RESEARCH AND DISCOVERY

UNC School of Medicine Departments of Allied Health Sciences and Neurology Announce 2019 Sleep Innovative Research Grant Recipients

The Departments of Allied Health Sciences (DAHS) Office of Research and Scholarship and Neurology have announced awardees of the 2019-2020 Sleep Innovative Research Grants (SIRG). The SIRG program launched in 2018 thanks to the generosity of the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation; the program leads an effort to build an internationally recognized program of research in sleep science at UNC-Chapel Hill.

This year’s awardees are: Paul Geiger, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Women’s Mood Disorders through UNC Department of Psychiatry

Research project: “Relationships Among Estradiol Variability, Endocrine Circadian Rhythms, and Sleep Problems in the Menopause Transition”

Michael Sidorov, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology

Research project: “Quantifying Sleep Spindles from Overnight EEGs as an Angelman Syndrome Biomarker”

Marcia Van Riper, with the UNC School

of Nursing, PhD Research project: “Family Management of Sleep Problems in Children with Down Syndrome” Continuing through 2021, the competitive award process will offer three grants annually to UNC-CH investigators. For each round of funding, research teams will be funded up to a maximum of $10,000 for their one-year projects.

This is an initiative alongside the Neurodiagnostics and Sleep Science (NDSS) program, the Department of Neurology and the University’s Office of Research Development. The NDSS program is a joint initiative between the DAHS and UNCCharlotte, directed by Mary Ellen Wells, PhD.

Mary Ellen Wells

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funds Michael Lewek’s Research for Gait-Related Trips Post Stroke

Michael Lewek

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a research grant to the Division of Physical Therapy’s Michael Lewek in order to research the ability to predict someone’s likelihood of tripping while walking after having experienced a stroke. Lewek will conduct research alongside He “Helen” Huang, thanks to a partnership with the Department of Biomedical Engineering, a joint initiative between NC State University and UNCChapel Hill. The two-year research award, an R21, will allow for Lewek and his research team to better understand why people trip after a stroke when they’re walking, and the role clinicians can play in prevention.

According to Lewek, prior research has simulated tripping to determine how people respond. Although this work is critical for understanding balance recovery, it doesn’t help researchers figure out what causes a self-induced trip. Instead, Lewek’s research aims to predict in real time when a trip is most likely to occur in order to ultimately stop it before it happens.

“Imagine a computer watching you and saying with each step, ‘no trip, no trip, no trip, no trip, trip.’ We want to be able to predict that the trip is about to happen,” Lewek said.

Lewek, who has also received a faculty leave award from the Department of Allied Health Sciences in order to extend this research, hopes to develop an algorithm that will gauge the likelihood of tripping in real time. The algorithm could be applied in a device, such as an exoskeleton or electrical stimulator, which manipulates the leg to prevent the trip from occurring, such as by lifting your foot higher off the ground. “From an efficiency standpoint, our goal is to swing our foot as close to the ground as possible without touching the ground,” Lewek said.

Lewek said results from this research could have implications for falls prevention and quality of life for individuals following stroke.

“Our goal is to prevent intrinsically driven trip-related falls,” Lewek said. “Falls are a big deal, especially in older adults. We’re trying to eliminate falls from happening.”

Michael Lewek, PT, PhD, is also the associate director of the Rehabilitation Engineering Center and an associate professor of physical therapy.

Anonymous Donor Establishes Occupational Science Discovery and Expansion of Knowledge Endowed Fund to Support PhD Program and Division Faculty

The Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy has received a $500,000 gift from an anonymous donor to establish the Occupational Science Discovery and Expansion of Knowledge Endowed Fund.

The transformational gift will provide support for faculty and/or PhD student research and scholarly activity in perpetuity. Funds may be used for visiting scholars, think tanks, and expenses related to conducting and disseminating research, among other activities.

The division’s PhD program, established in 2006, is one of the world’s top contributors to occupational science knowledge through the research of faculty, PhD students, and alumni. The PhD program creates and nurtures a community of scholars who tackle complex issues at both theoretical and practical levels while educating practitioners with a sophisticated understanding of human occupation. In addition to the PhD program, the division has a master’s program in occupational therapy which is ranked #9 according to U.S. News & World Report.

The future impact and potential opportunity this gift provides will ensure that the division continues to support cutting-edge research and mission-driven results on an institutional and national level. UNC Medicine and the division are grateful for this gift.

“The transformational gift will provide support for faculty and/or PhD student research and scholarly activity in perpetuity.”

- STEPHEN HOOPER, PHD

Division of Radiologic Science Names Global Student Ambassadors to Switzerland and Malawi

The Division of Radiologic Science has named seniors Anni Fiets and Victoria Gates as the division’s 2020 Global Student Ambassadors to Switzerland. They join seniors Bailey Ewing and Amanda Winton as Global Student Ambassadors to Malawi.

During spring break 2020, Fiets and Gates will visit and shadow at the University Hospital Basel in Switzerland. This bilateral exchange has goals of understanding radiology services in different health systems and of incorporating positive takeaways into future practice. The students will gain experience with radiology in an area with different cultures and languages. Additionally, they will observe use of cutting-edge equipment in a Siemens trial center hospital.

In July, Ewing and Winton visited Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi, with division faculty member, Wendy Ross ‘90. This visit is part of an established partnership that seeks to strengthen existing radiology services via education for clinicians and radiographers.

The division offers these global health opportunities in conjunction with UNC Global Radiology, a chapter of RAD-AID International, which aims to create a global radiology community through education, collaboration, and innovation. The UNCChapel Hill RAD-AID Chapter was founded in 2012 by the division with the UNC School of Medicine’s Department of Radiology.

The division is led by Joy Renner ’80. Wendy Ross, MS, RT(R)(CT), is a clinical coordinator within the division.