Search

Research In Motion

Learn More About Our Researchers

In our new School of Medicine Research in Motion video series, we asked our researchers three questions: What do you do? What do you love about your research? How will it impact human health?

We’re excited to share their answers in weekly 1 to 2-minute videos. We hope you’ll enjoy watching them as we celebrate all the compelling and inspiring work by our School of Medicine researchers.

Steven Munger, PhD, increased testing, diagnosis, and treatment of smell and taste disorders.

Chris Holstege, PhD, Professor, Department of emergency medicine and pediatrics

Transcript:
It's the multi-collaborative work that is actually probably the most fun from my standpoint. There are some great people doing this research, and it's really a community that does work in the toxicology realm. The research that we do has just been a phenomenal experience in my 26 years here at the University. 

My name is Chris Holstege. I'm a professor in emergency medicine and pediatrics, and I'm the division chief of medical toxicology.
As you can imagine, at this time in society, there's a plethora of substances coming into society. Various drugs, things that are of risk to our populations. We're very closely, to do epidemiologic research as to what agents are coming in and to assure that if there's a danger to society working with others, such as the government, to make sure those are banned or taken off of the market.

It's exceedingly important that we're following trends and what kind of impacts they are. What's causing seizures in children? What's causing kids and poisonings to go to hospitals and making sure that we put restrictions or put protections on those. We're seeing a plethora of drugs entering society and other substances, that can prove to be a danger, to the young and to the old alike.


We've had some really high-profile criminal cases that we've actually worked to that I have started. But then my colleagues, I've worked with my colleagues across the globe, to try to both mitigate problems that are arising or to bring justice when, for example, there's a criminal poisoning that occurs.

Chris Holstege, PhD, Professor, Department of emergency medicine and pediatrics

Transcript:
It's the multi-collaborative work that is actually probably the most fun from my standpoint. There are some great people doing this research, and it's really a community that does work in the toxicology realm. The research that we do has just been a phenomenal experience in my 26 years here at the University.

My name is Chris Holstege. I'm a professor in emergency medicine and pediatrics, and I'm the division chief of medical toxicology.
As you can imagine, at this time in society, there's a plethora of substances coming into society. Various drugs, things that are of risk to our populations. We're very closely, to do epidemiologic research as to what agents are coming in and to assure that if there's a danger to society working with others, such as the government, to make sure those are banned or taken off of the market.

It's exceedingly important that we're following trends and what kind of impacts they are. What's causing seizures in children? What's causing kids and poisonings to go to hospitals and making sure that we put restrictions or put protections on those. We're seeing a plethora of drugs entering society and other substances, that can prove to be a danger, to the young and to the old alike.


We've had some really high-profile criminal cases that we've actually worked to that I have started. But then my colleagues, I've worked with my colleagues across the globe, to try to both mitigate problems that are arising or to bring justice when, for example, there's a criminal poisoning that occurs.

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy40NUU5MjUxOUU1MDRGQzM0

Chris Holstege, MD, discusses his multi-collaborative toxicology research

Mark DeBoer, MD, Professor, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics

Transcript:
I love that research gives you a chance to answer questions that no one has previously had the answers to. And since there are a lot of those kinds of questions, one of my favorite things about research is having a variety of topics I can work on at the same time. In any given week, I'll be working with some of the smartest diabetes technology engineers in the world to try to improve blood sugar control for children and adults with type 1 diabetes, or working with a long-term research partner in studying the metabolic syndrome in its health consequences.

I'm Mark DeBoer, and as a pediatric endocrinologist, I have chances to study hormonal problems and solutions for optimal health. I work with the UVA Center for Diabetes Technology in harnessing algorithms designed here at UVA to automate insulin delivery with a diminished need for patient time and trouble. I also do research in Tanzania with infectious disease and developmental physicians and an incredible field team in studying growth challenges among children in difficult nutritional settings. And I have a long-standing collaboration with Matt Gurka in public health sciences using a metabolic syndrome severity z-score that we developed as a tool to assess cardiovascular risk and track treatment progress. 

As a physician, I've had the joy of seeing some of the technology developed at the Center for Diabetes Technology become available for clinical use for my patients. Going from approaches that were just a vision of the CDT founders, and were frankly doubted by many at first, to being widely available. I'm hoping that we'll see that same kind of translation from some of what we learn about childhood growth in developing areas, and in using the metabolic syndrome to motivate patients to improve their health outlook.

Mark DeBoer, MD, Professor, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics

Transcript:
I love that research gives you a chance to answer questions that no one has previously had the answers to. And since there are a lot of those kinds of questions, one of my favorite things about research is having a variety of topics I can work on at the same time. In any given week, I'll be working with some of the smartest diabetes technology engineers in the world to try to improve blood sugar control for children and adults with type 1 diabetes, or working with a long-term research partner in studying the metabolic syndrome in its health consequences.

I'm Mark DeBoer, and as a pediatric endocrinologist, I have chances to study hormonal problems and solutions for optimal health. I work with the UVA Center for Diabetes Technology in harnessing algorithms designed here at UVA to automate insulin delivery with a diminished need for patient time and trouble. I also do research in Tanzania with infectious disease and developmental physicians and an incredible field team in studying growth challenges among children in difficult nutritional settings. And I have a long-standing collaboration with Matt Gurka in public health sciences using a metabolic syndrome severity z-score that we developed as a tool to assess cardiovascular risk and track treatment progress.

