Awards & Recognitions – January 2023
National Institutes of Health Grants
Rita Sattler, PhD, recently received two R21 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for neurodegeneration research:
- Mechanisms of A-I RNA Editing-Mediated Nuclear Export of TDP-43
- Transcriptomic Assessment of Pathology in PD with Dementia and Dementia with Lewy Bodies Using iPSC Neurons and Brain Tissue of the Same Individuals
Department of Defense Grants
Barrow Neurological Institute recently received three grants from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) for ALS research:
- Longitudinal Neuroimaging and Molecular Biomarkers of Cerebrovascular Health in ALS (Principal Investigator: Nadine Bakkar, PhD; Co-PIs: Robert Bowser, PhD, and Ashley Stokes, PhD)
- Retinoid-Activating Gene Therapy for the Treatment of ALS (Principal Investigator: David Medina, PhD; Co-PIs: Robert Bowser, PhD, and Fredric Manfredsson, PhD)
- Development of Lovastatin or Related Compounds as a Therapy for ALS (Co-PIs: Tim Miller, MD, PhD, and Brad A. Racette, MD)
Target ALS Foundation Grants
Robert Bowser, PhD, received two grants from the Target ALS Foundation in December. One grant will support a collaboration between the Bowser Laboratory, academic labs in Kansas and Italy, and an industry partner in Switzerland. The other grant—awarded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative through Target ALS—will support efforts to create a community outreach program for ALS patients in Arizona, targeting ethnic minorities and those in rural communities.
Textbook Co-Author
Robert F. Spetzler, MD, Emeritus President and CEO of Barrow, has co-authored a textbook that is considered to be the gold standard guide to the surgical treatment of diseases in the cerebellopontine angle (CPA), a fragile area of the skull base. The fully revised, expanded second edition of “Surgery of the Cerebellopontine Angle,” published by Springer and featuring images provided by Barrow, is an excellent resource for attending physicians and trainees in neurosurgery, neurotology, neuroradiology, otolaryngology, and endovascular surgery.
2022 Parkinson Prize
A paper co-authored by Holly Shill, MD, director of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, was one of two to receive the 2022 Parkinson Prize from the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease. “Vagus Nerve and Stomach Synucleinopathy in Parkinson’s Disease, Incidental Lewy Body Disease, and Normal Elderly Subjects: Evidence Against the ‘Body-First’ Hypothesis” was selected for the award by members of the journal’s editorial board from among 392 articles published in the 2020 and 2021 volumes. The research was part of the Arizona Study of Aging and Neurodegenerative Disorders, a collaboration among investigators from multiple institutions throughout Arizona.
Above and Beyond Award
The stroke team at Barrow acknowledged its first recipient of the Above and Beyond Award: Tristan Aukett, RN, of the Neuro-Telemetry Unit. “The Above and Beyond Award was created to recognize our neuroscience nurses and support staff for their dedication and hard work they provide to our stroke patients,” said Abbi Heater, a nurse practitioner in the Petznick Stroke Center at Barrow. “This award is to help show the staff that their hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed and that they are making a difference each day through the compassionate care they provide.”