Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Low Economic Level And The Risk Of Overweight Among Indonesian Junior And Senior High School Students, Ariyanto Nugroho, Purwo Setiyo Nugroho, Amarin Yudhana, Sri Sunarti

Kesmas

Overweight and obesity among Indonesian adolescents have emerged as a pressing public health issue, reflecting global trends. This study examines the relationship between economic status and overweight prevalence among junior and senior high school students in Indonesia, using secondary data from the Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS). This study analyzed data from 9,977 students aged 11–18 years through a cross-sectional design and binary logistic regression, adjusting for dietary habits, physical activity, and sedentary behavior. Overall, 14.7% of students were overweight; the prevalence was notably higher among low-income students (27.4%) compared to high-income groups (14.2%). Students from lower economic backgrounds were …

Risk Of Major Depression In Partners Of People With Alzheimer's Disease: A National Cohort Study, Casey Crump, Jingkai Wei, Barbara G Vickrey, Alexis C Edwards, Paul E Schulz, Weiva Sieh, Jan Sundquist, Kristina Sundquist

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) may cause significant psychosocial distress not only in the patient but also their partner. However, long-term risks of major depression in partners of AD patients are largely unknown.

Methods: A national cohort study was conducted of all 145 289 partners of people diagnosed with all-cause dementia, including 57 113 partners of people diagnosed with AD, in Sweden during 1998-2017, and 1 300 561 population-based controls. Cox regression was used to compute hazard ratios (HRs) for subsequent risk of major depression identified from nationwide outpatient and inpatient diagnoses through 2018, adjusting for sociodemographic factors and prior mental …

Ras-Membrane Interaction And Oligomerization: There Is More Than Meets The Eye, Abraham C Sianoya, Vijay K Bhardwaj, Alemayehu A Gorfe

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Membrane association is fundamental to Rat sarcoma (RAS) function, driving both its physiologic signaling and oncogenic transformation. This review consolidates recent advances in the study of RAS-membrane interactions, emphasizing the molecular mechanisms underlying its membrane engagement and oligomerization. We first discuss the roles of RAS lipid modification and conformational diversity of its intrinsically disordered C-terminus in these processes, and we then examine the debate surrounding RAS dimerization and its potential role in the formation of higher-order oligomers. By integrating emerging insights into these issues, we offer our own perspectives on the driving forces of RAS oligomerization and propose potential new …

Epigenetic Modulation Of Bard1 To Enhance Anti-Vegf Therapy, Emine Bayraktar, Cristian Rodriguez-Aguayo, Elaine Stur, Sudhir Kumar, Lingegowda S Mangala, Nicholas B Jennings, Nazende Nur Bayram, Sara Corvigno, Amma Asare, Cristina Ivan, Mark S Kim, Thanh Chung Vu, Pahul Hanjra, Sangbae Kim, Adrian Lankenau Ahumada, Weichem Wu, Sanghoon Lee, Anna Szymanowska, Hulya Oztatlici, Marcos R Estecio, Ju-Seog Lee, Abhinav K Jain, Nidhi Sahni, John P Hagan, Stephen Baylin, Jinsong Liu, Gabriel Lopez-Berestein, Sunila Pradeep, Anil K Sood

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Despite the clinical use of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibodies (AVAs) in cancer therapy, resistance frequently develops, leading to disease progression. To address this, we identify a previously unknown role for breast cancer type 1 susceptibility protein (BRCA1)-associated RING domain 1 (BARD1) in modulating AVA sensitivity. Epigenetic modulation-via global and targeted DNA methylation-reveals BARD1 as a key regulator of angiogenesis. Sequential treatment with azacytidine overcomes AVA resistance in vivo. To enable precise epigenetic reactivation, we develop a liposomal CRISPR-deactivated Cas9 (dCas9)-TET1 system guided by BARD1-targeting single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs). This platform achieves CpG-specific demethylation of the BARD1 promoter, restores expression, …

Nadph Oxidase Isoforms (Nox-2 And Nox-4) In Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury: Platelet Rich Plasma (Prp) As A Therapeutic Agent, Barbara Y. Hargrave, Frank Lattanzio

