UMD researchers are using a $2.8 million grant to study spinal cord injuries and dementia – The Diamondback

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Professor Steven Jay in the lab where he oversees research on the link between spinal cord injuries and cognitive degeneration. (Joe Ryan/The Diamondback)

A team of University of Maryland and University of Maryland, Baltimore researchers is investigating the connection between dementia and spinal cord injuries with the help of a $2.8 million dollar grant awarded earlier this month from the National Institutes of Health.

The project a collaborative effort between the universitys bioengineering lab and the University of Maryland medical school, which is housed at the University of Maryland, Baltimore aims to examine a link between spinal cord injuries and degeneration in the brain.

The possible link has to do with particles called extracellular vesicles, which cells use for communication, said Steven Jay, an associate bioengineering professor working on the study.

[Read more: Police encounters can be risky for people with autism. A UMD lecturer thinks VR can help.]

After a spinal cord injury, the surrounding cells become inflamed and start to release the vesicles; they travel within the central nervous system and ultimately land in the brain. And now, researchers are looking to see if the spinal cord injury can lead to degeneration in the brain, said Alan Faden, a trauma professor at the medical school.

My mission, for now going [on] four years, is to develop the science that can be translated to humans to protect the brain and the spinal cord from secondary damage, Faden said. And to get people to recover faster and better.

Somehow, the particles affect the brain in a negative way, resulting in higher instances of dementia, said Jay, who is studying extracellular vesicles. But researchers want to figure out how.

The research team is working to understand the biological process surrounding the vesicles, Jay said. With an understanding of the biology, the team can study ways to reverse their negative impacts.

Instead of having them, you know, promote the problem, Jay said. Could we program them to actually solve the problem?

[Read more: A diverse group of UMD researchers is studying the link between brain and gut health]

Junfang Wu, an associate professor at the medical school, is leading the project. She said shes eager to explore the relationship with the vesicles, which she said could improve understanding of spinal cord injuries and their cognitive effects.

Thats the exciting part, Wu said.

Wu has been researching spinal cord injuries for years and said that the average age for spinal cord injuries has increased. These injuries, she said, often come from falls. And the risk of falls increases in older people, along with the risk of spinal cord injury, Wu said.

Still, Jay said, vesicles role in cell-to-cell communication was discovered a little over a decade ago. So though the researchers could identify a key player in spinal cord injuries, there is a long way to go before they discover something concrete and applicable.

Its following up on very recent knowledge, Jay said. So its not something thats going to be leading to therapy in two years or something like that.

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UMD researchers are using a $2.8 million grant to study spinal cord injuries and dementia - The Diamondback

Eight Illinois researchers rank among world’s most influential – University of Illinois News

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Eight faculty members at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been named to the 2019 Highly Cited Researchers list, a global listing of scientists who produced the past decades most influential papers, compiled by the Web of Science group, a Clarivate Analytics company.

The list recognizes researchers who produced multiple papers ranking in the top 1% by citations for their field and year of publication, demonstrating significant research influence among their peers, according to Web of Science. It selected 6,216 researchers for their performance in 21 fields and for cross-field influence in scholarly publications from 2008 to 2018.

The Illinois faculty include crop sciencesandplant biologyprofessorElizabeth Lisa Ainsworth(highly cited for cross-field impact), materials science and engineering professor Axel Hoffmann (cross-field), electrical and computer engineering professor Thomas Huang (engineering), geography and geographic information professor Mei-Po Kwan (cross-field), crop sciencesandplant biologyprofessorStephen P. Long(cross-field), bioengineering professor Shuming Nie (cross-field), plant biology professorDonald Ort(plant and animal science), and mechanical science and engineering professor Arend van der Zande (cross-field).

Lisa Ainsworth, crop sciences and plant biology

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Ainsworth leads the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Services Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit. Her research examines genetic variation in crop responses to air pollution and climate change. She received the 2019 Prize in Food and Agricultural Research from the National Academy of Sciences and is an affiliate of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at Illinois.

