Digital Commons Network^™

Nonresolving Neuroinflammation Regulates Axon Regeneration In Chronic Spinal Cord Injury, Andrew N. Stewart, Christopher C. Bosse-Joseph, Reena Kumari, William M. Bailey, Kennedy A. Park, Victoria K. Slone, John C. Gensel

Physiology Faculty Publications

Chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) lesions retain increased densities of microglia and macrophages. In acute SCI, macrophages induce growth cone collapse and facilitate axon retraction away from lesion boundaries. Little is known about the role of sustained inflammation in chronic SCI or whether chronic inflammation affects regeneration. We used the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor inhibitor, PLX-5622, to deplete microglia and macrophages months after complete crush SCI in female mice. Transcriptional analyses revealed a significant inflammatory depletion within chronic SCI lesions after PLX-5622 treatment. Both transcriptional analyses and immunohistochemistry revealed that Iba1⁺ cells repopulate to predepleted densities after treatment removal. Neuronal-enriched …

Programmable Scanning Diffuse Speckle Contrast Imaging Of Cerebral Blood Flow, Faezeh Akbari, Xuhui Liu, Fatemeh Hamedi, Mehrana Mohtasebi, Li Chen, Lei Chen, Guoqiang Yu

Physiology Faculty Publications

Significance: Cerebral blood flow (CBF) imaging is crucial for diagnosing cerebrovascular diseases. However, existing large neuroimaging techniques with high cost, low sampling rate, and poor mobility make them unsuitable for continuous and longitudinal CBF monitoring at the bedside. Aim: We aimed to develop a low-cost, portable, programmable scanning diffuse speckle contrast imaging (PS-DSCI) technology for fast, high-density, and depth-sensitive imaging of CBF in rodents. Approach: The PS-DSCI employed a programmable digital micromirror device (DMD) for remote line-shaped laser (785 nm) scanning on tissue surface and synchronized a 2D camera for capturing boundary diffuse laser speckle contrasts. New algorithms were developed …

Racial And Rural Disparities In Financial Toxicity And Healthcare Transitions Among Adolescent And Young Adult Cancer Survivors In Kentucky, Jean S. Edward, Brent J. Shelton, Lauren Corum, Haafsah Fariduddin, Katie Brown, John A. D’Orazio, Kimberly D. Northrip

Physiology Faculty Publications

Introduction: Adolescent and young adult cancer survivors, especially racial/ethnic minorities and rural residents are particularly vulnerable to financial toxicity due to limited healthcare access, socioeconomic disparities, and cultural/language barriers. These social determinants of health compound financial hardship and contribute to poor healthcare transitions from pediatric to adult care, leading to worse outcomes and higher mortality rates. Methods: Our cross-sectional survey study examined racial (Black vs White) and geographic (rural vs urban) disparities in financial toxicity and healthcare transition outcomes among 260 adolescent and young adult cancer survivors through the Kentucky Cancer Registry. Survey data were collected on financial toxicity, healthcare …

Differential Effects Of Myosin Activators On Myocardial Contractile Function In Nonfailing And Failing Human Hearts, Joohee Choi, Patrick T. Wood, Joshua B. Holmes, Katherine L. Dominic, Cristobal G. Dos Remedios, Kenneth S. Campbell, Julian E. Stelzer

Physiology Faculty Publications

The second-generation myosin activator danicamtiv (DN) has shown improved function compared with the first-generation myosin activator omecamtiv mecarbil (OM) in nonfailing myocardium by enhancing cardiac force generation but attenuating slowed relaxation. However, whether the functional improvement with DN compared with OM persists in remodeled failing myocardium remains unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the differential contractile responses to myosin activators in nonfailing and failing myocardium. Mechanical measurements were performed in detergent-skinned myocardium isolated from donor and failing human hearts. Steady-state force, stretch activation responses and loaded shortening velocity were analyzed at submaximal [Ca2+] in the absence or presence of …

Alternate Quantification Approaches For Cold-Induced Vasodilation In Human Glabrous Skin, J. A. Stout, D. E. Gerow, P. C. Clegg, K. Metzler-Wilson, T. E. Wilson

