Research Day on Translational Research: Applying Discovery

Lightning Talk Sessions

Identification: Finding Genetic and Protein Markers for Disease
Implementation: Bringing New Technologies to Clinical Use
Intervention: Halting and Reversing the Progress of Disease
Prevention: Stopping Disease Before it Starts

Research Presentations

Moderated by Diana Bianchi 

From Bench to Bytes to Baby: A Translational Approach to Human Fetal Development
Diana Bianchi

Neuroscience to SoftBots: New Technologies from Ancient Animals
Barry Trimmer

Shape Up Somerville: Changing Communities One Step at a Time
Christina Economos

Identification: Finding Genetic and Protein Markers for Disease

Moderated by Hans-Georg Klingemann 

Novel Biomarkers for the Early Detection of Acute Kidney Injury
Bertrand Jaber

Natriuretic Peptides in Spontaneous Canine and Feline Heart Disease
John Rush

Identification of Molecular Cardiovascular Disease Targets through Human Genetics
Gordon Huggins

The Role of Biorepositories in Identification of Disease Indicators or Sentinel Markers
Richard Friedberg

Translational Bioinformatics
Donna Slonim

Implementation: Bringing New Technologies to Clinical Use

Moderated by Donna Slonim 

Getting Novel Cellular Therapies to the Patient
Hans-Georg Klingemann

Cervical Biomechanics during Pregnancy
Michael House

Optical Technologies for Non-invasive Disease Diagnosis
Irene Georgakoudi

Implementing Technology into the OR
Caroline Cao

Intervention: Halting and Reversing the Progress of Disease

Moderated by Garry Welch 

Heart Failure Models: Estrogen and its Receptors in Cardiac Hypertrophy
Richard Patten

Spontaneous Animal Models of Obesity: Treatment Options
Lisa Freeman

Biological Screening for Smoking as a Deterrent
Douglas Brugge

Intervention to Improve Medication Adherence Related Communication Improves Communication, but not Adherence
Ira Wilson

Prevention: Stopping Disease Before It Starts

Moderated by Douglas Brugge

Preventing Cardiovascular Disease in CKD
Mark Sarnak

Innovative Strategies in the Management of Diabetes
Garry Welch

The Effects of Exercise Training on Functional Performance and Disability in the Elderly
Roger Fielding

Prevention of Functional Loss and Work Productivity Due to Depression
Debra Lerner

Diana Bianchi, MD

Natalie V. Zucker Professor of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tufts University School of Medicine, and Vice Chair for Research, Department of Pediatrics, Floating Hospital for Children and Tufts–New England Medical Center. Dr. Bianchi’s laboratory focuses on prenatal genetics. She is studying fetal cells and DNA that cross into the maternal circulation and can be used for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of genetic conditions. Remarkably, these cells persist in the mother’s blood and organs for decades after the birth of the child. This phenomenon, called fetal cell microchimerism, is associated with autoimmune diseases and may also be an important source of stem cells for repair of tissue injury in the mother.

Christina Economos, PhD

Christina Economos, PhD New Balance Chair in Childhood Nutrition and assistant professor, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Professor Economos’s research focus is on the interaction among diet, exercise, body composition, and aging, with an emphasis on techniques that accurately measure and interventions that optimally develop and preserve skeletal muscle and bone mass throughout the lifespan. Her expertise includes working effectively with diverse populations and communities, developing and applying behavior-change strategies with children and families to improve diet and physical activity, and crafting, implementing and evaluating nutrition education curricula.

Barry Trimmer, PhD

Barry Trimmer, PhD Henry Bromfield Pearson Professor of Natural Sciences, Department of Biology, Tufts University; with appointments in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, and the departments of Neuroscience and Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine. Professor Trimmer’s research focus is on the mechanisms by which soft-bodied animals control their movements. These ideas are being used to construct an entirely new generation of soft-material robots capable of carrying out tasks that are difficult or impossible with conventional technologies. In addition to his work on living systems, Professor Trimmer is the founder (2005) and director of the Tufts Biomimetic Devices Laboratory, which specializes in the application of found biological principles to the design and fabrication of such novel devices.