Translational Seed Grant: Parkinson’s disease is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease and is a growing source of disability and mortality. The therapy developed by this team aims to regenerate affected areas of the brain and treat the underlying cause of PD, which impacts about 1 million Americans. The disease is characterized by progressive loss of motor control but also affects multiple neural systems including sleep, sense of smell, taste, and cognition. The use of allopregnanolone (Allo; a naturally occurring molecule) for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s is being licensed from the University of Arizona. Allo is a neurosteroid, used here because it causes a fast increase of human neural stem cells, or cells that can self-renew and create more cells in the central nervous system.

Translational Seed Grant: Diagnostic tools that enable patient stratification have been effective in cancer treatments. The project aims to develop similar tools for patients with cardiovascular disease where they currently don’t exist. Inflammation and fibrosis result in intractable diseases worldwide, such as chronic ischemic heart failure. The project team has developed tests to determine which patients have significant levels of inflammation, theorizing that they will identify which patients will have a positive benefit if treated with immunomodulatory treatments.

Translational Seed Grant: To better manage pregnancy and the possibility of preterm labor, this device aims to collect and recognize physiological cues to predict a mother’s due date. Only 5% of the nearly 4 million annual U.S. births occur at the 40-week due date. The onset of labor is difficult to predict, particularly when labor starts preterm. The team uses commercially available wearable devices (e.g., Oura rings) paired with new software to study how the mother’s body changes prior to labor to provide a personalized due date.

Translational Seed Grant: For colorectal cancer, the proposed pharmaceutical aims to stop growth of tumors and boost the immune system’s ability to fight cancer cells in combination with using immuno-oncology medication botensilimab and balstilimab. This team is developing a new drug (CC895) that inhibits a pathway that is very active in colorectal cancer.

Translational Seed Grant: The team has developed a device that applies pressure to the wrist to relieve compression for carpal tunnel syndrome, which affects approximately 4% of the U.S. population. Researchers are developing the non-surgical treatment that uses a hard shell to stabilize the wrist and a programmable unit that compresses the wrist for treatment.