As a physician, I've had the joy of seeing some of the technology developed at the Center for Diabetes Technology become available for clinical use for my patients. Going from approaches that were just a vision of the CDT founders, and were frankly doubted by many at first, to being widely available. I'm hoping that we'll see that same kind of translation from some of what we learn about childhood growth in developing areas, and in using the metabolic syndrome to motivate patients to improve their health outlook.

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy5DRkY0QzQxNDhEODU4QUJE

Mark DeBoer, MD - studying hormonal problems and solutions for optimal health.

Craig Portell, MD, discusses research that focuses on improving patient outcomes who have lymphoma.

Jamie Zoellner, PhD, Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences

What I love most about my research is I get to wake up every day thinking about rural health communities, particularly in Southwest Virginia, which is the Appalachia part of our state, but I get to work with amazing stakeholders every single day in schools and Head Starts, and federally qualified health centers, really just working alongside like-minded people who are trying to improve the overall health of their communities. 

My name is Jamie Zoellner. I'm a professor of public health sciences. I'm also a registered dietician and am one of the co-directors of our Center for Community-Based Health Equity. In my work, I focus a lot on rural health, and specifically I focus on diet and nutrition risk factors in rural communities. More and more recently, I've also been spending time thinking about cancer screening and specifically how to improve colorectal cancer screening rates and some of our federally qualified health centers across rural Southwest Virginia.

My research has a direct impact on human health. A lot of what my group does is we think about how we get evidence-based interventions or programs embedded into rural healthcare systems or rural community-based organizations like schools and Head Starts. We're actively trying to evaluate if our interventions work and what is the potential or the capacity to be able to sustain those interventions within these systems after the research is done.

Jamie Zoellner, PhD, Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences

What I love most about my research is I get to wake up every day thinking about rural health communities, particularly in Southwest Virginia, which is the Appalachia part of our state, but I get to work with amazing stakeholders every single day in schools and Head Starts, and federally qualified health centers, really just working alongside like-minded people who are trying to improve the overall health of their communities.

My name is Jamie Zoellner. I'm a professor of public health sciences. I'm also a registered dietician and am one of the co-directors of our Center for Community-Based Health Equity. In my work, I focus a lot on rural health, and specifically I focus on diet and nutrition risk factors in rural communities. More and more recently, I've also been spending time thinking about cancer screening and specifically how to improve colorectal cancer screening rates and some of our federally qualified health centers across rural Southwest Virginia.

My research has a direct impact on human health. A lot of what my group does is we think about how we get evidence-based interventions or programs embedded into rural healthcare systems or rural community-based organizations like schools and Head Starts. We're actively trying to evaluate if our interventions work and what is the potential or the capacity to be able to sustain those interventions within these systems after the research is done.

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy5FMUU5ODU1MDE0RTk1Q0Ew

Jamie Zoellner, PhD - diet and nutrition risk factors in rural communities

Ferris, Heather, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Department of Medicine 

Transcript:
When patients come in to see me in clinic, I don't always have answers to their questions. What I love about my research is that I can start to answer them with some of the things that our lab and other labs have been studying. I can give them some hope that, someday, those questions might get answered. 

My name is Heather Ferris, and I'm an associate professor in endocrinology and neuroscience. I take care of older adults with diabetes, and my lab is interested in how brain metabolism affects your risk for developing dementia. In particular, we’re interested in how buildup of cholesterol in the brain is a risk factor for developing dementia down the road.

When you go to your doctors, they'll often check a blood cholesterol level, and if that's elevated, they might prescribe you a medication to lower that level and reduce your risk for heart disease. It's my hope through our research that we will have a similar scenario for the brain, where you go in and have a blood test drawn, and if it's abnormal, you’re prescribed a medication to help prevent the buildup of cholesterol in your brain and improve your brain health. We're particularly excited about the new Manning Biotechnology Institute, which will be bringing together researchers in neuroscience and clinical researchers to help speed ideas like mine into clinical practice.

Ferris, Heather, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Department of Medicine

Transcript:
When patients come in to see me in clinic, I don't always have answers to their questions. What I love about my research is that I can start to answer them with some of the things that our lab and other labs have been studying. I can give them some hope that, someday, those questions might get answered.

My name is Heather Ferris, and I'm an associate professor in endocrinology and neuroscience. I take care of older adults with diabetes, and my lab is interested in how brain metabolism affects your risk for developing dementia. In particular, we’re interested in how buildup of cholesterol in the brain is a risk factor for developing dementia down the road.

When you go to your doctors, they'll often check a blood cholesterol level, and if that's elevated, they might prescribe you a medication to lower that level and reduce your risk for heart disease. It's my hope through our research that we will have a similar scenario for the brain, where you go in and have a blood test drawn, and if it's abnormal, you’re prescribed a medication to help prevent the buildup of cholesterol in your brain and improve your brain health. We're particularly excited about the new Manning Biotechnology Institute, which will be bringing together researchers in neuroscience and clinical researchers to help speed ideas like mine into clinical practice.

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy40MkJFNUMzMTJDNkVFQjEy

Heather Ferris, MD, PhD, cholesterol buildup in the brain is a risk factor for developing dementia.

Chongzhi Zang, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Genome Sciences


Transcript:
I am a computational biologist. I really love what I do because computational biology is an interdisciplinary field. One of the most exciting aspects of studying computational biology is that we can leverage knowledge and expertise from a wide range of scientific subjects, including mathematics, statistics, physics, computer science, and engineering. This is a comprehensive and unique approach that allows us to understand the fundamental mechanisms about how genes function in the genome across different biological systems and diseases. 

