Advanced Platform Technology Center
VA APT Researchers Receive Career Development Awards
Two researchers with the Advanced Platform Technology (APT) Center of Excellence at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (LSCVAMC) have won major awards from the VA’s Career Development Program. These awards provide mentoring for junior researchers so they can learn from renowned, experienced VA researchers. Awardees from this program have become national and international leaders in their research fields. Awards are provided in all areas of VA's research enterprise: biomedical laboratory, clinical science, health services, and rehabilitation research.
Award: “Therapeutic and Topographical Approaches for Improved Neural Electrode Biocompatibility” to Evon Ereifej, PhD.
Awarded $159,072, Dr. Ereifej’s research program will seek to prove that a combined therapeutic administration of Resveratrol and topographical patterning of microelectrode surfaces will additively improve the quality and stability of neural recordings obtained from intracortical microelectrodes. This could lead to improved signal quality and consistency of the electrical signals recorded from neurons by intracortical electrodes that have been used by patients to communicate with computers and to control robotic limbs.
Dr. Ereifej’s research will build on established data from her mentor, Dr. Jeffrey Capadona of the Advance Platform Center, whose lab has utilized several anti-oxidants, such as Resveratrol in order to alleviate the level of oxidative stress and improve neuronal viability.
This research is integrated with Evon Ereifej’s career development plan with the goal of training to become a leading investigator, focusing on studying diseases, injuries, and disorders of the nervous systems in order to find therapeutic and medical device treatments to aid in the wellbeing and longevity of patients’ lives.
Dr. Ereifej received her B.S. in Biological Sciences, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Wayne State University. Dr. Ereifej’s research interests lie in improving the long-term stability and reliability of neural electrodes by optimizing the biocompatibility aspects of electrode failure. Dr. Ereifej’s ultimate career goals are to continue studying diseases, injuries, and disorders of the nervous systems in order to find therapeutic and medical device treatments to aid in the wellbeing and longevity of patients’ lives. Her primary research endeavors will aim at alleviating the inflammatory response found at the implant-tissue interface of neural implants.
Award: “Flexible Multi-Sensory Mode Neural Devices for Neurochemical Control” to Allison Hess-Dunning, PhD.
Awarded $641,441 Dr. Hess-Dunning’ research program will establish that a microfabrication-based approach can be used to integrate a mechanically-adaptive polymer nanocomposite with the functions required for preventing and treating the biological tissue response to neural implants.
At this time there is currently no practical technique to track tissue response activity at the implant-tissue interface before encapsulation has occurred, at which point damage to the biotic-abiotic interface may be irreversible. The long-term goal of this 4-year study is to develop advanced, multi-functional neural interfaces for localized interaction with the biological environment.
Developing a mechanically-adaptable polymer nanocomposite will enable for controlled, sustained release of a small amount of anti-inflammatory agents highly localized to the region surrounding the implant. These capabilities can then be combined and integrated with microelectronic systems to sense and control the local neuroinflammatory response.
Dr. Hess-Dunning received a B.S. in Engineering Physics from the University of Pittsburgh, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Hess-Dunning’ research interests involve development and investigating micro- and nano-scale implantable neural interfaces for chronic sensing and stimulation applications.
About the APT Center: The APT Center is one of 17 designated Centers of Excellence in the Rehabilitation Research and Development (RR&D) Service of the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Established in 2005 as a collaboration between the LSCDVAMC and CWRU, the APT Center focuses on applying the most recent advancements in microelectronics, material science, microfabrication, wireless communication and mechanical design to the pressing medical needs of disabled veterans, and translating them into viable clinical options. Investigators, project staff and support specialists associated with the Center concentrate their professional effort on translational research in the areas of: Prosthetics and Orthotics, Health Monitoring and Maintenance, Neural Interfacing, and Emerging Enabling Technologies. APT Center related activities have resulted in more than 60 invention disclosures and 15 patented or patent-pending concepts and prototypes that will serve the clinical needs of veterans with sensory, motor and cognitive deficits or limb loss. For additional information about the APT Center, please follow the link: http://www.aptcenter.research.va.gov/
