Edward Via Virginia College Of Osteopathic Medicine

VCOM HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND REQUEST 2

VCOM HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND REQUEST

CRANIAL OSTEOPATHIC MANIPULATIVE MEDICINE ENHANCES BRAIN FLUID FLOW ALLEVIATING NEUROINFLAMMATION - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT OSTEOPATHIC MANIPULATIVE MEDICINE (OMM) HAS BEEN USED CLINICALLY TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR SEVERAL MEDICAL CONDITIONS AND INJURIES; HOWEVER, LIMITED DATA IS AVAILABLE ON THE BRAIN’S RESPONSE TO THIS INNOVATIVE TREATMENT. CRANIAL OMM (COMM) INVOLVES THE GENTLE APPLICATION OF MANUAL FORCE TO THE HEAD AND THE AXIAL SPINE, SUBSEQUENTLY AFFECTING THE PATIENT BY RELEASING SOFT TISSUE RESTRICTIONS. THIS TECHNIQUE ENHANCES MOTION OF THE TISSUES AND FLUID FLOW THROUGH THE BRAIN THROUGH NATURAL CHANNELS AND HELPS TO REGULATE TISSUE FLUID FLOWS IN THE BODY AS WELL AS BALANCING THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. WE EXPECT THAT COMM WILL HELP TO CLEAR INFLAMMATORY MOLECULES FROM THE BRAIN IN CLINICAL CHALLENGES SUCH AS TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI). TO ELUCIDATE THE MECHANISTIC EFFECTS OF THIS INTEGRATIVE HEALTH APPROACH UTILIZING COMM, STUDIES WILL FOCUS ON THE CHOLINERGIC SYSTEM. MULTIPLE STUDIES AND PRELIMINARY DATA CONSISTENTLY DEMONSTRATE THAT SIGNIFICANT DYSREGULATION IN CHOLINERGIC NEUROTRANSMISSION MECHANISMS OCCURS IN INJURED RODENT BRAINS, WHICH IS INTRICATELY LINKED TO NEUROLOGICAL PHENOTYPES SUCH AS COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND OTHER NEUROLOGIC DYSFUNCTIONS. THIS UNDERSCORES THE PROFOUND IMPORTANCE OF EXPLORING THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF COMM IN MITIGATING THESE ADVERSE EFFECTS. THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED TO ASCERTAIN THE INTERACTIONS OF PHYSIOLOGICAL (E.G., NEURAL, MUSCULOSKELETAL, IMMUNE) AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SYSTEMS IN RESPONSE TO FORCE-BASED INTERVENTIONS SUCH AS COMM. USING TBI AS A PLATFORM, THE BROAD, LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY IS TO EVALUATE THE NEURO-BIOLOGICAL EFFECT OF COMM AS A NON-INVASIVE APPROACH TO ALLEVIATE SYMPTOMS AND ENHANCE NEURAL TISSUE RECOVERY. USING A PRECLINICAL MODEL, WE WILL INVESTIGATE IF COMM CAN MITIGATE BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS SEEN FOLLOWING REPETITIVE CLOSED HEAD BRAIN INJURY. WE WILL USE BIOMEDICAL MR IMAGING AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY TECHNIQUES TO MEASURE BRAIN FLUID FLOW AND TRACK INFLAMMATION WITH AND WITHOUT COMM TREATMENT. OUR STUDY WILL INCLUDE BOTH MALES AND FEMALES BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT NEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS, SEVERITY OF INJURY AND HENCE POSSIBLY CHANGES IN FLUID FLOW IN THE BRAIN ARE DIFFERENT BETWEEN SEXES, WHICH WILL ALLOW REFINEMENT OF COMM TREATMENT DEPENDING ON SEX. COLLECTIVELY, WE WILL BE THE FIRST TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR THE CLINICALLY OBSERVED EFFECTS FOLLOWING COMM WHEN USED AS AN INTERVENTION FOR TBI AND RESULTING ACUTE AND CHRONIC SYMPTOMS.