My name is Chongzhi Zang. I'm an associate professor in the Department of Genome Sciences, and I serve as the director of computational genomics at the UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center.

My lab focuses on computational biology. We develop new quantitative models and computational methods for analyzing high throughput data from emerging genomics technologies. A better understanding of the genetic and epigenetic code, or how the human genome works, can help us comprehend the mechanisms of many diseases like cancer, and can provide insights into novel diagnostic and therapeutic developments. Advances in modern biomedical sciences, especially genomics, are driven by new biotechnologies. We use computational approaches to connect biotechnologies with biological entities, with the ultimate goal of better understanding biology. The new Manning Institute of Biotechnology will provide us with better opportunities to advance our research.

Chongzhi Zang, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences


Transcript:
I am a computational biologist. I really love what I do because computational biology is an interdisciplinary field. One of the most exciting aspects of studying computational biology is that we can leverage knowledge and expertise from a wide range of scientific subjects, including mathematics, statistics, physics, computer science, and engineering. This is a comprehensive and unique approach that allows us to understand the fundamental mechanisms about how genes function in the genome across different biological systems and diseases. My name is Chongzhi Zang. I'm an associate professor in the Department of Genome Sciences, and I serve as the director of computational genomics at the UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center.

My lab focuses on computational biology. We develop new quantitative models and computational methods for analyzing high throughput data from emerging genomics technologies. A better understanding of the genetic and epigenetic code, or how the human genome works, can help us comprehend the mechanisms of many diseases like cancer, and can provide insights into novel diagnostic and therapeutic developments. Advances in modern biomedical sciences, especially genomics, are driven by new biotechnologies. We use computational approaches to connect biotechnologies with biological entities, with the ultimate goal of better understanding biology. The new Manning Institute of Biotechnology will provide us with better opportunities to advance our research.

0 0

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy41MjA2QjlEREM3NTE0RkJG

Chongzhi Zang, PhD, understanding the fundamental mechanisms about how genes function in the genome

James Zimring, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Pathology

Transcript:
Investigating nature is basically an exploration in figuring out the workings of the world and the magic of the natural world. And so it's a great adventure and curiosity and exploration and discovery. And because it's in biomedical sciences, it's also tied to the ability to treat human disease, to mitigate suffering, and to basically improve the human condition. So those things all combined make it a wonderful thing to explore. 

My name is James Zimring. I'm a professor here at the University of Virginia, and I'm a physician-scientist, meaning that I am involved in medical care and also the research of diseases and biological functions. Currently, I predominantly drive a basic research program studying blood biology,

I run a laboratory and I'm deeply invested in graduate education and making sure that the next generation of scientists gets the training and information that they need to keep the effort going in the next generation. So, we studied the biology and the diseases of red blood cells, which are the most abundant cells in the human body. And not only are they a source of disease during infections like malaria, but also they are themselves a treatment because we transfuse five million Americans a year who need those transfusions to survive, and that blood comes from altruistic donors. There are problems in the treatment of diseases of red blood cells. There are problems in giving transfusions correctly, and my lab focuses on the mechanisms by which those problems work with a goal of solving them with new technologies.

James Zimring, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Pathology

Transcript:
Investigating nature is basically an exploration in figuring out the workings of the world and the magic of the natural world. And so it's a great adventure and curiosity and exploration and discovery. And because it's in biomedical sciences, it's also tied to the ability to treat human disease, to mitigate suffering, and to basically improve the human condition. So those things all combined make it a wonderful thing to explore.

My name is James Zimring. I'm a professor here at the University of Virginia, and I'm a physician-scientist, meaning that I am involved in medical care and also the research of diseases and biological functions. Currently, I predominantly drive a basic research program studying blood biology,

I run a laboratory and I'm deeply invested in graduate education and making sure that the next generation of scientists gets the training and information that they need to keep the effort going in the next generation. So, we studied the biology and the diseases of red blood cells, which are the most abundant cells in the human body. And not only are they a source of disease during infections like malaria, but also they are themselves a treatment because we transfuse five million Americans a year who need those transfusions to survive, and that blood comes from altruistic donors. There are problems in the treatment of diseases of red blood cells. There are problems in giving transfusions correctly, and my lab focuses on the mechanisms by which those problems work with a goal of solving them with new technologies.

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy4yMkNBN0M4QUJEQzYxMjA3

James Zimring, MD, PhD, transfusing five million Americans a year who need transfusions to survive.

Nassima Tiouririne, MD, 
Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences


Transcript:
I'm particularly fascinated by the biological underpinning of addiction. What makes a drug or a behavior becomes so compulsive that it controls and destroys every aspect of someone's life. This is one of the reasons I'm interested in neuromodulation tools for the brain so that we can target deep areas of the brain and networks in the brain to better understand the disease of addiction.


Hi, my name is Nascimento Turin. I'm a professor of psychiatry here at the University of Virginia. I'm a clinician, educator and a clinical researcher. I have the privilege in being involved in a very exciting research here. So currently we are investigating the use of focus ultrasound on targeting, insular cortex in the brain to assess its role in cocaine craving with focus ultrasound and transcranial magnetic stimulation.

We're able to go deep in the brain and understand connectivity and network so we can better understand, addiction.