Physiology Faculty Publications

Introduction: Cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) is a counterintuitive focal increase in glabrous skin blood flow during cold exposure with unclear local and neural mechanisms. Methods: We tested 12 (8 men, 4 women) healthy subjects’ laser-Doppler flux (LDF; just proximal to the nailbed) and arterial blood pressure (ABP) on a beat-by-beat basis. The experimental hand was exposed to warm (10 min 35°C) and then cold (30 min 8°C) water immersion and the contralateral control hand experienced 22°C–23°C air throughout. We analyzed beat-by-beat oscillations in LDF and ABP via a fast-Fourier transform (FFT) and transfer function analysis (TFA) of LDF to ABP. Results: …

Gastrocnemius Myofiber Type And Mitochondrial Alterations Associated With Peripheral Artery Disease Severity, Kate Kosmac, Rena Dana Wang, Jada Stewart, Parminder Kaur, Ahmed Ismaeel, Haseeb Ahsan, Lisa Hartnell, Esther E. Dupont-Versteegden, Mary M. Mcdermott, Robert L. Sufit, Luigi Ferrucci, Charlotte A. Peterson

Physiology Faculty Publications

The extent of walking impairment varies among individuals with peripheral artery disease (PAD), which may reflect differences in the adaptability of lower extremity muscles to ischemia-reperfusion injury characteristic of the disease. Analyses of gastrocnemius muscle biopsies from 113 individuals with PAD [mean ankle-brachial index (ABI) = 0.65 ± 0.13, 38 (33.6%) women, 76 (67.2%) Black] showed a wide range of myofiber type distributions (9.6%-82.6% type 1 myofibers). The abundance of oxidative type 1 myofibers negatively correlated with ABI (r = −0.22, P = 0.02), a measure of PAD severity. The abundance of type 1 myofibers also negatively correlated to 2a/x …

Inter-Rater Reliability Of Muscle Ultrasonography Performed By Multidisciplinary Novice Sonographers In The Evaluation Of Critically Ill Patients With Acute Kidney Injury Requiring Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapy, Felipe González-Seguel, Vinh Q. Tran, Chaitanya Anil Pal, Zan T. Shareef, Hayley P. Israel, Arimitsu Horikawa-Strakovsky, Yuan Wen, Benjamin R. Griffin, Javier A. Neyra, J. Pedro Teixeira, Kirby P. Mayer

Physiology Faculty Publications

Early diagnosis of muscle wasting in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury requiring continuous kidney replacement therapy (AKI-CKRT) may improve outcomes via timely rehabilitation and nutrition. Muscle ultrasound (MUS) has recently gained traction for assessing muscle atrophy in the intensive care unit (ICU) but requires training to achieve reproducibility. We evaluated the inter-rater reliability of MUS in patients with AKI-CKRT performed by multidisciplinary raters including nephrologists. Two blinded independent raters used portable ultrasound to acquire images of the rectus femoris (RF). All raters were clinicians routinely caring for patients with CKRT in the ICU and were initially novices in …

Neuro293, Joshua T. Moses, Fahad B. Shah, Nicholas M. Mcvay, Dylan E. Capes, Christopher C. Bosse-Joseph, Jocelyn Salazar, Victoria K. Slone, John E. Eberth, Jonathan Satin, Andrew N. Stewart

Physiology Faculty Publications

Efficient interrogation of neurobiology remains bottlenecked by obtaining mature neurons. Immortalized cell lines still require lengthy differentiation periods to obtain neuron-like cells, which may not efficiently differentiate and are challenging to transfect with plasmids relative to other cell lines such as HEK-293's. To overcome challenges with limited access to cells that express mature neuronal proteins, we knocked out the RE1-silencing transcription factor (REST) from HEK-293's to create a novel neuron-like cell, which we name Neuro293. RNA-sequencing and bioinformatics analyses revealed a significant upregulation of genes associated with neurobiology and membrane excitability including pre-/post-synaptic proteins, voltage gated ion channels, neuron-cytoskeleton, as …

S6k1 Is A Targetable Vulnerability In Tumors Exhibiting Plasticity And Therapy Resistance, Saptadwipa Ganguly, Ravshan Burikhanov, Vitaliy M. Sviripa, Sally Ellingson, Jieyun Jiang, Christian M. Gosser, David Orren, Eva M. Goellner, Gautham G. Shenoy, Mahadev Rao, John D’Orazio, Christine F. Brainson, Chang Guo Zhan, Peter H. Spielmann, David S. Watt, Vivek M. Rangnekar

