Faculty Awards

Assistant Professor Cristian Cuadra, Department of Rehabilitation Science, is working to characterize, for the first time, why people often have arm movement problems after a stroke. His study will look at how the spinal cord and balance reflexes in the brain communicate with arm muscles, and how this communication gets disrupted. By measuring reflex signals in the shoulder, arm and forearm, he aims to get a better understanding of the causes of movement difficulties and to identify new ways to improve recovery. The American Heart Association is supporting this project, called “Rewiring Coordination: Spinal and Vestibulospinal Reflex Modulation in Upper Limb of Stroke Survivors.”

Assistant Professor Hayden Hess, Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, is identifying innovative strategies that lower the risk of decompression sickness risk and permit longer, deeper dives. The overall objective of his study is to test whether problems with small blood vessels in the skin (cutaneous microvascular dysfunction) can reveal when the body is under stress as when, for instance, divers return to the surface of the water. The project is titled “Interrogating the Pathophysiology of Decompression Sickness Through the Skin” and receives support from the United States Navy Office of Naval Research.

Gregory Homish, professor and chair, Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, is one of the principal investigators looking at several aspects in the lives of a subset of United States health care workers: the effects of moral injury on changes in substance use, substance use disorders, problematic mental health symptoms and risk of suicide; the impact of other individual, social and environmental factors on these outcomes over time; and the unique effects of workplace policies, programs and practices on the risk and resilience of these workers. The study, “A Longitudinal Examination of the Social and Environmental Influences on Substance Use among Non-Prescriber/Non-Executive Healthcare Workers in the United States,” is funded by the University of Illinois/National Institutes of Health.

Assistant Professor Hang-Jin Jo, Department of Rehabilitation Science, along with Professor Sue Ann Sisto, department chair, and Professor of Biostatistics Jeff Miecznikowski, are studying new treatments to help people recover movement after spinal cord injury in the neck area. One part of the study tests whether brain-to-spinal cord signals can be boosted with gentle stimulation. Another part looks at whether combining this stimulation with hand exercises can further improve recovery. The project, “Neuromodulation to Improve Grasping Function After Spinal Cord Injury,” is funded by the New York State Department of Health.

Research Professor Michael LaMonte, Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, is studying why heart failure affects people differently based on their race, ethnicity and sex. By analyzing health data from 130,000 people in 10 studies, he is looking to understand the size of these differences and uncover the reasons behind them, with the goal of improving prevention and care for everyone. Kent County Memorial Hospital/National Institutes of Health is supporting the study, called “Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Heart Failure: A Cross Cohort Collaboration.”

Douglas Landsittel, professor and chair, Department of Biostatistics, is developing new ways to help the body accept organ or tissue transplants on a long-term basis. One approach looks at blocking certain signals in the immune system to prevent rejection, and another explores why some immune cells stop responding when those signals are blocked. The University of Pittsburgh/National Institutes of Health is funding the project called “Targeting Monocyte Allorecognition to Achieve Allograft Acceptance.”

Assistant Professor Jason Niu, Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, is establishing a longitudinal study of refugee children and their families to improve children’s health development, provide community support and advocate for refugee policy changes. The project, “Perception of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals among Parents in the BEST-Kids Study (Buffalo Environmental and psychosocial Stressors: Targeting Health Disparities in Kids)” is supported by the University of California, Los Angeles.