URMC / Clinical & Translational Science Institute / Stories / March 2018 / Announcing New Pipeline-to-Pilot Awardees

Announcing New Pipeline-to-Pilot Awardees

UNYTE Translational Research Network Pipeline-to-Pilot

UNYTE Pipeline-to-Pilot awards provide $10,000 of support for six month to stimulate research partnerships among UNYTE member institutions to compete for future external translational biomedical research funding.

Advanced Digital Stethoscope: Listening for left ventricular assist device dysfunction

Principal Investigator: Karl Q. Schwarz, M.D., professor of Cardiology at University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC)

Co-investigators: David Borkholder, Ph.D., associate professor of Electrical and Microsystems Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT); Nicholas Conn, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow of Electrical and Microsystems Engineering at RIT; Steven W. Day, Ph.D., department head of Biomedical Engineering at RIT; Jason Kolodziej, Ph.D., associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at RIT

Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD), mechanical pumps that help the left ventricle pump blood to the rest of the body, are integral to managing end-stage heart failure. But these devices can sometimes falter or fail and LVAD dysfunction can be difficult to diagnose. Schwarz and his team believe that sounds from the heart and the implanted LVAD may help diagnose patients with device dysfunction and plan to develop a new and improved stethoscope that can better detect these sounds.

Transfer of Vitamin D During Pregnancy

Co-principal Investigators: Eva K. Pressman, M.D., professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at URMC; Kimberly O’Brien, Ph.D., professor of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology

Low vitamin D during pregnancy has been linked to a growing list of adverse maternal and neonatal birth outcomes. Fetuses depend entirely on their mothers for their vitamin D, but we still do not know how vitamin D is transferred across the placenta. Pressman and O’Brien recently developed a method to measure the absorption of D₃, its conversion into 25(OH)D₃ and the half-life of 25(OH)D₃ in pregnant (mid-gestation) and non-pregnant women. In this new pilot grant, they plan to capitalize on their prior findings and use the new method to examine the dynamics of maternal transfer of vitamin D to the fetus.

Community Based Participatory Research Pipeline-to-Pilot

The Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Pipeline-to-Pilot provides up to $15,000 for six to 12 months to stimulate research partnerships between University of Rochester faculty and community-based organizations in the greater Rochester area. Projects aim to address a local public health issues using a CBPR approach with an eye to develop a pilot grant and/or a larger, independently-funded study.

Many Members, One Body: Integrating systems in mental health and self-injury resilience

Co-principal Investigators: Ann Marie White, Ed.D., associate professor of Psychiatry at URMC; Silvia Sorensen, Ph.D., associate professor of Psychiatry at URMC; Rev. Phyllis Jackson, R.N., project manager of Community Wellness at Common Ground Health

With community partners, White, Sorensen and Jackson will develop approaches to help faith communities take a systems approach to addressing mental or behavioral health burdens and related self-injury in their congregations and surrounding communities. Mental health issues are complex and understanding the systemic causes of these issue can inform sustainable solutions. The team will examine how faith communities, especially in congregations serving African Americans, develop system insights and deepen their engagement in mental health by tackling deeply entrenched social issues to change the culture of health and advance their community resilience.

Applications are now open for the next round of UNYTE and CBPR Pipeline-to-Pilot funding.

View the UNYTE Pipeline-to-Pilot request for applications and contact Karen Vitale with any questions. Applications are due April 2, 2018.

View the CBPR Pipeline-to-Pilot request for applications and contact Indrani Singh with any questions. Applications are due April 16, 2018.

Michael Hazard | 3/6/2018