Cardiovascular Research Symposium

Introduction: Blood flow restoration to ischemic cardiac tissue is a critical and necessary intervention that has an associated downside: reperfusion injury. Reperfusion injury is a complicated process mediated in part by a pathological increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS). Although extremely elevated levels of ROS can cause cell damage, a minimum level of ROS is necessary for activation of Hydroxylated-HIF-1a (HIF-1a) and inhibition of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-alpha (PPARa) during myocardial ischemic reperfusion injury (MIRI). MIRI clinical manifestations include arrhythmias, myocardial stunning, decreased ventricular contractility and no-reflow. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) has improved left ventricular (LV) function after MIRI in …

Dna Double-Stranded Breaks, A Hallmark Of Aging, Defined At The Nucleotide Resolution, Are Increased And Associated With Transcription In The Cardiac Myocytes In Lmna-Cardiomyopathy, Benjamin Cathcart, Sirisha M Cheedipudi, Leila Rouhi, Zhongming Zhao, Priyatansh Gurha, Ali J Marian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Aims: An intrinsic feature of gene transcription is the formation of DNA superhelices near the transcription bubble, which are resolved upon induction of transient double-stranded breaks (DSBs) by topoisomerases. Unrepaired DSBs are pathogenic as they lead to cell cycle arrest, senescence, inflammation, and organ dysfunction. We posit that DSBs would be more prevalent at the genomic sites that are associated with gene expression. The objectives were to identify and characterize genome-wide DSBs at the nucleotide resolution and determine the association of DSBs with transcription in cardiac myocytes.

Methods and results: We identified the genome-wide DSBs in ∼1 million cardiac myocytes …

The Immunophenotypic And Genetic Characterization Of Pediatric T -L Ymphoblastic Leukemia With A Mature Immunophenotype, Mahsa Khanlari, Wei Wang, Parastou Tizro, Mohammad K Eldomery

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Not available.

Adams Contribute To Triple Negative Breast Cancer Via Mtorc1 Pathway: Targeting Adam-Mtor Axis Improves Efficacy, Shuying Liu, Huiqin Chen, Mihai Gagea, Lorenzo Federico, Fan Zhang, Javier Gomez, Kim-Anh Do, William F Symmans, Gabriel N Hortobagyi, Gordon B Mills, Ana M Gonzalez-Angulo, Debasish Tripathy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer globally and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in American women. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. Thus, fewer targeting therapies are available for this most aggressive subtype. The A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase (ADAM) family plays a vital role in cancer pathophysiology. Previous studies focused on single ADAM members. However, none of these have entered into the clinical arena as diagnostics or therapeutics for breast cancer. In this study, we demonstrate the upregulation of a panel of ADAM members in TNBC, …

Modulating Treatment Outcomes Of Patients With Solid Tumors In Immunotherapy Trials: A Drug Interaction Analysis From A Phase 1 Unit, Camila Braganca Xavier, Clark R Andersen, Joann Lim, Julian H Slade, Stacie A Bean, Lei Kang, Hung Le, Apostolia M Tsimberidou, Aung Naing, David S Hong, Ecaterina E Dumbrava, Jordi Rodon Ahnert, Paula R Pohlmann, Sarina A Piha-Paul, Stephane Champiat, Timothy A Yap, Tin-Yun Tang, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Siqing Fu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Concurrent use of medications can modulate the effectiveness of immunotherapy. Although this interaction is well documented for immune checkpoint inhibitors, whether this occurs with new experimental compounds has not been evaluated. A computerized data extraction tool was used to collect clinical data and identify the prescription of a predefined set of medications within 30 days of immunotherapy infusion in the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The primary endpoints were median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival. Tumor responses were addressed using RECIST. We identified 897 patients. The most prevalent tumor types …

Antibiogram Development For Neonatal Intensive Care Unit In A Referral Hospital In Sana'a City, Yemen, Mohammed A. Kubas, Massoud K. Rassam, Amaal A. Alsayani

