This year, we once again had a very competitive number of proposals submitted for funding from the Reback Family Gift supporting research targeting the development of new therapies for hypoxic brain injury. Three projects were selected including studies by two young investigators. Jeremy Herrmann, MD, a fellow in pediatric critical care medicine is studying novel approaches to augment therapeutic hypothermia via the use of cold stress hormones. In his application, he will study the cold stress hormone GDF-15. Benjamin Zusman, BS is a University of Pittsburgh MD, PhD student who will be using a novel confocal ribbon scanning technique to study the Sur-1 pathway in a model of hypoxic brain injury in newborn mice. And finally, one Faculty Research Initiative Award was made to Ericka Fink, MD, MS who is developing an outcome prediction tool for infants and children suffering hypoxic-ischemic brain injury after cardiac arrest using brain magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy, serum biomarkers, and genetic and epigenetic markers.
Congratulations to these outstanding investigators.
Jeremy Herrmann, MD
Young Investigator Award – $20,000/one year
Exploring the Role of Growth Differentiation Factor-15 in the Rice-Vannucci Model of Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy in Post-Natal-Day 10 (PND 10) Mice
Benjamin Zusman, BS
Young Investigator Award – $20,000/one year
Exploring the Role of the Sulfonylurea Receptor-1/Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel Subfamily M Member 4 in the Rice-Vannucci Model of Neonatal Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy in PND10 Mice.
Ericka L. Fink, MD, MS
Faculty Research Initiative Award – $20,000/one year
Personal Genetics for Precision Outcome Prognostication in POCCA