Physiology Faculty Publications

Background: Most tumors initially respond to treatment, yet refractory clones subsequently develop owing to resistance mechanisms associated with cancer cell plasticity and heterogeneity. Methods: We used a chemical biology approach to identify protein targets in cancer cells exhibiting diverse driver mutations and representing models of tumor lineage plasticity and therapy resistance. An unbiased screen of a drug library was performed against cancer cells followed by synthesis of chemical analogs of the most effective drug. The cancer subtype target range of the leading drug was determined by PRISM analysis of over 900 cancer cell lines at the Broad Institute, MA. RNA-sequencing …

Sex-Based Differences In The Long-Term Fate Of Hippocampal Neurons Born After A Traumatic Brain Injury, Hannah C. Downing, Ashley B. Glover, Jessica E. Gebhardt, Katherine L. Thompson, Kathryn E. Saatman

Physiology Faculty Publications

Introduction: Moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in an early loss of immature hippocampal granule cells and the activation of typically quiescent neural stem cells (NSCs) in the dentate gyrus. Activation of NSCs leads to a robust increase in proliferation and generation of neural progenitor cells (NPCs), supporting restoration of the immature neuron population of over a period of 1–2 weeks. However, it is unclear if neurons born early after injury develop normally, survive long-term and functionally integrate into the hippocampal network. Although adult hippocampal neurogenesis is regulated in a sex-dependent manner, the majority of pre-clinical TBI studies lack the …

Skeletal Muscle Stem Cell Mitochondria Are Transferred To Muscle Fibers In Response To A Hypertrophic Stimulus, Jensen Goh, Julia G. Williams, Sarah E. Ogle, Jai K. Joshi, Logan N. Scott, Benjamin Burke, Alex R. Keeble, Nicholas T. Thomas, Christopher S. Fry, Ahmed Ismaeel, John J. Mccarthy

Physiology Faculty Publications

The fusion of skeletal muscle stem cell (MuSC) to myofibers during hypertrophy has exclusively focused on the transfer of the MuSC nucleus, leaving the fate of other MuSC organelles, such as mitochondria, largely unexplored. The objective of this study was to determine whether MuSCs transfer their mitochondria upon myofiber fusion in response to a hypertrophic stimulus. To achieve this goal, we specifically labeled MuSC mitochondria with Dendra2 fluorescence by crossing the MuSC-specific CreER (Pax7^CreER/CreER) mouse with the Rosa26-Dendra2 mouse to generate the Pax7-Dendra2 mouse. To induce the fusion of MuSC to myofibers, Pax7-Dendra2 mice underwent synergist ablation surgery …

Cognitive Rehabilitation Of Brain Tumor Survivors: A Systematic Review, Rabeet Tariq, Hafiza Fatima Aziz, Shahier Paracha, Nida Zahid, Timothy J. Ainger, Farhan A. Mirza, Syed Ather Enam

Neurology Faculty Publications

Background Cognitive decline is commonly seen in brain tumor (BT) patients and is associated with a worsened prognosis. Cognitive rehabilitation (CR) for cancer-related cognitive dysfunction has been widely studied for non-central nervous system cancers; however, recent emerging research has commenced documenting CR strategies for BT patients and survivors. Our objective was to review the current literature on various CR modalities in patients and BT survivors.

Methods The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. The studies on CR were searched across 3 databases using a predefined search strategy. After removing duplicates, performing initial and full-text screenings, and applying …

The Curious Case Of The Law Review Editor: A Study Of Higher Education's Peculiarly Powerful Students, David R. Wright

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Many law students in their second or third year enroll in student-led, high-impact co-curricular programs such as law journals, moot court teams, and trial competition teams. Law journals particularly demand significant portions of students’ time and energy, especially for students holding Editor-in-Chief positions on a journal. Much has been written about law journals as institutions or about their utility in modern legal education; but little is known about the actual expectations and experiences of the students leading them. Few, if any, studies exist examining the student experience in law journal leadership. How student editors spend their time running their journal …

Investigating The Psychometric Properties Of A Set Of Local Stem Literacy Instruments In Rasch Model, Lijun Shen