AUIQ Complementary Biological System

Neonates have an immature immune system, making them highly susceptible to infections. Treatment failure in newborns may result from antibiotic resistance, a significant challenge in the management of infectious illnesses worldwide. So the main objective of this research was to develop a newborn-specific antibiogram at the University of Science and Technology hospital (USTH) in Sana’a, Yemen. A retrospective analysis was conducted using microbiological data from the USTH database during the period from January 2021 to March 2022, antibiogram was generated and analyzed using the WHONET application. Gram-positive bacteria were the most frequently isolated pathogens in neonates, followed by gram-negative bacteria. …

Biosorption Of Crystal Violet Onto Fenugreek Seed Powder: Comprehensive Optimization Through Response Surface Methodology And Elucidation Of Dye Uptake Mechanism, Hasan M. Agha, Zaher Mundher Yaseen, Wafaa Raji Alfatlawi, Khansaa Al-Essa, Abdallah Reghioua, Hussein A. Kazem, Lee D. Wilson

AUIQ Complementary Biological System

This work investigates the efficacy of fenugreek seed powder (FSP), an agricultural product, as an economical and sustainable biosorbent for the extraction of crystal violet (CV) dye from aqueous environments. The biosorbent was analyzed using XRD, FTIR, and SEM-EDX, validating its amorphous structure, surface functional groups, and porous shape. Batch biosorption tests were adjusted utilizing a Box–Behnken design (BBD), incorporating three independent variables: FSP dose (0.02–0.1 g/100 mL), pH (4–10), and time (5–60 min). The model exhibited exceptional prediction accuracy (R² = 0.99, CV = 2.12%) and recognized all three variables as statistically significant (p < 0.05). The maximum CV removal attained was 91.8% efficiency at an FSP dose of 0.1 g/100 mL, pH 7, and a time of 60 minutes. FTIR examination indicated changes in the –OH, C=O, and C–O functional groups, signifying their participation in dye interaction, whilst SEM pictures validated dye deposition on the biosorbent surface. The biosorption process was ascribed to electrostatic forces, hydrogen bonding, π–π stacking, and pore filling. These findings underscore FSP as a viable, economical biosorbent for the removal of cationic dyes in wastewater treatment applications.

Suppression Of Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy By A Macrophage Efferocytosis Receptor, Sahil Shah, Aparnaa Ananthakrishnan, Matthew Deberge, Kristofor Glinton, Rebecca T L Jones, Mallory Filipp, Ivana Shen, Joey Lockhart, Connor W Lantz, Edward B Thorp

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy remains a major cause of late morbidity following heart transplantation. While accumulating evidence implicates innate macrophages in the inflammatory progression of CAV, the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. In murine models of CAV, we identified proteolytic cleavage of MERTK, a key anti-inflammatory receptor on macrophages, as a contributing factor to CAV progression. In a model of CAV, MERTK deficiency accelerated allograft rejection and increased intimal leukocyte infiltration. In contrast, mice expressing a genetically cleavage-resistant form of MERTK (MertkCR/CR) exhibited prolonged graft survival, reduced intimal thickening, diminished immune cell infiltration, and decreased circulating effector T cells. …

The Role Of Recruited Adipose Stromal Cells And Their Fibroblastic Differentiation In Cancer, Lingyi Cai, Mikhail G Kolonin, Dimitris Anastassiou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Adipose stromal cells (ASCs) are perivascular mesenchymal progenitors of adipose tissue. In cancer patients, ASCs can mobilize and migrate to the tumor, where they subsequently play an important role in cancer progression. This biological process involves the conversion of recruited ASCs into cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). ASC-derived CAFs influence the tumor microenvironment through extracellular matrix remodeling, vascularization, and immunomodulation. These and other processes mediated by secreted paracrine factors also affect gene expression in carcinoma cells to promote the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), metabolic adaptation, survival, and invasiveness of cancer cells. ASC-derived CAFs can enhance tumor aggressiveness, accounting in part for the link …

Reproducibility Of Statistically Significant Phase Iii Oncology Trials: An In Silico Meta-Epidemiological Analysis, Alexander D Sherry, Pavlos Msaouel, Avital M Miller, Timothy A Lin, Joseph Abi Jaoude, Ramez Kouzy, Adina H Passy, Tomer Meirson, Nikolaos Ignatiadis, Zachary R Mccaw, Erik Van Zwet, Ethan B Ludmir

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: The conventional assumption that P values ≤ 0.05 imply reproducible effects has come under recent criticism. This concern is particularly relevant in oncology, as phase III oncology trials, which directly inform practice, are usually not repeated. Using advanced modeling techniques, we investigated the relationship between P values and reproducibility in oncology.

