To what extent do plasmas undergoing instabilities generate magnetic fields, and how do those magnetic fields further influence the plasma instabilities?

The famous Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula—a star nursery—are believed to result from the hydrodynamic instabilities that form when plasmas are exposed to high intensity light from neighboring stars. Something very similar occurs—at a minute scale—when materials are imploded by converging laser beams during high-energy-density physics and fusion experiments at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. “Based on previous research that we and others have done, and hope to develop in more depth, we know that these magnetic fields, even if they are initially small in strength, grow quickly,” says Hussein Aluie, associate professor of mechanical engineering.

With funding from a $390,000 National Science Foundation grant, Aluie will address this mystery with co-PI Riccardo Betti, LLE’s chief scientist and Robert L. McCrory Professor, and Fernando Garcia-Rubio, assistant scientist at the LLE and in Aluie’s Turbulence and Complex Flow Group, using both theoretical analysis and numerical simulations. Learn more.

New research in Zambia finds that children infected with HIV are significantly more likely to do worse in neurological assessments despite having well-controlled HIV disease, suggesting that they may struggle with cognitive and mental health issues. However, the research also indicates that early intervention, in the form of better nutrition and antiretroviral therapies, may help close the gap.

“This research is an attempt to understand if these problems persist and become more pronounced over time, and whether we can predict who will do well cognitively and who will not,” says David Bearden, assistant professor of neurology and pediatrics at the Medical Center and senior author of the study, which appears in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. 

The study is the most recent example of a decades-long collaboration involving an international team of researchers. Since 1994, Medical Center neurologist Gretchen Birbeck has partnered with the government of Zambia and clinicians and researchers with the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia to study neurological problems associated with infectious diseases like HIV and malaria, which remain major public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Neurology Research Office established by Birbeck on the main hospital campus now serves as a hub for several National Institutes of Health-funded research and training programs that have helped grow the number of UTH neurologists and clinical research staff and increase opportunities to collaborate with Medical Center neurologists, medical students, and trainees. The new findings come from the HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders in Zambia (HANDZ) study, an ongoing longitudinal study that is following a cohort of 600 HIV positive and negative Zambian children ages 8 to 18 for 5 years. Learn more.

A multidisciplinary team of Medical Center investigators has been awarded funding from the National Institute of Mental Health to study the effect of prenatal maternal anxiety on infant gut microbiome developmental milestones that align with postnatal brain development. The project is led by Steven Gill (microbiology and immunology), Kristin Scheible (neonatology), and Thomas O’Connor (psychiatry).

Neurodevelopmental disorders affect an estimated 10-20 percent of children and are among the most persisting and costly disorders in human health. Furthermore, prenatal maternal psychological distress is increasingly recognized as a common condition that has been linked with child neurodevelopment and other health conditions.

The investigators will use a systems biology approach that integrates repeated longitudinal measures of gut microbiome function, infant nutrition, and neurodevelopmental markers of anxiety to determine the effects of the microbiome on infant neurodevelopment and potentially modifiable origins of the infant gut microbiome at birth. This five-year study significantly advances our conceptual and mechanistic understanding of the gut-brain-microbiome axis and its role in infant brain development. Learn more.

The Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks (ACTTION) program, led by Robert Dworkin, professor of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine, will examine neurotoxicities and other safety risks associated with pediatric anesthesia and with anesthesia in older patients.

They’ll also use the new grant to continue current efforts to speed the discovery and development of pain and addiction medicines.

Since ACTTION was established in 2010, this is the fourth research grant that it has received from the FDA. Learn more.

Wilmot continues its long tradition of bringing together scientists working in basic, translational, and clinical cancer research to share exciting findings, new projects, and fantastic success stories.

This year’s program will include a keynote presentation from Jeffrey C. Rathmell, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Immunobiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Learn about the exciting and innovative research programs underway at Wilmot. For more information and to register by Oct. 31, visit https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/cancer-institute/events/cancer-center-symposium.aspx

The Annual Skirboll Family Community Autism Spectrum Disorder Conference will be held virtually this year with thanks to the ongoing generosity of the Skirboll Family.

The conference will highlight current research and practice of interest to self advocates, families, community professionals and members of the University in three topic areas:

• November 3 (3-5 p.m.): Sensory Processing.
• November 4 (3-5 p.m.): Health Equity and Advocacy.
• November 5 (9-11 a.m.): The Interface of ADHD and Autism.

All sessions are free but require registration. Visit the website for the program speaker details.

The Environmental Health Sciences Center has funds to support a limited number of pilot projects that are relevant to the center’s theme, “Environmental Agents as Modulators of Human Disease and Dysfunction.”

Applicants may request a maximum of $30,000 for the duration of one year and must hold a tenure-track faculty position. Submit initial applications by Friday, November 11. Learn more.

The Mini-Grants are one-time grants up to $2,000 to address concerns such as transportation, childcare, meeting space rental, refreshments and more. They are supported and funded by the UR CTSI. Apply by Monday, November 14. Learn more.