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This study investigates the psychometric features of the See Blue STEM literacy inventories (SBSTEMs, including the elementary version SB-E and the middle school version SB-M) to determine their validity in measuring STEM literacy. Using data from elementary and middle school students participating in the See Blue STEM camp in 2019 and 2021-22, this research employed the Rasch Partial Credit Model (PCM) to analyze item-level performance and identify DIF items across various demographic subgroups (race, gender, free-lunch status, and potential first-generation status) and camp delivery modes (online versus in-person). Results indicated that both the elementary (SB-E) and middle school (SB-M) versions …

Recipient Experiences Of Donor-Funded College Scholarships: “I Don't Know What You Want To Know About Me. I Don't Know What I Know About You.”, Teresa Waddle Gotthardt

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This qualitative study explores the experience of receiving donor-funded scholarship support facilitated through a higher education institution, especially when the recipient has interacted with the donor of the funding. This recipient-and-donor-interaction is common at American post-secondary institutions in the form of written thank you notes and attendance at donor recognition events. This research addressed the following questions: How do donor-funded scholarship recipients experience this funding? How do donor-funded scholarship recipients experience interaction with the donor of the scholarship? These questions were explored through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 23 recent alumni from five private universities and colleges who received donor-funded scholarships …

Social Control And Inclusive Freedom: An Embedded Single Case Study Of Campus Expression At A Southern Public University, Christopher J. Ciarcia

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This study examines how staff at a Southern public university experienced and interpreted their participation in the institution’s Open Expression Support Team (OEST), a campus initiative designed to maintain an educational environment where students feel free to engage in freedom of speech and expression without fear of intimidation or coercion. Using an embedded single-case study design, the research draws on interviews, documents, and observations to explore the OEST’s role in supporting inclusive freedom (Ben-Porath, 2017), which emphasizes the balance of free expression and inclusion in higher education.

Findings reveal that the OEST functions as a mechanism of social control, employing …

“Always Looking Over Your Shoulder”: College Students' Experiences With Codes Of Conduct At Evangelical Colleges & Universities, Kayla B. Powell

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This qualitative research study investigated the experiences of college students enrolled at evangelical institutions that are affiliated with the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) and require students to follow an extensive code of conduct. These codes extend beyond academic expectations and mandate behavior in all aspects of daily life. Students who fail to comply are subject to a range of punishments as severe as expulsion. Sixteen traditional-aged undergraduate students from across the U.S. participated in semi-structured interviews that were analyzed using thematic analysis. Students described varied personal convictions regarding the rules; some earnestly strove to obey their campus …

From Ads To Enrollment: Understanding How Targeted Marketing Affects College Choice, John W. Roberts

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the perceived impact of targeted marketing on college choice. Research on college choice is an established area of scholarship that explores the variables that are at work when a student chooses to attend a college or university. Given that the enrollment landscape for higher education continues to be competitive, colleges and universities are doing what they can to “stand out” among the competition in a crowded marketing and advertising space. And, as technology improves, segmenting and personalizing marketing to reach the right students at the right time is becoming more commonplace …

A Unionid Mussel Biodiversity Hotspot Experiencing Unexplained Declines: Evaluating The Influence Of Chemical Stressors Using Caged Juveniles, W. Aaron Wilson, Christine Bergeron, Jennifer Archambault, Jason M. Unrine, Jess Jones, Braven Beaty, Damian Shea, Peter R. Lazaro, Jody L. Callihan, Jennifer J. Rogers

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Unionid mussel populations in a section of the Clinch River in Virginia, USA, has declined substantially, but the causes of the decline remain unknown. To investigate this zone of decline (ZOD), we deployed juvenile freshwater mussels (Villosa iris in 2012 and Lampsilis fasciola in 2013) in both cages and silos at sites within the Clinch River System. We analyzed mussel tissues for trace element and organic contaminant concentrations, shells for trace elements, and environmental media (total water, dissolved water, particulate sediment, and bedload sediment) for both inorganic and organic contaminants. We found a few differences between mussels deployed in cages …

Breaking Ground On Self-Efficacy: A Qualitative Exploration Of Intimate Partner Violence Survivors’ Experiences With Therapeutic Horticulture, Rachel Marie Reeves

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This dissertation explores how participation in a Therapeutic Horticulture program may support the self-efficacy of survivors of Intimate Partner Violence. Through a thematic analysis of interviews with 45 women living at a domestic violence shelter in Lexington, Kentucky, this study investigates whether and how gardening activities contributed to participants’ belief in their abilities to shape outcomes in their lives.