46 million of Americans struggle with substance use disorder, and only 6% of them are able to reach treatment that works for them. My hope is that the work that I do can improve our knowledge about brain areas and brain connectivity that are responsible for development and maintenance of addiction, so that we can develop tools to reverse these changes and free up individuals and society from this burden of addiction.

Nassima Tiouririne, MD,
Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences


Transcript:
I'm particularly fascinated by the biological underpinning of addiction. What makes a drug or a behavior becomes so compulsive that it controls and destroys every aspect of someone's life. This is one of the reasons I'm interested in neuromodulation tools for the brain so that we can target deep areas of the brain and networks in the brain to better understand the disease of addiction.


Hi, my name is Nascimento Turin. I'm a professor of psychiatry here at the University of Virginia. I'm a clinician, educator and a clinical researcher. I have the privilege in being involved in a very exciting research here. So currently we are investigating the use of focus ultrasound on targeting, insular cortex in the brain to assess its role in cocaine craving with focus ultrasound and transcranial magnetic stimulation.

We're able to go deep in the brain and understand connectivity and network so we can better understand, addiction.

46 million of Americans struggle with substance use disorder, and only 6% of them are able to reach treatment that works for them. My hope is that the work that I do can improve our knowledge about brain areas and brain connectivity that are responsible for development and maintenance of addiction, so that we can develop tools to reverse these changes and free up individuals and society from this burden of addiction.

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy40MkQ0RjUwRTlGMUU4N0ZG

Nassima Tiouririne, MD - understanding the brain's connectivity to better understand addiction.

Madhusmita Misra, MD discusses how low bone density increases fracture risk in young women.

Scott Heysell, MD discusses his work in treating the infections of poverty like tuberculosis.

Scott Hollenbeck, MD, Professor and Chair, Department of Plastic Surgery, Maxillofacial & Oral Health

Transcript:
One thing I'm really excited about is our program and diseases of adipose tissue, specifically lymphedema and lipedema. These are conditions that we really don't know a whole lot about. But many patients suffer from swelling in the legs and arms and other areas. We hope to enroll patients in clinical trials here and study the tissue to be able to advance the understanding of this disease, both for our patients but also those around the country.

Hi, I'm Scott Hollenbeck and I'm the chair of the Department of plastic surgery, maxillofacial and Oral health. I'm a plastic surgeon and I primarily specialize in breast cancer reconstruction. One of the areas I focus on is free tissue transfer or free flaps, for the advanced level of reconstruction, but also focus on areas of research, including tackling disparities and access to care for patients trying to seek breast cancer reconstruction. And we offer that here at the University of Virginia, as well as a number of other sites across the state.

I think the area I'm most excited about with my research is the development of a soft tissue filler, which can be used to help patients recover from surgeries such as mastectomy and other disfiguring procedures where the material could be delivered to act as a reconstructive modality. This requires a lot of work in both the basic science area, but also in regulatory and innovation commercialization spaces, but may have a significant impact on patients health and their well-being in the future.

Scott Hollenbeck, MD, Professor and Chair, Department of Plastic Surgery, Maxillofacial & Oral Health

Transcript:
One thing I'm really excited about is our program and diseases of adipose tissue, specifically lymphedema and lipedema. These are conditions that we really don't know a whole lot about. But many patients suffer from swelling in the legs and arms and other areas. We hope to enroll patients in clinical trials here and study the tissue to be able to advance the understanding of this disease, both for our patients but also those around the country.

Hi, I'm Scott Hollenbeck and I'm the chair of the Department of plastic surgery, maxillofacial and Oral health. I'm a plastic surgeon and I primarily specialize in breast cancer reconstruction. One of the areas I focus on is free tissue transfer or free flaps, for the advanced level of reconstruction, but also focus on areas of research, including tackling disparities and access to care for patients trying to seek breast cancer reconstruction. And we offer that here at the University of Virginia, as well as a number of other sites across the state.

I think the area I'm most excited about with my research is the development of a soft tissue filler, which can be used to help patients recover from surgeries such as mastectomy and other disfiguring procedures where the material could be delivered to act as a reconstructive modality. This requires a lot of work in both the basic science area, but also in regulatory and innovation commercialization spaces, but may have a significant impact on patients health and their well-being in the future.

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy4yM0YxNkQ4MTExRjg4RUI2

Scott Hollenbeck, MD, developing soft tissue filler to act as a reconstructive modality.

Jaideep Kapur, MD, PhD, provides unique and new insights into the mechanisms of grand mal seizures.

Melissa Little, PhD, using innovative and sustainable approaches to reduce tobacco use.

John Bushweller, PhD developing paradigm-shifting therapy for these specific types of cancer.

Paola Gehrig, MD, Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology

Transcript:
I love being a G1 oncologist. I've wanted to be a G1 oncologist since I was a third-year medical student. The opportunity to take care of my patients from the time of diagnosis through survivorship, and then ultimately as they transition to the next phase of life, should it come to that, really brings me great joy. It's difficult, but it's very rewarding to get to know my patients, get to know their families, and then to be able to impart that knowledge to the trainees, whether they're medical students, residents or fellows, really is why I do what I do.

Hi, my name is Paula Gehrig. I'm a practicing G1 oncologist and the chair of the Department of Ob-Gyn here at UVA. I got here in June of 2022, and it's just been super fun and exciting to really build this department and hire a lot of really intelligent, hardworking, innovative new faculty so that we can continue to deliver the best of care to the patients that we serve here in Virginia.