PRIMARY CARE TRAINING AND ENHANCEMENT: TRAINING PRIMARY CARE CHAMPIONS

ARP ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GRANT FOR RURAL HEALTH CARE FACILITIES

TO STUDY MECHANISMS OF A NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT STRATEGY FOR ALZHEIMER?S DISEASE - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: ACCUMULATION OF BRAIN DERIVED METABOLIC WASTE IS THE MAJOR PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL FEATURE OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT BRAIN WASTE CLEARANCE CAN BE ACCELERATED BY A MECHANOCEUTICS TREATMENT KNOWN AS CRANIAL OSTEOPATHIC MANIPULATION (COM). COM HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY USED IN THE OUTPATIENT SETTING FOR VARIOUS NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND HAS BEEN PROVEN EFFECTIVE BY CROSS DISCIPLINARY STUDIES. ALTHOUGH IN CLINICAL PRACTICE SINCE 1930’S, LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF COM MOLECULAR MECHANISMS LIMIT PUBLIC AWARENESS AND INTEREST ON THIS NON-INVASIVE TREATMENT WHICH HAS POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE THE SYMPTOMS OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. THEREFORE, IT IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTAND THE BIOLOGICAL EFFECT OF COM TREATMENT USING EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL MODELS OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. HERE, WE PROPOSE TO STUDY THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF COM INDUCED IMPROVEMENT IN COGNITIVE FUNCTION, CNS FLUID CIRCULATION AND RELEVANT CHANGES IN PROTEIN EXPRESSION USING AGED AND TRANSGENIC RAT MODEL OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. IN THIS RESEARCH WORK, WE WILL CARRY OUT THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC AIMS TO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS OF COM: AIM 1. TO DETERMINE THE INFLUENCE OF COM ON SPATIAL LEARNING AND MEMORY IN TRANSGENIC AND NATURALLY AGED RAT MODEL OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. OSTEOPATHIC PHYSICIANS WITH EXPERTISE IN COM WILL, BY WEARING CUSTOM MADE TACTILE PRESSURE MONITORING NANO-SENSOR GLOVES, APPLY QUANTIFIABLE MECHANICAL PRESSURE AROUND THE FOURTH VENTRICLE WITH THE GOAL OF IMPROVING FLUID CIRCULATION IN THE RAT BRAIN. THIS TREATMENT INDUCED IMPROVEMENT IN LEARNING AND MEMORY WILL BE STUDIED BY TWO INDEPENDENT BEHAVIORAL ASSAYS. THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL REVEAL THE CHANGES IN COGNITIVE FUNCTION PRODUCED BY TRANSFERRING COM TO AN EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL MODEL OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. AIM 2. TO DEMONSTRATE COM INDUCED IMPROVEMENT IN BRAIN FLUID CIRCULATION IN LIVE RATS. WE WILL STUDY THE CHANGES IN THE KINETICS OF RADIOACTIVE TRACER FLUORODEOXYGLUCOSE MOVEMENT THROUGH CISTERNA MAGNA, DEEP CERVICAL LYMPH NODES AND HEART USING DYNAMIC POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY IMAGING. FURTHER A DYNAMIC CONTRAST-ENHANCED MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING WILL BE PERFORMED TO STUDY SPATIOTEMPORAL CHANGES IN GADOLINIUM SIGNAL INTENSITY TO DETERMINE SOLUTE MOVEMENT VELOCITY. THESE LIVE ANIMAL IMAGING STUDIES WILL REPORT COM MEDIATED EFFECTS IN CNS FLUID CIRCULATION. AIM.3 TO IDENTIFY MOLECULAR LEVEL CHANGES IN SUBSTRATES OF LEARNING AND MEMORY AND BRAIN FLUID CIRCULATION IN COM TREATED ANIMALS. QUANTITATIVE IMMUNOASSAYS WILL BE CARRIED OUT TO STUDY THE EXPRESSION OF MACROMOLECULES INCLUDING AMYLOID AND MARKERS OF LYMPHANGIOGENESIS, WATER HOMEOSTASIS AND SYNAPTIC SUBSTRATES OF LEARNING AND MEMORY. COLLECTIVELY, THESE FINDINGS WILL PROVIDE INSIGHTS ON THE MOLECULAR MECHANISM OF COM EFFECTS OBSERVED IN AIM 1 AND 2. OVERALL, THIS PROPOSAL SEEKS TO STUDY THE BIOLOGY OF A MEDICAL PRACTICE THAT IS NOT GENERALLY CONSIDERED AS PART OF CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE. THE OUTCOME OF THIS STUDY WILL GENERATE PUBLIC AWARENESS AND INTEREST IN A LOW COST, NON-INVASIVE ADJUNCT TREATMENT STRATEGY FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. 1