Methods: We obtained the signal-to-noise ratio distribution in phase III oncology using outcomes from 632 two-arm superiority trials enrolling 496,219 patients. With this distribution, we estimated successful replication probability as the probability that a replicate trial, having the same design, effect size, and standard error, would have a …

Artificial Intelligence In Ocular Transcriptomics: Applications Of Unsupervised And Supervised Learning, Catherine Lalman, Yimin Yang, Janice L. Walker

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Transcriptomic profiling is a powerful tool for dissecting the cellular and molecular complexity of ocular tissues, providing insights into retinal development, corneal disease, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. With the expansion of microarray, bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), and single-cell RNA-seq technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a key strategy for analyzing high-dimensional gene expression data. This review synthesizes AI-enabled transcriptomic studies in ophthalmology from 2019 to 2025, highlighting how supervised and unsupervised machine learning (ML) methods have advanced biomarker discovery, cell type classification, and eye development and ocular disease modeling. Here, we discuss unsupervised techniques, such as principal component analysis …

Cathartocytosis: Jettisoning Of Cellular Material During Reprogramming Of Differentiated Cells, Jeffrey W Brown, Xiaobo Lin, Gabriel Anthony Nicolazzi, Xuemei Liu, Thanh Nguyen, Megan D Radyk, Joseph Burclaff, Jason C Mills

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Injury causes differentiated cells to undergo massive reprogramming to become proliferative and repair tissue via paligenosis. Gastric chief cells use paligenosis to reprogram into progenitor-like spasmolytic-polypeptide-expressing metaplasia (SPEM) cells. Stage 1 of paligenosis is the downscaling of mature cell architecture via a process involving lysosomes. Here, we notice that sulfated glycoproteins are not only digested during paligenosis but also excreted into the gland. Various genetic and pharmacological approaches show that endoplasmic reticulum membranes and secretory granule cargo are also excreted and that the process proceeds in parallel with but is mechanistically independent of autophagy. Three-dimensional light and electron microscopy demonstrated …

16-Week Physical Transition From Professional Mma To Tactical Firefighting: A Case Study, Cole D. Smeester, Gabriel J. Sanders, Corey Peacock, Jose Antonio

Journal for Sports Neuroscience

Firefighters, whose occupation involves intense physical, mental, and environmental demands, must be physically and mentally prepared to perform job-specific tasks effectively and safely. Nearly half of all injuries sustained on and off the fireground are musculoskeletal, highlighting issues in the preparation and maintenance strategies for work preparedness among firefighters. This case study examines the effectiveness of a 16-week conventional, conjugate strength and conditioning model on a fire recruit transitioning from a career as a professional MMA fighter. Specific data metrics were used to assess increases in firefighter-specific performance (i.e., EPAT time and body composition). After the 16-week program, the participant …

08.25.2025 Ored Connect, Liz Williamson

ORED Newsletter

• Research Security Required Training
• ORED Research Reception

Crossroads Of Covid-19 And Alzheimer’S: Investigating Sars-Cov-2 Nsp6 And Orf7a In Amyloid-Β42 Toxicity, Jeffrey William Huettemann, Amit Singh

Research from the Berry Summer Thesis Institute, 2025

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) resulted in several hundred million contracted cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and a global pandemic. In some of these cases, previous neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), seemed to progress much more rapidly after the COVID-19 infection. Thus, we became interested in studying the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on prior neurological disease progressions.