My primary research interest has been endometrial cancer, and throughout my career, I've been very interested in clinical trials, be they surgical trials or novel therapeutics. Unlike many other malignancies, endometrial cancer is seeing an increase in incidence as well as mortality. We are opening a clinical trial here looking at patients who have a mutation in ARod one D and looking to see if these patients may benefit from bevacizumab or neuropathic, is a novel therapy to improve the outcomes of the patients that we serve.

Paola Gehrig, MD, Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology

Transcript:
I love being a G1 oncologist. I've wanted to be a G1 oncologist since I was a third-year medical student. The opportunity to take care of my patients from the time of diagnosis through survivorship, and then ultimately as they transition to the next phase of life, should it come to that, really brings me great joy. It's difficult, but it's very rewarding to get to know my patients, get to know their families, and then to be able to impart that knowledge to the trainees, whether they're medical students, residents or fellows, really is is why I do what I do.

Hi, my name is Paula Gehrig. I'm a practicing G1 oncologist and the chair of the Department of Ob-Gyn here at UVA. I got here in June of 2022, and it's just been super fun and exciting to really build this department and hire a lot of really intelligent, hardworking, innovative new faculty so that we can continue to deliver the best of care to the patients that we serve here in Virginia.

My primary research interest has been endometrial cancer, and throughout my career, I've been very interested in clinical trials, be they surgical trials or novel therapeutics. Unlike many other malignancies, endometrial cancer is seeing an increase in incidence as well as mortality. We are opening a clinical trial here looking at patients who have a mutation in ARod one D and looking to see if these patients may benefit from bevacizumab or neuropathic, is a novel therapy to improve the outcomes of the patients that we serve.

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy45QzM0OUZCRDUyMTgwREVG

Paola Gehrig, MD, discusses her joy of taking care of patients from diagnosis through survivorship

Colin Derdeyn, MD, Professor and Chair, Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging

Transcript:
Mostly what I'm involved in is large-scale clinical trials for stroke. These procedures that we do for thrombectomy, removing a clot from the brain. We have people that wake up on the table coming in, unable to speak or move, that regain those functions as soon as the blood vessels open. And the research that we've done in these trials has made that happen.

My name is Collin Derdeyn, and I'm an interventional neuroradiologist. And what I do, I'm essentially a plumber. I navigate wires and tubes through the blood vessels up into the head using X-ray guidance, and we use those to either open up a blockage, like an acute stroke, to restore blood flow to the brain, or to plug something up like an aneurysm and prevent it from bleeding again.

We are just now launching the first-ever platform trial for acute ischemic stroke for patients that come in with a blockage of a large artery in the brain. This trial will be what's called a platform trial, where we can randomize patients into multiple arms at the same time. So the same patient may get a different neuroprotective agent on their way to thrombectomy, may get general anesthesia or not, may get a carotid stent or not, may get any number of different questions.

And doing this on a platform allows us to answer all of these questions much more efficiently, quicker, and get answers that are going to directly impact how patients do a stroke.

Colin Derdeyn, MD, Professor and Chair, Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging

Transcript:
Mostly what I'm involved in is large-scale clinical trials for stroke. These procedures that we do for thrombectomy, removing a clot from the brain. We have people that wake up on the table coming in, unable to speak or move, that regain those functions as soon as the blood vessels open. And the research that we've done in these trials has made that happen.

My name is Collin Derdeyn, and I'm an interventional neuroradiologist. And what I do, I'm essentially a plumber. I navigate wires and tubes through the blood vessels up into the head using X-ray guidance, and we use those to either open up a blockage, like an acute stroke, to restore blood flow to the brain, or to plug something up like an aneurysm and prevent it from bleeding again.

We are just now launching the first-ever platform trial for acute ischemic stroke for patients that come in with a blockage of a large artery in the brain. This trial will be what's called a platform trial, where we can randomize patients into multiple arms at the same time. So the same patient may get a different neuroprotective agent on their way to thrombectomy, may get general anesthesia or not, may get a carotid stent or not, may get any number of different questions.

And doing this on a platform allows us to answer all of these questions much more efficiently, quicker, and get answers that are going to directly impact how patients do a stroke.

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy5BRjY4NjdBRjA5RTdCMUMx

Colin Derdeyn, MD, Launching the first-ever platform trial for acute ischemic stroke for patients

Shengyi Iris Sun, PhD discusses endoplasmic reticulum, a hub for protein production in the cells.

Amy Mathers, MD, Associate Professor 
Division of Infectious Diseases & International Health 
UVA Department of Medicine

Transcript:
The thing I love the most about my research is the idea that I get to discover new things, and that allows me to see the world in a different way. For example, when we discover that drug resistant pathogens we're living in, hospital drains. It allowed me to look at drains and sinks differently, and I continue to try to problem solve as I look at drains and sinks to come up with better interventions to prevent them from getting to patients.

My name is Amy Mathers, and I am in both the Department of Medicine and the Department of Pathology and the School of Medicine. I am an infectious disease physician who focuses on antibiotic resistant bacteria. My research focuses on, how antibiotic resistance genes move between bacteria and how we detect them in the clinical micro lab, as well as how we detect them in the hospital, and try to eliminate transmission of drug resistant pathogens to and from patients.