MYOCARDIAL SALVAGE VIA COORDINATED INDUCTION OF ENDOGENOUS CARDIAC ANTIOXIDANTS

CERIUM OXIDE NANOPARTICLES FOR THE TREATMENT OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

PRIMARY CARE TRAINING AND ENHANCEMENT: TRAINING PRIMARY CARE CHAMPIONS

VCOM MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS AND SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAM - ABSTRACT PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY – THE EDWARD VIA COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE WILL IMPLEMENT INTENSIVE TRAINING IN SUICIDE PREVENTION AND MENTAL WELLNESS ACROSS ITS FOUR-CAMPUS SYSTEM AND INCORPORATE MINDFULMEDS, A CUSTOMIZED MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS APP, TO CONNECT STUDENTS TO SCREENING TOOLS, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, COMMUNITY RESOURCES, AND CRISIS RESPONSE SUPPORT TO COMBAT DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND SUICIDAL IDEATION EXPERIENCED BY MED STUDENTS. PROJECT NAME – VCOM MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS AND SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAM POPULATION TO BE SERVED - THE PROPOSED MULTI-PLATFORM, MULTI-DISCIPLINARY PROGRAM WILL TARGET ALL MEDICAL STUDENTS ENROLLED AT THE EDWARD VIA COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE (VCOM). VCOM IS A FINANCIALLY STABLE, NOT-FOR-PROFIT, 501(C)(3) EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION WHOSE MISSION IS TO PREPARE GLOBALLY-MINDED, COMMUNITY-FOCUSED PHYSICIANS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF RURAL AND MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED AREAS OF POPULATIONS. VCOM GRADUATES OVER 500 PHYSICIANS ANNUALLY AND IS AN ESTABLISHED NATIONAL LEADER IN THE EDUCATION OF PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS (58% OF ALL GRADUATES) WITH 50% OF GRADUATES PRACTICING IN RURAL AND MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. THERE ARE FOUR VCOM CAMPUSES LOCATED ACROSS THE APPALACHIAN AND DELTA REGIONS IN VIRGINIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, ALABAMA, AND LOUISIANA. EIGHTY-FOUR PERCENT OF VCOM STUDENTS ARE FROM APPALACHIAN AND DELTA REGION STATES, AND 47% OF VCOM STUDENTS COME FROM COMMUNITIES WITH A POPULATION SIZE OF LESS THAN 30,000. VCOM STUDENTS ARE MORE LIKELY FEMALE (55%) COMPARED TO MALE (45%); HAVE A MEAN AGE OF 24-26 YEARS; AND ARE ABOUT 67% WHITE, 19% ASIAN, AND 14% UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY. STRATEGIES/INTERVENTIONS – THIS GRANT WILL FURTHER BUILD AND ENHANCE THE NETWORK OF COUNSELING RESOURCES PROVIDED TO VCOM STUDENTS AND IMPLEMENT THE MINDFULMEDS MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS SCREENING APP AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING ACROSS ALL FOUR VCOM CAMPUS LOCATIONS. PROJECT GOALS AND MEASURABLE ACTIVITIES – PROJECT GOALS INCLUDE: (1) ENHANCE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR ALL VCOM STUDENTS ACROSS ALL 4 CAMPUSES; (2) INCREASE AWARENESS AND EDUCATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS, AND PROMOTE HELP-SEEKING BEHAVIOR AMONG THE STUDENT BODY; (3) IMPROVE THE IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF AT-RISK VCOM STUDENTS SO THAT THEY CAN SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THEIR MEDICAL EDUCATION; AND (4) REDUCE ACCESS TO LETHAL MEANS AMONG STUDENTS WITH IDENTIFIED SUICIDE RISK. MEASURABLE ACTIVITIES TOWARDS THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THESE GOALS INCLUDE: OBJECTIVE 1 – DEVELOP MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CARE TEAMS COMPRISED OF MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS, STUDENT SERVICES, ACADEMIC ADVISORS, FACILITIES AS APPROPRIATE, FACULTY MEMBERS, AND ADMINISTRATION. OBJECTIVE 2 – DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT EDUCATIONAL MODULES IN THE MINDFULMEDS APP AND BEYOND THE MEDICINE SERIES TO PROMOTE LIFE SKILLS, RESILIENCY, AND SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS. OBJECTIVE 3.A – PROVIDE SPECIFIC TRAINING TO CARE TEAMS IN TERMS OF CRISIS INTERVENTION AND SUICIDE PREVENTION, INCLUDING LETHAL MEANS COUNSELING, QPR, DE-ESCALATION, REFERRAL PROCESS, SCREENING, LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS, AND MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING STRATEGIES, AMONG OTHERS. OBJECTIVE 3.B – PROVIDE SPECIFIC TRAINING FOR STUDENTS IN SUICIDE PREVENTION. OBJECTIVE 3.C – ENCOURAGE AND PROMOTE THE USE OF MINDFULMEDS APP AND SCREENING TOOLS FOR SUICIDALITY, DEPRESSION, AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE AMONG VCOM STUDENTS. OBJECTIVE 4 – DEVELOP CRISIS RESPONSE PROTOCOLS FOR CARE TEAMS, TO INCLUDE LINKAGES WITH OUTSIDE MENTAL HEALTH AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES. NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO BE SERVED: ANNUALLY – APPROXIMATELY 2,260; DURING PROJECT LIFETIME – APPROXIMATELY 6,780

THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS OF CEO2 NANOPARTICLES IN SLE

CLINICAL SERVICES

RENAL SALVAGE VIA NRF2-DEPENDENT ANTIOXIDATIVE/ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ENZYMES

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF GENISTEIN IN THE PREVENTION OF INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE (TNF

CALCIUM PUMP NITRATION AND INHIBITION OF CALCIUM TRANSPORT IN THE AGING HEART

IDENTIFYING AND QUANTIFYING THE LEVEL OF QUESTIONABLE ABSTRACT PUBLICATIONS? AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS

HEALTH CENTER CLUSTER PLANNING GRANTS