PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

University of Oklahoma engineer awarded NIH grant to design algorithms for studying cancer initiation

University of Oklahoma engineer awarded NIH grant to design algorithms for studying cancer initiation
2023-10-30
(Press-News.org) Marmar Moussa, Ph.D., an assistant professor of computer science professor at the University of Oklahoma, has secured a nearly $1 million award from the National Institutes of Health to advance her work in computational genomics.

The study, titled “Computational approaches to the mechanistic elucidation of the serrated pathway of human colon carcinogenesis,” aims to unravel the mechanisms driving the serrated pathway of human colon carcinogenesis using computational methods that help explain how colon cancer develops.

“This research is essential due to the intricacies involved in colon cancer initiation. Colon cancer often originates through various mechanisms, including mutations and genetic changes that lead to abnormal lesions known as precursor lesions,” Moussa said. “Some of these lesions, such as hyperplastic polyps, are well understood and pose minimal risk. However, others, like serrated lesions, remain less understood and require in-depth investigation.”

Serrated lesions are characterized by their unique microscopic appearance, displaying a distinctive saw-toothed pattern, Moussa says. Her research develops computational methods to model the progression of such lesions into tumors, a process known as carcinogenesis. By examining RNA molecules in these regions and identifying specific signatures, she hopes to shed light on how these lesions evolve, ultimately leading to cancer.

The research will use spatial transcriptomics, a technology that studies complex cellular environments and that will provide molecular profiles of individual cells within tissue context. The technology allows scientists to gain a better understanding of how cells interact within the tissue, their spatial arrangement and their role in the development of cancer, Moussa says. “By data generated by spatial transcriptomics, we can identify complex patterns and signatures associated with evolving lesions.”

Despite advancements in colorectal cancer prevention, it remains the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Moussa notes that the alternative serrated pathway of colon carcinogenesis, characterized by serrated lesions, has been underexplored due to its complexity and the lack of comprehensive data.

“The research project not only advances an understanding of colon cancer but also has the potential to impact the study of other cancer types,” Moussa said.

About the project: The agreement, from Aug. 1, 2023, to July 31, 2028, is funded by the National Institutes of Health and administered by the National Cancer Institute. The project, titled “Computational approaches to the mechanistic elucidation of the serrated pathway of human colon carcinogenesis,” receives $198,721 annually under Award No. 1K25CA270079-01A1.

About OU Engineering: About the Gallogly College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma is composed of seven schools: Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering; Sustainable Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering; Civil Engineering and Environmental Science; Computer Science; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Industrial and System Engineering; and the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering. With more than 175 faculty members, we are committed to providing a hands-on, real-world approach for our students. Visit www.ou.edu/coe.

About the University of Oklahoma: Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. OU was named the state’s highest-ranking university in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent Best Colleges list. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
University of Oklahoma engineer awarded NIH grant to design algorithms for studying cancer initiation

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Offset markets: New approach could help save tropical forests by restoring faith in carbon credits

Offset markets: New approach could help save tropical forests by restoring faith in carbon credits
2023-10-30
A new approach to valuing the carbon storage potential of natural habitats aims to help restore faith in offset schemes, by enabling investors to directly compare carbon credit pricing across a wide range of projects. Current valuation methods for forest conservation projects have come under heavy scrutiny, leading to a crisis of confidence in carbon markets. This is hampering efforts to offset unavoidable carbon footprints, mitigate climate change, and scale up urgently needed investment in tropical forest conservation. Measuring the value of carbon storage is not easy. Recent research revealed that as little as 6% of carbon credits ...

Window to avoid 1.5°C of warming will close before 2030 if emissions are not reduced

2023-10-30
**CORRECTION** We have identified an error in this press release. The fifth paragraph of the release originally read: The researchers warn that if carbon dioxide emissions remain at 2022 levels of about 40 billion gigatonnes per year, the carbon budget will be exhausted by around 2029, committing the world to warming of 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. However, this should read: The researchers warn that if carbon dioxide emissions remain at 2022 levels of about 40 gigatonnes per year, the carbon budget will be exhausted ...

Why all languages have words for ‘this’ and ‘that’

2023-10-30
Why all languages have words for ‘this’ and ‘that’ Languages around the world have words for ‘this’ and ‘that’ according to new research from an international team, led by the University of East Anglia. Researchers studied more than 1,000 speakers of 29 different languages to see how they use demonstratives – words that show where something is in relation to a person talking such as ‘this cat’ or ‘that dog’. It was previously thought that languages vary in the spatial distinctions they make - and that speakers of different languages may think in fundamentally different ...

Low-income countries could lose 30% of nutrients like protein and omega-3 from seafood due to climate change

2023-10-30
The nutrients available from seafood could drop by 30 per cent for low-income countries by the end of the century due to climate change, suggests new UBC research. That’s in a high carbon emissions and low mitigation scenario, according to the study published today in Nature Climate Change. This could be reduced to a roughly 10 per cent decline if the world were to meet the Paris Agreement targets of limiting global warming to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius - which recent reports have shown we’re not on track to achieve. “Low-income countries and the global south, ...

