brain, but the midbrain may serve as a ‘canary in a coal mine’ in terms of identifying damage. From this study we know that the midbrain region, which is linked to brain functions often affected by a concussion, is the place to look to identify the impact of clinically defined concussions with visible symptoms and silent brain injuries that can’t be observed simply by looking at or behaviorally testing a player, on or off the field.”

Read more here. And also learn more here about how Hirad’s experience with a concussion while growing up in Somalia later piqued his interest in pursuing this line of research.

When immune cells get recruited to infections, tumors, or other sites of inflammation they exit the blood stream and begin searching for the damage. But how do they effectively traverse the body’s tissue and home in on their targets? A new study led by Deborah Fowell suggests that T cells have distinct navigation systems that help them pinpoint their targets.

Fowell’s research team, based in the David H. Smith Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, made the discovery by visualizing the immune system in real time using intravital multiphoton microscopy. The technology allows researchers to look directly into the skin and observe the dynamic behavior of immune cells “live.” The team’s findings were published in the journal Immunity.

“We thought that locating the infection foci was a passive event for immune cells; that they used the tissue as a scaffold to weave their way through this complex matrix to get to their target,” says Fowell, Dean’s professor of microbiology and immunology. “We discovered that they are pre-programmed to respond to certain cues within the tissue microenvironment that help them find their targets more efficiently.”

The team hopes that discovering these specialized programs for migration in tissues will provide new therapeutic targets that enable manipulation of the immune response in a disease-specific or tissue-specific fashion, rather than globally suppressing the immune system. Possibilities include boosting protective immunity in diseases where the immune system is inefficient, such as chronic infections and tumors, and limiting immunity in diseases that are exacerbated by the immune system, like autoimmunity and heart disease.

Hen Prizant, a postdoctoral fellow in Fowell’s lab and Alison Gaylo-Moynihan, a former student in the lab, are co-first authors. Graduate students Ninoshka R.J. Fernandes, Hannah Bell, Dillon C. Schrock, Tara Capece, Brandon Walling, and Christopher Anderson contributed to the study. Faculty members David Topham, Minsoo Kim, Alan Smrcka and James Miller are also authors.

Fowell credits the new finding to the power of NIH Program Project Grants (P01), which allow faculty, trainees, and students to explore uncharted scientific territory and branch out among different disciplines. For example, the team reached across Elmwood Avenue to have conversations with astrophysicists and engineers on River Campus about how objects move through and are found in space. The P01 that funded the research was awarded to Fowell (PI), Kim, Topham, and Miller in 2014.

• a chance to practice presenting
• a way to be socially engaging
• a chance to present to people outside your field
• a way to spotlight data that you worked hard on, but are having difficulty publishing
• a way to encourage scientific integrity

 

New technologies including wearable sensors, smartphone applications, and telemedicine are rapidly reshaping health care. The Center for Health + Technology (CHeT) is leading the field in evaluating how to harness the tools and technologies of the early 21st century to expand the reach and impact of research and clinical care.

A CHeT Innovates showcase event on September 12 will include a discussion on the role of research participants and a wine and cheese reception with technology demonstrations to explore how we can work together to improve research and clinical care regionally, nationally, and beyond.

The event, which precedes the Technology & Rare Neurological Disorders Symposium (TRNDS) on Friday, September 13, is free and open to all,

The discussion on research participants will be from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 12 in the Helen Wood Hall auditorium (1W304). It includes these speakers:

• Erika Augustine, Robert J. Joynt Associate Professor in Neurology and Pediatrics, University of Rochester
• Paul Cannon, Parkinson’s Disease Program Manager, 23andMe, Inc.
• Larsson Omberg, VP of Systems Biology, Sage Bionetworks
• Ira Shoulson, Professor of Neurology, University of Rochester
• Reni Winters-Evan, Research Participant

The innovation showcase plus wine and cheese reception will be from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. in the Saunders Research Building Atrium, and will feature:

• Clinical Trials Coordination Center: Site Monitoring, Site Selection, Risk-based Monitoring, Randomization Authorization Flow and All Phases of Clinical Trials
• Clinical Materials Services Unit
• Modeling & Simulation
• Patient Reported Outcomes Center: Disease-Specific Patient-reported Outcomes
• Digital Health: Technology & Clinical Trials, Virtual Visits for Research and Care, Wearable Sensors, Smartphone Research Applications

Register by September 9.

A series of five training workshops, starting 2 p.m. September 5 at Adolph #1-7619 at the Medical Center, will assist graduate students and postdocs tackle trainee-level grants. There will be time to write, confer with other attendees, and receive feedback on your work.

The first session will cover, “The Nuts and Bolts of Grant Writing,” with Elaine Smolock, director of Writing Services and Grant Development at the School of Medicine and Dentistry. For information on the entire series or if you would like to be matched with trainees in a similar field for a writing group contact Ashley Holub or Monica Javidnia.

Katherine Elena, history, “From Masochism to Innocence: Changing Social Conceptions of Domestic Violence in America.” 2:30 p.m. September 3, 2019. Gamble. Advisor: Theodore Brown.