Findings are organized around Bandura’s four sources of self-efficacy: enactive mastery experiences, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological/affective states. These insights contribute to feminist criminology and trauma-informed care literature by illuminating the transformative potential of nature-assisted healing programs.

Emplacing Deaths Of Despair Within The Rural Mortality Penalty: The Spatial Inequality Of Violent Death Across Rural America, Cameron A. Mcalister

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

American life expectancy continues to diverge from most developed nations. Literature spanning several fields of scholarship has documented an uneven distribution of life expectancy between social groups and across geographic contexts. Frameworks such as “Deaths of Despair” and the rural mortality penalty describe the declining health trends among working class whites and rural America. But, conceptual development around these frameworks is still limited. This dissertation utilizes a rural sociological approach to bridging the gap between the Deaths of Despair framework and the rural mortality penalty by examining violent death patterns across diverse rural contexts. In doing so, I incorporate several …

The Research Examining Factors Associated With The Opioid Crisis Among Urban Adults (Refocus), Mona K.M. Goggins, Paige Orphé, Jovonna Atkinson, Brittany Miller-Roenigk, Kaylee A. Palomino, Danelle Stevens-Watkins

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

Introduction: Deaths due to opioid-related overdoses have increased across the United States. Specifically in the state of Kentucky, African Americans are the only population that continues to experience an increase in opioid-related deaths. Previous literature highlights African Americans having unique drug use patterns due to systematic barriers and how these barriers limit access to protective factors and substance use treatment. The current study aims to specify patterns of African American non-medical prescription opioid use (NMPOU) and how these patterns may differ based on biological sex and generational cohort. Also, this study plans on using this data on patterns to inform …

Navigating Access To Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (Prep), Carlos C. Mahaffey, Rohan D. Jeremiah, Andrew M. O’Neil, Déjà N. Clement, Isabel Cava, Fracisco R. Ruiz, Randolph D. Hubach, Danelle Stevens-Watkins

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has contributed significantly to stabilizing HIV incidence rates across most populations. However, significant disparities in HIV incidence and PrEP uptake persist among Black men who have sex with men (BMSM). This study delved into the individual, sociocultural, and structural factors associated with PrEP access and uptake among 28 BMSM residing in designated HIV hotspots. Participants were recruited from communities identified as “high priority” by the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Ending the HIV Epidemic in the US initiative. Participants completed semi-structured interviews focusing on PrEP awareness, access, and barriers to uptake. Guided by the Socioecological …

Mental Health And Treatment Use In Undergraduate Engineering Students, Matthew D. Whitwer, Sarah A. Wilson, Joseph H. Hammer, Brenna Gomer

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Engineering students experience high levels of distress and low rates of mental health treatment seeking, yet there is a gap in knowledge around how this compares with that of students in other fields of study. Given the influence of social identity (e.g., gender identity, race/ethnicity) on mental health and treatment seeking, it is important to account for sociodemographic variation across fields when performing such comparisons. Purpose: This study used Andersen's Behavioral Model to compare mental health distress and treatment use between students in engineering and other fields while controlling for sociodemographic factors. Methods: Survey data came from the 2021–2022 …

Investigating Relatedness Within Breeding Units Of The Highly Social Bushtit (Psaltriparus Minimus), Fiona Skye Connelly

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Cooperative breeding systems represent an array of varied reproductive strategies and remain a topic of interest in behavioral ecology (i.e., Riehl 2013, Cornwallis et al. 2017). Different manifestations of cooperative breeding, such as cooperative polyandry, no doubt have unique evolutionary pressures tied to local ecologies which have led to their proliferation. Of particular interest are species that show flexibility in their use of reproductive strategies, wherein individuals may choose one strategy over another given a specific circumstance. Here, I used double-digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (i.e., ddRAD-seq) to investigate bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) reproductive strategies and the relatedness between …

Temporal Dynamics Of Programmed Genome Rearrangement In Sea Lamprey Embryogenesis: A Deep Learning & Lightsheet Imaging Approach To Studying Early Developmental Transitions, Kasturi Rajandran