Axel Hoffmann, materials science and engineering

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Hoffmann is a Founder Professor in materials science and engineering and a member of the Materials Research Laboratory. His research focuses on topics related to magnetism, such as spin transport, magnetization dynamics and biomedical applications. His work on spin Hall effects has contributed to the development of spintronics, electronic devices that harness electron spin for faster and more efficient computing. Hoffmann is a Fellow of the American Vacuum Society, the American Physical Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Thomas Huang, electrical and computer engineering

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Huang is the Maybelle Leland Swanlund Endowed Chair Emeritus in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He studies many fields related to computer engineering and artificial intelligence, including human-computer interaction, multimedia signal processing, computer vision, big data and machine learning. He retired from teaching in 2014, but remains active as a researcher. He also is affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.

Mei-Po Kwan, geography and geographic information

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Kwan investigates health, transportation and urban issues using innovative geographic information system methods. Her work encompasses environmental health, human mobility, access to health care, neighborhood effects, sustainable travel and cities, and the application of GIS methods in geographic research. Kwan is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the U.K. Academy of Social Sciences. Among other honors, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2016 and Distinguished Scholarship Honors from the American Association of Geographers in 2011.

Stephen Long, crop sciences and plant biology

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Long is the Stanley O. Ikenberry Chair of Crop Sciences and Plant Biology. He uses computational and experimental approaches to improve photosynthetic efficiency, and works to address the effects of climate change on crop yield. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 2013, and has been recognized as a highly cited researcher in the field of plant and animal science every year since 2005. He directs Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency, a multinational project supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research, and the U.K. Department for International Development. He is a member of the IGB.

Shuming Nie, bioengineering

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Nie is the Grainger Distinguished Chair in Bioengineering and a professor of chemistry, materials science and engineering, and electrical and computer engineering. He studies nanomedicine, molecular engineering and image-guided minimally invasive robotic surgery. He is as Fellow of the AAAS, the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering.

Donald Ort, crop sciences and plant biology

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Ort is the Robert Emerson Professor of Plant Biology and Crop Sciences. His research focuses on improving photosynthesis and addresses crop responses to global change factors including increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperature. He leads the Genomic Ecology of Global Change theme in the IGB and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2017.

Arend van der Zande, mechanical science and engineering

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Van der Zande specializes in multidisciplinary nanoscience; specifically, his group uses two-dimensional materials, such as membranes and thin films, as molecular building blocks to construct new devices with applications in electronics, sensing, energy and more. He has affiliations with the Materials Research Laboratory, the Holonyak Micro and Nano Technology Laboratory, the Beckman Institute and the department of electrical and computer engineering.

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Eight Illinois researchers rank among world's most influential - University of Illinois News

‘Walking Dead’ Stuntman’s Actions Led To Fatal Fall, Jury Told – Law360

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Law360 (December 16, 2019, 9:10 PM EST) -- A biomechanics expert retained by AMC and the producers of The Walking Dead told a Georgia jury on Monday that it was a stuntman's choice to hold onto a balcony railing as he fell while rehearsing a fight scene thatcaused him to miss his landing pad and suffer a fatal head wound.

During the second week of the trial in Lawrenceville, AMC and other defendants called to the stand Exponent Inc. consultant Michael Carhart to testify about what caused 33-year-old John Bernecker's death in July 2017. Berneckers parents are alleging that the defendants skimped on safety measures.

Bernecker died while rehearsing...

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'Walking Dead' Stuntman's Actions Led To Fatal Fall, Jury Told - Law360

Julian Meeks, Ph.D. – "Transporting a Career from Bioengineering to Neuroscience" – Video

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Julian Meeks, Ph.D. - "Transporting a Career from Bioengineering to Neuroscience"
Julian Meeks, Ph.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Department of Neuroscience, gives speech entitled: "Transporting a Career from Bioengineering to Neuroscience" at the 2014...

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Julian Meeks, Ph.D. - "Transporting a Career from Bioengineering to Neuroscience" - Video

Illuminati Bioengineering MAN Into Robots NanoTech DNA Modification, Chemtrails, HAARP, Smart Meters – Video

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Illuminati Bioengineering MAN Into Robots NanoTech DNA Modification, Chemtrails, HAARP, Smart Meters
Why would they put metals like alumunim, barium, not just in vaccines but in the atmosphere with chemtrails??? In February of 2012 the first Global Future 2045 Congress was held in Moscow....

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Illuminati Bioengineering MAN Into Robots NanoTech DNA Modification, Chemtrails, HAARP, Smart Meters - Video