To modulate this condition, we used Drosophila melanogaster as a genetic model system. We had previously developed the Alzheimer’s Disease Fly Model with expression of human amyloid beta 42 (Aβ42) peptide, which is responsible for extracellular Aβ-42 …

Advancing Rfid Systems: From Head Orientation To Robotic Localization Using Passive Tags, Guilherme Ricardo Mendes Da Silva Barreto De Figueiredo

Doctoral Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Blood And Neuronal Extracellular Vesicle Mitochondrial Disruptions In Schizophrenia, A Ankeeta, Ashutosh Tripathi, Bindu Pillai, Yizhou Ma, Joshua J Chiappelli, Jessica N Jernberg, Keiko Kunitoki, Xiaoming Du, Si Gao, Bhim M Adhikari, Consuelo Walss-Bass, Giselli Scaini, Peter Kochunov, Anilkumar Pillai, L Elliot Hong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The high energy demand of the human brain obligates robust mitochondrial energy metabolism, while mitochondrial dysfunctions have been linked to neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). However, in vivo assessments that can directly inform brain mitochondrial functioning and its etiopathophysiological path to SSD remain difficult to obtain. We hypothesized that system and brain mitochondrial dysfunctions in SSD may be indexed by elevated cell-free mitochondrial DNA (cf-mtDNA) levels in the blood and in neuronal extracellular vesicles (nEVs). We also explored if these mtDNA marker elevations were associated with brain metabolites as measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). We examined blood …

Predicting Regional Cerebral Blood Flow Using Voxel-Wise Resting-State Functional Mri, Hongjie Ke, Bhim M Adhikari, Yezhi Pan, David B Keator, Daniel Amen, Si Gao, Yizhou Ma, Paul M Thompson, Neda Jahanshad, Jessica A Turner, Theo G M Van Erp, Mohammed R Milad, Jair C Soares, Vince D Calhoun, Juergen Dukart, L Elliot Hong, Tianzhou Ma, Peter Kochunov

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) is a putative biomarker for neuropsychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods: Here, we show that rCBF can be predicted from resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) at the voxel level while correcting for partial volume averaging (PVA) artifacts. Cortical patterns of MDD-related CBF differences decoded from rsfMRI using a PVA-corrected approach showed excellent agreement with CBF measured using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and arterial spin labeling (ASL). A support vector machine algorithm was trained to decode cortical voxel-wise CBF from temporal and power-spectral features of voxel-level rsfMRI time series while accounting for PVA. …

Placental Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (Pah) Levels Are Associated With Spontaneous Preterm Birth, Gwendolynn Hummel, Sohini Banerjee, Vasanta Putluri, Inaara Malick, Grace Johnson, Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal, Chandra Shekar R Ambati, Nagireddy Putluri, Lori Showalter, Cynthia D Shope, Joseph Hagan, Kjersti M Aagaard, Bhagavatula Moorthy, Melissa A Suter

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

While the cause of preterm birth (PTB) (i.e., delivery before 37 weeks of gestation) is likely multifactorial, ambient exposure to environmental chemicals has been postulated to play a role in its etiology. Our prior studies of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in pregnancy have shown an increased level of placental PAH-induced bulky DNA adducts with increasing levels of PAH exposures. In this investigation, we hypothesized that higher levels of placental PAHs would be associated with an increased risk of PTB. Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), we measured levels of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), benzo(b)fluoranthene (BbF) and dibenz(a,h)anthracene (DBA) from …

Enhancing Cataract Surgery Outcomes: Optimal Use Of Pre- And Post-Operative Eye Drops, Keith Skolnick M.D., Anu Valiaveedu

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

Many preoperative and postoperative cataract patients struggle with comprehending the use of prescription medication as directed. Language barriers and low health literacy levels are major factors contributing to improper use of prescriptions. To increase patients comprehension, the Fort Lauderdale Eye Institute employed an educational intervention consisting of a live presentation and an instructional video. Results found that 44% of patients were hesitant to ask questions to clinical staff, 32% felt overwhelmed, and nearly 70% lacked confidence in using their prescribed eye drops. Following the intervention, 91% of patients reported increased confidence in their medications, and most indicated that the video …

Host, Microbiome, And Parasite: How Apicomplexan Microorganisms Interact With Gut Microbiota, Senia Bu, Andrew T. Ozga

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

The gut microbiome, a complex ecosystem of microorganisms residing in the human gastrointestinal tract, plays a crucial role in maintaining overall health. It functions in immune system regulation, digestion, and protection against pathogens. Apicomplexan parasites, such as Toxoplasma gondii, Plasmodium spp., and Cryptosporidium spp., are major pathogens that can significantly disrupt the gut microbiota, leading to alterations in microbial composition and function. This review explores the bidirectional interactions between Apicomplexan parasites and the gut microbiome, focusing on how these parasites influence microbial diversity, immune responses, and host metabolism. It examines the mechanisms by which infection-induced inflammation, altered …