With antibiotic resistant bacterial infections estimated to be the third leading cause of global deaths. It's going to be important to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria, as well as understand the places where antibiotic resistant bacteria are emerging. Unfortunately, there has not been a large amount of drug development or new antibiotic discovery, and therefore we're going to have to protect the antibiotics that we have so that they can be used for future generations.

Amy Mathers, MD, Associate Professor
Division of Infectious Diseases & International Health
UVA Department of Medicine

Transcript:
The thing I love the most about my research is the idea that I get to discover new things, and that allows me to see the world in a different way. For example, when we discover that drug resistant pathogens we're living in, hospital drains. It allowed me to look at drains and sinks differently, and I continue to try to problem solve as I look at drains and sinks to come up with better interventions to prevent them from getting to patients.

My name is Amy Mathers, and I am in both the Department of Medicine and the Department of Pathology and the School of Medicine. I am an infectious disease physician who focuses on antibiotic resistant bacteria. My research focuses on, how antibiotic resistance genes move between bacteria and how we detect them in the clinical micro lab, as well as how we detect them in the hospital, and try to eliminate transmission of drug resistant pathogens to and from patients.

With antibiotic resistant bacterial infections estimated to be the third leading cause of global deaths. It's going to be important to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria, as well as understand the places where antibiotic resistant bacteria are emerging. Unfortunately, there has not been a large amount of drug development or new antibiotic discovery, and therefore we're going to have to protect the antibiotics that we have so that they can be used for future generations.

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy5DNTU3ODQ4ODAzMjFERTI1

Amy Mathers, MD discusses how important it is to reduce the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Douglas Bayliss, PhD, discusses chemical and electrical signals used by the brain to drive breathing

Anita Clayton, MD, discusses developing treatments for major depressive disorders

Roger Anderson, PhD - reducing and eliminating social disparities in cancer incidence and outcomes

Anne Kenworthy, PhD discusses how proteins found at the surface of cells contribute to cell function

Joanne Pinkerton, MD, discusses how exciting it is to be advancing the field of women's health.

Jianjie Ma, PhD, discusses a novel monoclonal antibody that enhances healing of diabetic wounds.

Brant Isakson, PhD, discusses microcirculation and blood vessels the width of one of your hairs.

Karen Johnston, MD, helping researchers translate innovative ideas into actual treatments and cures.

Ahmad Jomaa, PhD, discusses mitochondria as a cell stress sensor and its effects on a cell's cycle.

Hongji Zhang, PhD witnessing the transformation of scientific discoveries into practical application

Michael E Williams, MD, Minimizing the traditional use of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Sarah Ewald, PhD understanding what causes disease, long before the disease has progressed.

Bon Q. Trinh, PhD, discusses bimolecular interplay in the control of 3D chromatin architecture

Kari Ring, MD, shares her insights on the world of cancer genetics.

Jinghang Xie, PhD, shares his innovative imaging research in the field of translational medicine.

Jeff Martens, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Senior Associate Dean of Research in the School of Medicine

Transcript:
So what excites me most about science is the process of discovery and the hope that it brings for improving human health. 

My name is Jeff Martens and I'm a professor of pharmacology and also senior associate dean of research in the School of Medicine. My laboratory studies olfaction, which is our sense of smell. Specifically, we're interested in a unique population of neurons in the nose that connect to our brain, but are also unique in that they're exposed to the external environment.

Now, these neurons are necessary for our ability to detect chemicals in the air when we breathe in, when these neurons don't function properly. We are unable to smell.

Unfortunately, there are no curative therapies for olfactory loss. My laboratory has championed the use of gene therapy to provide hope to those patients who can't smell. So gene therapy means taking a lost gene or a defective gene and replacing it with a normal, healthy copy into these olfactory neurons. The Manny Institute, catalyzed by a gift from Paul and Diane Manning, is going to be a state of the art center to bring together novel biological therapies.

This will help our research by bringing together not only the expertise but also the technologies into a single location that will help to move our discoveries made at the bench to the bedside to better patients.

Jeff Martens, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Senior Associate Dean of Research in the School of Medicine

Transcript:
So what excites me most about science is the process of discovery and the hope that it brings for improving human health.

My name is Jeff Martens and I'm a professor of pharmacology and also senior associate dean of research in the School of Medicine. My laboratory studies olfaction, which is our sense of smell. Specifically, we're interested in a unique population of neurons in the nose that connect to our brain, but are also unique in that they're exposed to the external environment.

Now, these neurons are necessary for our ability to detect chemicals in the air when we breathe in, when these neurons don't function properly. We are unable to smell.

Unfortunately, there are no curative therapies for olfactory loss. My laboratory has championed the use of gene therapy to provide hope to those patients who can't smell. So gene therapy means taking a lost gene or a defective gene and replacing it with a normal, healthy copy into these olfactory neurons. The Manny Institute, catalyzed by a gift from Paul and Diane Manning, is going to be a state of the art center to bring together novel biological therapies.

This will help our research by bringing together not only the expertise but also the technologies into a single location that will help to move our discoveries made at the bench to the bedside to better patients.

1 0

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy5ENEEyOTIwNkY4NzFGMkQ2

Jeff Martens, PhD discusses our sense of smell and how neurons in the nose connect to our brains.

What I love about my research is that it's at the intersection of basic science discovery and clinically impactful research. So what I do is called translational research. That means the ultimate goal is to translate our insights in the lab into therapeutics that are meaningful and translational be relevant for patients. 