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Programmed genome rearrangement (PGR) in the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) leads to the elimination of ~0.5Gb (20%) of the germline genome during early embryogenesis, yet its timing relative to the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT) remains unclear. In this study, we imaged embryos cleared at 3-hour intervals (up to 72 hours post fertilization (hpf)) using high-resolution lightsheet fluorescence microscopy and a custom deep-learning image-analysis pipeline (~80% accuracy) to quantify nuclei and micronuclei counts. Micronuclei, which are the hallmarks of PGR first appear between 24 to 27hpf (vs ~36hpf previously reported) indicating PGR starts earlier than previously reported in the sea …

The Role Of Metabolic Gate Keepers In Cell Fate Decision Making, Brian Kelly

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Maintaining cellular energy balance and redox stability is crucial to cell survival, with glutamine metabolism playing a central role. While extensively studied in cancer, where it supports biosynthesis and reduces oxidative stress to promote tumor growth, its function in non-cancerous contexts like tissue development and muscle regeneration remains less understood. A key aspect of stem cell biology is quiescence, a metabolically dormant state that preserves the stem cell pool, yet the mechanisms regulating this state are not fully clear. Here, we identify glutamine metabolism as a critical factor governing myoblast proliferation and quiescence through a metabolic program distinct from that …

Tam Receptors Mediate The Fpr2-Driven Pain Resolution And Fibrinolysis After Nerve Injury, Beate Hartmannsberger, Adel Ben‑Kraiem, Sofia Kramer, Carolina Guidolin, Ida Kazerani, Kathrin Doppler, Dominique Thomas, Robert Gurke, Marco Sisignano, Pranav P. Kalelkar, Andrés J. García, Paula V. Monje, Michael Sammeth, Asma Nusrat, Alexander Brack, Susanne M. Krug, Claudia Sommer, Heike L. Rittner

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Nerve injury causes neuropathic pain and multilevel nerve barrier disruption. Nerve barriers consist of perineurial, endothe- lial and myelin barriers. So far, it is unclear whether resealing nerve barriers fosters pain resolution and recovery. To this end, we analysed the nerve barrier property portfolio, pain behaviour battery and lipidomics for precursors of specialized pro-resolving meditators (SPMs) and their receptors in chronic constriction injury of the rat sciatic nerve to identify tar- gets for pain resolution by resealing the selected nerve barriers. Of the three nerve barriers—perineurium, capillaries and myelin—only capillary tightness specifically against larger molecules, such as fibrinogen, recuperated with …

Extracellular Vesicles Released By All Patients Contain Hne-Adducted Proteins: Implications Of Collateral Damage, Jenni Ho, Suriyan Sukati, Tamara Taylor, Sherry Carter, Brittany Fuller, Amy Marmo, Caryn Sorge, John A. D'Orazio, D. Allan Butterfield, Subbarao Bondada, Heidi Weiss, Daret K. St. Clair, Luksana Chaiswing

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Off-target neuronal injury is a serious side-effect observed in cancer survivors. It has previously been shown that pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors have a decline in neurocognition compared to healthy age-matched counterparts. Elevated oxidative stress has been documented to be a mediator in off- target tissue damage in cancer survivors. Early detection of oxidative stress markers may provide an opportunity to prevent off-target tissue damage. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have surfaced as a potential diagnostic tool due to molecular cargo they contain. We investigated the potential for EVs to be a sensitive indicator of oxidative stress and off-target tissue damage …

Engaging Nurses In Effective Cost Of Care Conversations To Address Cancer-Related Financial Toxicity: Results From An Exploratory Survey, Jean Edward, Amanda T. Wiggins, Louis G. Baser, Haafsah Fariduddin, Joanna F. Doran, Monica F. Bryant, John August D'Orazio, Kimberly D. Northrip

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Few evidence-based trainings exist on how to equip healthcare providers, particularly nurses, with the skills to engage in cost of care conversations with patients/caregivers to mitigate the impact of cancer-related financial toxicity. This study evaluated a pilot training developed in collaboration with Triage Cancer® to prepare oncology nurses to identify and assist patients/caregivers facing financial and/or legal barriers to care. Ten pediatric oncology nurses completed the training and pre/post-surveys on behaviors related to financial and legal need screening, frequency and comfort level of answering questions, knowledge, and behavior changes, along with training evaluation questions. At baseline, six nurses reported never …