It is an exciting time to be an investigator in the area of brain plasticity. Years of research aimed at improving patient outcomes is reaching the point of translation into new therapies for human subjects. In the coming years there will be a great need for clinical scientists to continue this work. The current proposal focuses on this need while examining key questions in stroke rehabilitation. The main scientific focus of this grant is brain plasticity after stroke and its relationship to rehabilitation. Countless studies have characterize changes in brain structure and function after stroke and their relationship to improved patient outcomes. This area of science benefits from techniques to measure to brain plasticity in human patients, and from clinical trials to evaluate promising restorative therapies. Under the aegis of this grant, PMR residents in training, physical therapists in DPT programs, and clinical fellows will each take part in a number of research projects. Currently ongoing projects include the study of robotics to improve motor function after stroke, and the study of genetic variation influences on stroke outcomes. New research proposed herein includes evaluation of dopaminergic drugs to improve patient outcomes, implementation of bedside brain mapping in the rehabilitation ward using dense array EEG, and a study of a telerehabilitation system to reduce disability after stroke. In addition to providing more time for the PI to perform patient-oriented research and to have increased availability as a mentor, the K24 grant will also support a computer scientist and a biostatistician, both of whom provide critical skills to new investigators in patient-oriented research. The University of California, Irvine has wide-ranging resources for training of clinical investigators. Chief among these is the Institute for Clinical Translational Research, supported by an NIH CTSA grant, which has numerous offerings relevant to the mission of the current proposal, including scientific cores, bioinformatics support and nursing support. The candidate has long been committed to mentoring clinical scientists in patient-oriented research and looks forward to increasing this activity in the future.

Public Health Relevance

Research advances are providing new clues as to how to reduce disability after stroke. The current proposal aims to address several scientific questions in this area while training tomorrow's researchers.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24)
Project #
5K24HD074722-02
Application #
8726455
Study Section
Developmental Biology Subcommittee (CHHD)
Program Officer
Nitkin, Ralph M
Project Start
2013-09-01
Project End
2018-08-31
Budget Start
2014-09-01
Budget End
2015-08-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Irvine
Department
Neurology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
City
Irvine
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92697
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Wolbrecht, Eric T; Rowe, Justin B; Chan, Vicky et al. (2018) Finger strength, individuation, and their interaction: Relationship to hand function and corticospinal tract injury after stroke. Clin Neurophysiol 129:797-808
Cramer, Steven C (2018) Treatments to Promote Neural Repair after Stroke. J Stroke 20:57-70
Zhou, Robert J; Hondori, Hossein M; Khademi, Maryam et al. (2018) Predicting Gains With Visuospatial Training After Stroke Using an EEG Measure of Frontoparietal Circuit Function. Front Neurol 9:597
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Juth, Vanessa; Chan, Michelle K; Cramer, Steven C et al. (2018) Assessing acute psychological distress in the immediate aftermath of stroke. Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs 17:186-189
Ito, Kaori L; Kumar, Amit; Zavaliangos-Petropulu, Artemis et al. (2018) Pipeline for Analyzing Lesions After Stroke (PALS). Front Neuroinform 12:63
Cassidy, Jessica M; Tran, George; Quinlan, Erin B et al. (2018) Neuroimaging Identifies Patients Most Likely to Respond to a Restorative Stroke Therapy. Stroke 49:433-438
Lin, David J; Finklestein, Seth P; Cramer, Steven C (2018) New Directions in Treatments Targeting Stroke Recovery. Stroke 49:3107-3114
Rowe, Justin B; Chan, Vicky; Ingemanson, Morgan L et al. (2017) Robotic Assistance for Training Finger Movement Using a Hebbian Model: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 31:769-780

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