Our faculty has been doing some amazing research this summer! Keep up to date with their latest projects.
Summer 2023 Grant Announcements
The University of Utah Department of Neurology is proud to announce three new grants as of July 2023:
Remote Sensing of Autonomic Function and Mobility Coupling Using Wearables to Monitor Recovery After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Melissa Cortez, DO, as well as Peter Fino, PhD, of the Health and Kinesiology Department and Leland Dibble, PhD, PT, of the Physical Therapy and Athletic Training Department, are seeking to develop a system to assess individuals who have persistent symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), such as concussions. They will monitor activity, heart rate, and other key indicators of mTBI using wearable at-home devices.
By combining data streams from these devices worn at home, these researchers believe they can identify individuals with persistent mTBI symptoms earlier and expedite rehabilitation when they show signs of atypical recovery. You can read more about this project here.
Endometriosis Diagnosis and Subtypes, Reproductive History, and Cardiovascular Disease
Karen Shliep, Associate Professor in the Division of Public Health, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, and Jennifer Majersik's former VPCAT mentee, received Notice of Award for her R01 application “Endometriosis Diagnosis and Subtypes, Reproductive History, and Cardiovascular Disease,” (R01HL164715, 2023 through 2028). Jennifer Majersik, MD, MS, is a co-investigator on this project, as is Hediyeh Baradaran, Assistant Professor of Neuroradiology and NeuroNEXT fellow.
With this R01, Dr. Schliep and her team aim to improve the health of patients with endometriosis across the lifespan. Using data from the UPDB and the NICHD ENDO study, they will perform the largest and longest study on this topic to investigate the association between endometriosis and the risk of clinical and subclinical CVD, considering sociodemographic characteristics and reproductive history.
Epidemiology and Characterization of Serum Biomarkers of Autoimmunity in NMOSD Patients from the United States Department of Defense Serum Biorepository
Tammy Smith, MD, PhD; Stacey Clardy, MD, PhD; and Noel Carlson, PhD, have been awarded a grant from Alexion Pharmaceuticals to study the epidemiology and characterization of serum biomarkers of autoimmunity in NMOSD patients from the United States Department of Defense Serum Biorepository.