My name is Kristen Anderson and I'm an assistant professor in the Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology Department, and I'm jointly appointed in obstetrics and gynecology.

My research is focused on modifying immune cells, specifically T cells, to recognize and kill cancer more effectively. Solid tumors like ovarian and pancreatic cancer present additional obstacles that we need to overcome for this therapy to work. So what my group does is we identify those obstacles and then we come up with creative engineering approaches to overcome them and translate that into a therapeutic for the clinic.

The goal is to bring the tools we build in the lab into the clinic for patients. The Manning Institute for Biotechnology is going to support this kind of research extensively. It's going to provide us with access to new technologies and state of the art equipment colleagues and collaborators with diverse expertise. So we can do interdisciplinary studies. And biotechnology and pharmaceutical colleagues who can help us rapidly translate our tools into the clinic.

Ultimately, we're going to be surrounded by colleagues with the same shared goal bringing immunotherapies to UVA patients as well as all around the globe.

What I love about my research is that it's at the intersection of basic science discovery and clinically impactful research. So what I do is called translational research. That means the ultimate goal is to translate our insights in the lab into therapeutics that are meaningful and translational be relevant for patients. My name is Kristen Anderson and I'm an assistant professor in the Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology Department, and I'm jointly appointed in obstetrics and gynecology.

My research is focused on modifying immune cells, specifically T cells, to recognize and kill cancer more effectively. Solid tumors like ovarian and pancreatic cancer present additional obstacles that we need to overcome for this therapy to work. So what my group does is we identify those obstacles and then we come up with creative engineering approaches to overcome them and translate that into a therapeutic for the clinic.

The goal is to bring the tools we build in the lab into the clinic for patients. The Manning Institute for Biotechnology is going to support this kind of research extensively. It's going to provide us with access to new technologies and state of the art equipment colleagues and collaborators with diverse expertise. So we can do interdisciplinary studies. And biotechnology and pharmaceutical colleagues who can help us rapidly translate our tools into the clinic.

Ultimately, we're going to be surrounded by colleagues with the same shared goal bringing immunotherapies to UVA patients as well as all around the globe.

1 0

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy5BRUVCN0E0MzEwQzAwNjMy

Kristin Anderson, PhD discusses translating insights in the lab into meaningful patient therapeutics

Learn more about Edward Horng-An Nieh’s, PhD, journey to understand neuropsychiatric disorders.

George Christ, PhD
Professor, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopedic Surgery


Transcript:
I do what you would refer to as translational research. That means everything from basic science to clinical applications. And for me personally, that means every single day I'm doing something different, learning something new. And the group of people that you have to assemble to do that is diverse, incredibly talented, brilliant and dedicated and committed in many different ways.

I'm George Christ, professor of biomedical engineering and orthopedic surgery at the University of Virginia, where I hold the Commonwealth Chair in engineering. I run the laboratory for Regenerative Therapeutics, and we're a diverse group of interdisciplinary researchers dedicated to developing regenerative medicine and tissue engineering technologies to treat craniofacial and extremity trauma. Our wounded warriors. And this work is funded by the National Institutes of Health, as well as primarily the Department of Defense and Industry stakeholders.

Because any time you're doing translational research and trying to get things into the clinic, giving a diverse funding portfolio, our work is focusing on creating replacement tissues and organs for those in need and primarily for wounded warriors with head, neck and extremity trauma injuries. But this is where the Manning Institute has an enormous potential to be impactful because the GMP state of the art GMP facilities there could provide a place where we could create replacement tissues and organs right on the campus here at UVA to serve not only our wounded warriors, but the civilian population as well.

George Christ, PhD
Professor, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopedic Surgery


Transcript:
I do what you would refer to as translational research. That means everything from basic science to clinical applications. And for me personally, that means every single day I'm doing something different, learning something new. And the group of people that you have to assemble to do that is diverse, incredibly talented, brilliant and dedicated and committed in many different ways.

I'm George Christ, professor of biomedical engineering and orthopedic surgery at the University of Virginia, where I hold the Commonwealth Chair in engineering. I run the laboratory for Regenerative Therapeutics, and we're a diverse group of interdisciplinary researchers dedicated to developing regenerative medicine and tissue engineering technologies to treat craniofacial and extremity trauma. Our wounded warriors. And this work is funded by the National Institutes of Health, as well as primarily the Department of Defense and Industry stakeholders.

Because any time you're doing translational research and trying to get things into the clinic, giving a diverse funding portfolio, our work is focusing on creating replacement tissues and organs for those in need and primarily for wounded warriors with head, neck and extremity trauma injuries. But this is where the Manning Institute has an enormous potential to be impactful because the GMP state of the art GMP facilities there could provide a place where we could create replacement tissues and organs right on the campus here at UVA to serve not only our wounded warriors, but the civilian population as well.

2 0

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy5BNzdEQzY0REQzQTEyN0U3

George Christ, PhD discusses transformative regenerative medicine research.

Learn more about how Jayakrishna Ambati, MD, is developing treatments for diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Roger Abounader, MD, PhD, studies the mechanisms of brain cancer to develop better therapies.

Clinical Scientist Dr. Zhiyi Zuo studies stroke effects and post op cognitive dysfunction.

Studying diseases that arise from defects in DNA replication with Anja Bielinsky, PhD.

