Grant Program: Collaborative Health Sciences Program

Infants born with a rare genetic disorder or birth defect experience high acuity, prolonged hospital stays and a lifetime of health challenges. Molecular diagnosis is key to caring for these infants, and speed is critical. This multidisciplinary team of researchers will use an approach to screening using artificial intelligence and a revolutionary genome sequencing platform to bring state-of-the-art ultra-rapid genome sequencing to infants in hospitals across Wisconsin. Collaborators: April Hall, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Pediatrics, UW–Madison; Vanessa Horner, PhD, associate professor, Department of Pediatrics, UW–Madison; Kim Keppler-Noreuil, MD, professor, Department of Pediatrics, UW–Madison; Irene Ong, PhD, associate professor; Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, UW–Madison; Xiangqiang Shao, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Pediatrics, UW–Madison; Bryn Webb, MD, associate professor, Department of Pediatrics, UW–Madison; Krishna Acharya, MBBS, associate professor, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin; Ulrich Broeckel, MD, professor, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin; Jessica Scott-Schwoerer, MD, associate professor, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin; Mark Yandell, PhD, professor, Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah

This project aims to address disparities in cancer outcomes by investigating the biology of cancers and the factors that contribute to aggressive cancers or lead to the development of treatment resistance. Researchers will introduce a minimally invasive liquid biopsy testing approach, which is essentially a blood draw, and utilize a new type of testing called fragmentomics to gather more information about a patient’s tumor and patterns of potential treatment resistance or cancer recurrence. Collaborators: Amy Taylor, MD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine

Current burn treatment and care impose significant financial burdens. In Wisconsin, this is the third highest health care cost, after premature newborns and organ transplant patients. Slow wound healing, pain and scarring remain the major complications of burn survivors. To address health equity in burn wound care, this research aims to explore whether photodynamic therapy, a low-cost medical technology that can be performed by a non-specialist, can speed up burn healing. The project is also expected to yield important insights into burn wound healing that can be translated to the treatment of other wound types. Collaborators: Aiping Liu, PhD, research scientist, Department of Surgery

This project explores the effects of puberty blockers and exogenously administered reproductive hormones on rats to better understand their impact on behavior, brain development and reproductive physiology.

This project, titled Non-Invasive Ultrasound Urodynamics to Improve Medical Care for Men with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) in Rural Areas, aims to develop a method to evaluate LUTS using modalities that are currently available in every urology practice. LUTS include increased urinary frequency, urgency and diminished stream which can significantly impact an individual’s quality of life and lead to various medical complications such as urinary retention, infection and renal failure. Multichannel urodynamics (MCUD) has been used to make an accurate diagnosis and distinguish between prostate obstruction and bladder dysfunction. However, the limited availability of MCUD at large medical centers has resulted in men, especially those in rural areas, receiving empirical treatment without accurate diagnostic testing, leading to delays in effective treatment or undergoing unnecessary surgeries.

More than 475,000 Wisconsin residents have diabetes, mostly type 2. This type of diabetes is associated with diet and obesity and is helped through healthy dietary intake. Yet, more innovations in dietary interventions are needed. By leveraging expertise in metabolism and plant genetics, this novel project proposes to develop a source of plant-based foods that will reduce dietary intake of certain nutrients associated with obesity. The findings will inform future studies with the ultimate goal of improved treatment of diabetes and obesity. This project is led by Dudley Lamming, PhD, associate professor, Department and of Medicine and co-principal Investigator: Jacob Brunkard, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Genetics, UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Collaborators include: Dawn Davis, MD, PhD, professor, Department of Medicine; Daniela Drummond-Barbosa, PhD, professor, Department of Genetics, UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences; Shawn Kaeppler, PhD, professor, Department of Agronomy, UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences; Hiroshi Maeda, PhD, professor, Department of Botany, UW–Madison College of Letters and Sciences; Judith Simcox, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Biochemistry, UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences; Gregory Barrett-Wilt, PhD, Director of Mass Spectrometry, UW–Madison Biotechnology Center. Dudley Lamming (left) and Jacob Brunkard

The Screening in Trauma for Opioid Misuse Prevention: Adaptive Intervention (STOMP-AI) project is leading efforts to address the critical issue of opioid misuse and use disorder (OMUD) among patients hospitalized for traumatic injuries. The project is led by Dr. Randall Brown MD, PhD, DFASAM, professor, Department of Family Medicine and co-collaborator Ben Zarzaur, MD, MPH, FACS, professor, Department of Surgery. OMUD remains a devastating epidemic in the United States, and prescription opioid misuse (POM) continues to contribute to this national health crisis. By implementing a brief, preventative telehealth intervention tailored to individuals’ risk for OMUD, the project aims to improve nationwide opioid misuse prevention strategies. Successful completion of this project could ultimately save lives and enhance the quality of care for trauma patients. The research team includes a number of multidisciplinary collaborators, including Andrew Quanbeck, PhD, associate professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health; Shinye Kim, PhD, M Ed, assistant professor, Department of Counseling Psychology, UW–Madison School of Education; Colleen Trevino, RN, NP, PhD, associate professor, Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin; Danny Almirall, PhD, research associate professor, Institute for Social Research, Department of Statistics, University of Michigan; Tamara Somers, PhD, associate professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University

Screening in Trauma for Opioid Misuse Prevention (STOMP) aimed to address the opioid addiction and overdose epidemic in Wisconsin by developing and implementing a screening tool to identify risk factors for opioid misuse in individuals who experienced traumatic injuries. The study enrolled 295 patients who suffered traumatic injuries and were prescribed opioids upon discharge. About 59 percent of participants completed all required measures during the six-month follow-up period, and six individuals met criteria for opioid use disorder six months after receiving their prescription. A screening tool, developed using statistical modeling, was successfully pilot tested at four trauma centers across the state. This tool will contribute to efforts to prevent opioid addiction and related complications in this high-risk group.

This research studied common genetic changes in a gene called PI3K, a type of mutation found frequently in HPV-associated anal, head, and neck cancers, with the goal of advancing knowledge to inform choices of anticancer drugs for HPV-associated cancers. The researchers found that these genetic changes drove development of cancers in mice, but that drugs targeting PI3K did not necessarily inhibit human cancers, indicating a need to develop additional steps to assess whether a cancer will respond to a targeted drug therapy. A new type of culture system, called the tumor spheroid culture system, may provide that means.

Antibiotic resistance makes drugs less effective at treating infections, which can be very dangerous. This study explored the role that dietary fiber intake and the diversity of microorganisms in the gut may play in reducing the risk of colonization by multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs). The study found higher rates of MDRO colonization in older, low-income, and urban-living individuals and that increased dietary fiber intake may be associated with slightly lower rates of MDRO gut colonization. Further study using leveraged grant funding in underway.