Dylan Parsons, chemistry, “I. Cationic Cascade Reactions of Alkylidene β-Ketoesters II. Studies Toward the Total Synthesis of Arnicenone.” 12:50 p.m. September 4, 2019. 101 Goergen Hall. Advisor: Alison Frontier.

Emily Wexler, genetics, “Mechanisms by which feeding state and sex are integrated to regulate chemosensory plasticity in C. elegans.” 9 a.m. September 5, 2019. 2-6408 (K-207) Medical Center. Advisor: Douglas Portman.

Wan-Jung Christine Lai, biochemistry, “The Role of the Intrinsic Closeness of mRNA Ends in Translation.” 1 p.m. September 6, 2019. Neuman Room (1-6823) Medical Center. Advisor: Dmitri N. Ermolenko.

Today: Entry forms due for a new annual student competition promoting awareness of Tobacco Regulatory Science. Each team (either an individual or up to four students) develops and presents a proposed solution — a well-developed and researched thought experiment  — to address one or more identified Tobacco Regulatory Research Priorities. The winning team will travel to DC/MD to present their solution to the FDA and NIH. Read more here.

Sept. 5: SMD grant writing seminar. First of five training workshops to assist graduate students and postdocs tackle trainee-level grants. The first session will cover, “The Nuts and Bolts of Grant Writing,” with Elaine Smolock, director of Writing Services and Grant Development at the School of Medicine and Dentistry.  2 p.m. Adolph #1-7619. For information on the entire series or if you would like to be matched with trainees in a similar field for a writing group, contact Ashley Holub or Monica Javidnia.

Sept. 5: Information session on applying for a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Faculty who are NSF reviewers and successful NSF GRFP fellows will lead a discussion on successful application strategies and answer questions. Attendees who are not already familiar with the fellowship should review eligibility and program details prior to the session. 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Hawkins-Carlson Reading Room, Rush Rhees Library. Register here to reserve your seat. Attendees are welcome to bring their lunch.

Sept. 11: Deadline for students, junior faculty, early career researchers, and entrepreneurs to apply for this year’s Falling Walls competition. Complete the online application here. By Friday, September 27 email a three-panel slide presentation. Then pitch your innovative idea — highlighting a breakthrough that creates a positive impact on science and society — in just three minutes on October 8 at Feldman Ballroom. The winner will represent the University at the International Falling Walls Finale in Berlin. Questions? Contact Adele Coelho.

Sept. 12: CHeT (Center for Health + Technology) Innovates showcase. Discussion on research participants from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Helen Wood Hall auditorium (1W304). Innovation showcase  (including wearable sensors, smartphone applications, and telemedicine) plus wine and cheese reception from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. in the Saunders Research Building Atrium. Free and open to all. Register by September 9.

Sept. 13: Symposium on novel applications of technology to accelerate the development of new therapeutics for patients with rare neurological disorders. Hosted by the University and sponsored by the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UR CTSI). Featuring industry leaders in rare diseases, health technologies, and clinical trials. Registration information and agenda available on the TRNDS website.

Sept. 17: Training workshop for the TriNetX cohort discovery tool that will replace the current i2b2 tool. With TriNetX investigators can search a limited set of electronic medical record data to determine the feasibility of their clinical trials. Participants should have a basic understanding of the TriNetX interface and be able to build simple queries. 2-4 p.m. SRB 1404. Register now. Learn more about TriNetX here.

Sept. 23: Deadline for next-generation optics, photonics, and imaging-enabled startup companies to apply for the next cohort of the Luminate business accelerator. Each cohort company receives a $100,00 investment to begin the program. At the end of six months, $2 million in additional seed money is distributed among four winning teams at Demo Day. Learn more.

Oct. 16: Training workshop for the TriNetX cohort discovery tool that will replace the current i2b2 tool. With TriNetX investigators can search a limited set of electronic medical record data to determine the feasibility of their clinical trials. Participants should have a basic understanding of the TriNetX interface and be able to build simple queries. 2-4 p.m. SRB 1416. Register now. Learn more about TriNetX here.

Oct. 22: Deadline to apply for AS&E PumpPrimer II seed funding, typically up to $50,000 for up to one year, for innovative research projects to help the applicant establish a novel research direction and secure extramural funding. Submit proposal via the application portal. All eligibility criterion is enumerated in the guidelines. Direct questions to your respective AS&E assistant dean: Arts and Sciences – Debra Haring, debra.haring@rochester.edu; Engineering – Cindy Gary, cindy.gary@rochester.edu.

Oct. 25: Conference co-sponsored by UNYTE on opportunities and challenges in research and clinical collaboration, including regional clinical, biomedical and translational research and advances in psychosocial care in pediatric hematology/oncology. 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Flaum Auditorium. Learn more.  Register now.

Nov. 20: Training workshop for the TriNetX cohort discovery tool that will replace the current i2b2 tool. With TriNetX investigators can search a limited set of electronic medical record data to determine the feasibility of their clinical trials. Participants should have a basic understanding of the TriNetX interface and be able to build simple queries. 2-4 p.m. SRB 1412. Register now. Learn more about TriNetX here.