From Infection To Restoration: A Case Study On Dental Extraction In The Maxilla Anterior, Melanie Ramirez

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

A dental implant is a restorative surgical procedure that serves as a solution to replace missing teeth that imitate the function, sensation, and appearance of natural teeth. The objective of this dental case study is to examine the diagnosis, treatment, and post-operation of a patient with a history of tooth loss and infection in the anterior maxilla. This case follows a 55-year-old patient, Jorge Marquez, name changed for confidentiality, who presented a severe tooth abscess on tooth #10 on the anterior maxilla which had previously undergone root canal treatment (Figure 1B). Radiographic evaluations illustrated the severity of the abscess the …

Caf-Macrophage Crosstalk Fuels Immunotherapy Resistance, Yang Liu, Linghua Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Safety Of Contemporary Radiation Therapy In Patients With Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices: Implications For Clinical Practice, Kaveh Karimzad, Shalin Shah, Stephen F Kry, Christopher Peeler, Julianne Pollard-Larkin, Amit Koduri, Martin Chacon Portillo, Siddharth Chauhan, Atia Amatullah, Chase Miller, Amanda Strang, Juhee Song, Khatera Mir Zaman Shah, Donelo Lopez, Darla Wagner, January Tsai, Shital Vachhani, Dilip Thakar, Cezar Iliescu, Jean-Bernard Durand, Anne H Dougherty, Bharat Kantharia, Anita Deswal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Radiation therapy (RT) can cause cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) malfunction, primarily reset. Given changes in RT and CIED technologies, large observational studies examining malfunction of contemporary CIEDs during modern-day RT are needed to guide clinical practice.

Methods: Electronic medical records of all consecutive patients with CIEDs who underwent RT at a large tertiary cancer center between January 2015 and January 2022 were reviewed. All patients had CIED interrogation before and after completion of RT. Device-related data and RT-specific variables were collected. Statistical analyses were performed at the RT course level.

Results: Over a period of 7 years, 677 …

A Multimodal Approach To Assess A Liposomal Carrier’S Biodistribution, Stability, And Clearance, Cayla A Wood, Claire E Jones, Ananthakrishnan Soundaram Jeevarathinam, Riley Watson, Sangheon Han, Jennifer Meyer, Konstantin V Sokolov, Richard R Bouchard

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Liposomal carriers, used for site-specific drug delivery, are being investigated for diagnostic approaches by replacing the therapeutic with an imaging contrast agent, exploring potential for selective treatment planning. There remains a critical need to improve in vivo assessment of biodistribution, stability, and clearance kinetics of liposomal carriers. This pilot study presents a multimodal approach in which liposome-encapsulated J-aggregated indocyanine green (ICG) dye (Lipo-JICG) is imaged with high spatial resolution using both in vivo photoacoustic (PA) imaging, to assess the absorbance characteristics of JICG and monomeric ICG, and ex vivo cryofluorescence tomography (CFT), to measure ICG fluorescence. An in vitro assay …

In Silico Investigation Of The Anticancer Activity Of Natural Isoquinoline Alkaloids Targeting The Monoamine Oxidase A Enzyme, Reham A. Al-Anssari, Anwar H. Ali, Ola Adel Al-Saad, Shaker A.N. Al-Jadaan

AUIQ Complementary Biological System

Monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) has recently been identified as a candidate for cancer therapy due to its roles in tumor development and growth. Conventional approaches for the discovery of MAO-A inhibitors are both costly and time-consuming. The objective of this work was to apply in silico methods to predict natural isoquinoline alkaloids capable of acting as potent MAO-A inhibitors, and to establish this class of compounds as potential sources of a cost-effective anticancer therapy. Twenty-one natural isoquinoline alkaloids were subjected to a multistep computer-aided drug discovery protocol. The compounds were initially screened for pharmacokinetic (ADME), toxicity, and drug-likeliness properties by …