Dong engineering spatial wood carbon scaffolds with nanocellulose fillers for water deionization

2023-10-30
Pei Dong, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, received $250,000 from the U.S. Department of the Interior for the project: "Engineering Spatial Wood Carbon Scaffolds with Nanocellulose Fillers for Water Deionization." This funding began in Sept. 2023 and will end in Sept. 2025. This project seeks to create an innovative and energy-efficient capacitive deionization process with the help of biomass-based advanced porous structures for water desalination and purification.  ### About George Mason University George Mason University is Virginia's largest public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., Mason enrolls 38,000 students from 130 countries ...

Gilleaudeau conducting geochemical analysis of carboniferous carbonates & implications for ocean oxygenation

2023-10-30
Geoffrey Gilleaudeau, Assistant Professor, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences (AOES), received funding for the project: "Geochemical Analysis of Carboniferous Carbonates and Implications for Ocean Oxygenation."   He and his collaborators aim to generate a new composite carbon record through the lower Mississippian in the Williston Basin. They also aim to generate a new record that tests the hypothesis that carbon excursion was related to an expansion of global ocean anoxia, ...

Russell studying Black displacement & mobility in Arlington County

2023-10-30
Russell Studying Black Displacement & Mobility In Arlington County Donald Russell, Director, Provisions Research Center for Art & Social Change, Director, Mason Exhibitions, University Curator, College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), received funding for the project: "Black Displacement and Mobility in Arlington County." The goal of the project is to create a database of researched information that evidences Black displacement, migration, mobility, and the legacy of the Black diaspora that remains today in Arlington County.  The database will consist of maps, ...

New species of mosasaur named for Norse sea serpent

New species of mosasaur named for Norse sea serpent
2023-10-30
Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, large, carnivorous aquatic lizards that lived during the late Cretaceous. With “transitional” traits that place it between two well-known mosasaurs, the new species is named after a sea serpent in Norse mythology, Jormungandr, and the small North Dakota city Walhalla near to where the fossil was found. Details describing Jǫrmungandr walhallaensis are published today in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.  “If you put flippers on a Komodo dragon and made it really big, that’s basically what it would have looked like,” said the study’s lead ...

NSF funds holistic approach to help farmers adapt to climate change

2023-10-30
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Emily Burchfield, Emory assistant professor of environmental sciences, $1.6 million to lead efforts to identify emerging pressures on agriculture in Georgia, Iowa and Ohio and to develop predictive models to help farmers and policymakers weather these changes. “In a nutshell, we’re trying to understand what climate change will mean for agriculture in these three states,” Burchfield says. “We’ll be integrating biophysical projections based on environmental data with insights ...

University of Cincinnati study: ‘GPS’ seed devices effective in localizing breast tumors

University of Cincinnati study: ‘GPS’ seed devices effective in localizing breast tumors
2023-10-30
University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers found a seed device that acts as a GPS for surgeons to locate and remove breast and lymph node tumors was safe and effective.  The feasibility study evaluating the use of the devices, called SmartClips, was recently published in the journal The American Surgeon.  UC’s Jaime Lewis and her colleague Elizabeth Shaughnessy helped test the SmartClip devices as they were being developed.  “We went a few times and saw the different prototypes, worked with them, and provided feedback. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Revolutionary scandium doping technique extends sodium-ion battery life

High-fat diet impairs memory formation by reducing autophagy

Keck Hospital of USC named a Vizient Top Performer for third year in a row

New CRISPR test could make tuberculosis screening as simple as a mouth swab

Three-sensor overeating detection could reshape obesity treatment

Study provides first evidence that plastic nanoparticles can accumulate in the edible parts of vegetables

AI predicts complications from surgery better than doctors

New personalized risk score could improve ovarian cancer detection

People on Ozempic who eat to regulate emotions less likely to lose weight

AACR Cancer Progress Report highlights lifesaving impact of federal investments in cancer research

Indra's internet

Lymph nodes found to be key to successful cancer immunotherapy

Room-temperature terahertz device opens door to 6G networks

A hard look at geoengineering reveals global risks

When smoke signals danger: How Australian lizards evolved to escape fire

Beyond the surface: Atopic eczema linked to significantly higher risk of suicidal thoughts, major study finds

After weight loss regular exercise rather than GLP-1 weight-loss drug reduces leading cause of heart attack and strokes

EASD launches its first ever clinical practice guideline – the world’s first to focus on diabetes distress

Semaglutide provides powerful protection against diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults, Greek study suggests

Orforglipron taken orally once daily leads to significant body weight loss (ATTAIN-1 Study)

U of I researchers trace genetic code’s origins to early protein structures

Disease experts team up with Florida Museum of Natural History to create a forecast for West Nile virus

Researchers: Targeted efforts needed to stem fentanyl crisis

New UMaine research could help lower prescription drug costs

Molecular movie shows how mitochondria read their DNA

Loss of key male fertility gene leads to changes in expression of hundreds of other genes

Water’s density is key to sustainable lithium mining

Pioneering research reveals problem gambling quadruples the risk of suicide among young people four years later

New method improves the accuracy of machine-learned potentials for simulating catalysts

Astronomers discover rare Einstein cross with fifth image, revealing hidden dark matter

[Press-News.org] University of Oklahoma engineer awarded NIH grant to design algorithms for studying cancer initiation