Investigator: Daniel Roxbury, University of Rhode Island Scientific Theme: Cancer Abstract: The ability to deliver sufficiently high concentrations of chemotherapeutic drugs into patient tumors remains a significant hurdle for the non-invasive treatment of solid cancers. Barriers such as a thick extracellular matrix, densely packed cancer cells with tight junctions, and high interstitial fluid pressures prohibit the passive […]
Continue reading "Near infrared sensors for assaying the permeability& resultant chemotherapeutic drug delivery efficacy in tumor spheroid models"Category: Research
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARα) as a targeted therapy for treatment of bile acid toxicity in cholestatic liver diseases
Investigator: Nisanne Ghonem, University of Rhode Island Scientific Theme: Molecular Toxicology Abstract: Chronic cholestatic liver disease results from an impairment of bile production and causes intracellular retention of bile acids (BAs) and subsequent cytotoxicity. Accumulation of toxic BAs is a significant contributor to disease progression. Cholestasis is characterized by inflammation and the destruction of hepatic bile ducts, […]
Continue reading "Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARα) as a targeted therapy for treatment of bile acid toxicity in cholestatic liver diseases"Discovery of anti-cancer leads from cyanobacteria blooms utilizing an MS/MS-based chemical profiling strategy
Investigator: Matthew Bertin, University of Rhode Island Scientific Theme: Cancer Abstract: Natural products have been an extraordinary source of chemotherapeutic lead compounds and serve an important inspirational role in the development of new synthetic therapeutics. Marine cyanobacteria are ancient organisms with a long evolutionary history that has optimized their ability to generate chemical substances with structural diversity […]
Continue reading "Discovery of anti-cancer leads from cyanobacteria blooms utilizing an MS/MS-based chemical profiling strategy"Effects of Early Life Stress on Neurobehavioral Development
Investigator: Kevin Bath, Brown University Scientific Theme: Neuroscience Abstract: Here, we will use a mouse model of early life stress (ELS) to test a potential mechanism of increased female risk for early life stress-induced cognitive dysfunction. Poverty, displacement, and parental stress, represent some of the most common and potent sources of stress for young children. In the U.S. […]
Continue reading "Effects of Early Life Stress on Neurobehavioral Development"Identification of transcription factor networks that preserve neural stem cells
Investigator: Ashley Webb, Brown University Mentor: Justin Fallon, Brown University Scientific Theme: Neuroscience Abstract: Adult neural stem cells (NSCs) have the capacity to form new neurons in the adult mammalian brain, and are a promising source for regenerative therapies in the long term. The adult brain contains two distinct populations of stem cells: active NSCs […]
Continue reading "Identification of transcription factor networks that preserve neural stem cells"Chemical biology of DNA repair, energy metabolism, and cancer
Investigator: Deyu Li, University of Rhode Island Mentor: Bingfang Yan, University of Rhode Island Scientific Theme: Molecular Toxicology and Cancer Abstract: Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA is damaged by endogenous and exogenous insults. DNA adducts arising from nucleic acid damage may cause the development and acceleration of cancer. The AlkB proteins, a group of Fe(II)/α-ketoglutarate (αKG)-dependent […]
Continue reading "Chemical biology of DNA repair, energy metabolism, and cancer"Biomaterials for flexible control over chemotherapeutic delivery profiles
Investigator: Stephen Kennedy, University of Rhode Island Mentor: Lu Wei, University of Rhode Island Scientific Theme: Cancer Abstract: This proposed work broadly aims to optimize the temporal delivery profiles of chemotherapeutics and develop biomaterial systems that are capable of producing these delivery profiles after implantation. The long-term objective of this line of research is to enhance […]
Continue reading "Biomaterials for flexible control over chemotherapeutic delivery profiles"Chaperone tools for neurodegenerative diseases
Investigator: Jodi Camberg, University of Rhode Island Mentor: Nasser Zawia, University of Rhode Island Scientific Theme: Neuroscience Abstract: Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is characterized by the development of amyloid deposits and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, which interfere with neuronal function and are associated with cognitive decline. These conditions worsen with age as cognitive impairment and […]
Continue reading "Chaperone tools for neurodegenerative diseases"Simultaneous weight intervention to stop smoking
Investigator: Jayson Spas Mentor: Joseph Rossi, University of Rhode Island Scientific Theme: Neuroscience Abstract: Smoking and obesity are the first and second leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States (US). Standard intervention for both behaviors is either behavioral, pharmacologic or a combination of both. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a well-established, empirically supported treatment […]
Continue reading "Simultaneous weight intervention to stop smoking"Development of an Animal Model for Sociality and Memory Processing
Investigator: Victoria Templer, Providence College Mentor: Rebecca Burwell, Brown University Scientific Theme: Neuroscience Abstract: This project proposes a new animal model for study of sociality, abstract memory processing, and the effect sociality might have on distinct types of memory. It has recently been documented that strong social relationships, like a healthy marriage, serve as a protective […]
Continue reading "Development of an Animal Model for Sociality and Memory Processing"