Using Focused Ultrasound and deep brain stimulation with Neurosurgeon Jeff Elias, MD

William Petri, MD, PhD, studies infectious diseases like COVID 19 and helps explain it to the public. By studying how the immune system protects us, his research team made a surprising discovery.  #Covid19 #covid19treatment

Find out more about Petri's research here: https://med.virginia.edu/petri-lab/

Transcription:
One of the things I love about my research is this opportunity to explain to the public things that come up in infectious diseases. This most recently has been with COVID 19, where I've been writing a column of questions and answers about COVID 19, also about polio, or what's new with the flu vaccine this year. And so the ability to understand the science and then be able to explain it to the public is a very rewarding part of my profession.

My name is Bill Petri. I'm a professor of infectious diseases at UVA, and my research involves not just the Department of Medicine and our infectious disease fellows, but also graduate students in the Microbiology, immunology, Cancer Biology Department and Biochemistry, as well as in pathology.

In my lab, we study infectious diseases and how the immune system protects us from infections. And we do that in infections that are important in countries like Bangladesh as well as here in the U.S. and even at the University of Virginia Hospital. And what is so interesting about that is that the more that we learn, the more we understand about how beautifully created the immune system is to provide protection against parasites, viruses and bacteria. I think one example of the impact of what we're doing is in COVID 19, where we've discovered that an allergy drug called Dupilumab is an effective treatment for patients hospitalized with the most severe forms of COVID 19.

William Petri, MD, PhD
Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases & International Health, Department of Medicine

William Petri, MD, PhD
Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases & International Health, Department of Medicine

https://med.virginia.edu/research/

Transcription:
One of the things I love about my research is this opportunity to explain to the public things that come up in infectious diseases. This most recently has been with COVID 19, where I've been writing a column of questions and answers about COVID 19, also about polio, or what's new with the flu vaccine this year. And so the ability to understand the science and then be able to explain it to the public is a very rewarding part of my profession.

My name is Bill Petri. I'm a professor of infectious diseases at UVA, and my research involves not just the Department of Medicine and our infectious disease fellows, but also graduate students in the Microbiology, immunology, Cancer Biology Department and Biochemistry, as well as in pathology.

In my lab, we study infectious diseases and how the immune system protects us from infections. And we do that in infections that are important in countries like Bangladesh as well as here in the U.S. and even at the University of Virginia Hospital. And what is so interesting about that is that the more that we learn, the more we understand about how beautifully created the immune system is to provide protection against parasites, viruses and bacteria. I think one example of the impact of what we're doing is in COVID 19, where we've discovered that an allergy drug called Dupilumab is an effective treatment for patients hospitalized with the most severe forms of COVID 19.

0 0

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy41NTZEOThBNThFOUVGQkVB

William Petri, MD, PhD shares an effective treatment for COVID based on your immune system.

Many conditions, including #autoimmune diseases, #cardiovascular diseases, and cancers, are correlated to the extracellular matrices and how they’re formed. By understanding how they’re formed, Jochen Zimmer, PhD, hopes to design artificial tissues. 

Learn more about Jochen Zimmer’s research here: https://med.virginia.edu/faculty/faculty-listing/jz3x/

Transcript:
Every day I'm learning something new about a new biological process that I hadn't been aware of or we are learning about new techniques that allow us to address our questions from different angles.
My name is Jochen Zimmer. I'm a professor in the molecular physiology and biological physics department at the UVA School of Medicine, and we are using techniques from structural biology, primarily cryo-electron microscopy and x-ray crystallography to identify how nano machines that are responsible for producing these biological polymers that are deposited on the cell surface, how they're formed, how they're transported to the cell surface, and how they're assembled at the surface to actually produce unique materials. The formation of the extracellular matrix in vertebrates, in humans, correlates with many different pathological conditions. This includes autoimmune diseases, arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, as well as cancer. So forming these extracellular matrices is very critical for a healthy system, organism to function and thrive. Furthermore, if we are able to actually reconstitute or recapitulate the formation of these extracellular matrices in vitro, we can use this information to design artificial tissues which is important for therapeutic as well as diagnostic purposes.

Jochen Zimmer, PhD
Professor, Department of Molecular Physiology & Biological Physics

Jochen Zimmer, PhD
Professor, Department of Molecular Physiology & Biological Physics

https://med.virginia.edu/research/

Transcript:
Every day I'm learning something new about a new biological process that I hadn't been aware of or we are learning about new techniques that allow us to address our questions from different angles.
My name is Jochen Zimmer. I'm a professor in the molecular physiology and biological physics department at the UVA School of Medicine, and we are using techniques from structural biology, primarily cryo-electron microscopy and x-ray crystallography to identify how nano machines that are responsible for producing these biological polymers that are deposited on the cell surface, how they're formed, how they're transported to the cell surface, and how they're assembled at the surface to actually produce unique materials. The formation of the extracellular matrix in vertebrates, in humans, correlates with many different pathological conditions. This includes autoimmune diseases, arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, as well as cancer. So forming these extracellular matrices is very critical for a healthy system, organism to function and thrive. Furthermore, if we are able to actually reconstitute or recapitulate the formation of these extracellular matrices in vitro, we can use this information to design artificial tissues which is important for therapeutic as well as diagnostic purposes.

0 0

YouTube Video UExNN0UyT2ZDUHBmcVhISElkQ19zLU9fb0xxWXNzRzVVXy41RTNBREYwMkI5QzU3RkY2

Jochen Zimmer, PhD, studies what humans need to function and thrive.