Office of Research Development – Research Development Group Member List

Name	Institutional Position	Institution	Relevant Expertise
Levitt, Pat	Chair, RDG	USC (Medicine – Cell and Neurobiology)	Neurodevelopment
Fini, Elizabeth	Vice Dean, Research Advancement	USC (Medicine)	Research advancement, molecular cell biology
Hamm-Alvarez, Sarah	Research Dean	USC (Pharmacy)	Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences
Mataric, Maja	Research Dean	USC (Engineering)	Assistive interactive robotics
Chai, Yang	Research Dean	USC (Dentistry)	Craniofacial development; birth defects
Brekke, John	Research Dean	USC (Social Work)	Community-based services for severe mental illness
Fong, Dan	CTSI Member	Kaiser Permanente Southern California	Practice-based clinical trials
Khoo, Michael	Chair, Biomedical Engineering	USC (Engineering)	Neurorespiratory system modeling, non-invasive physiological monitoring
Damascio, Antonio	Director, Brain and Creativity Institute	USC (Neuroscience)	Neural basis of behavior
Jones, Peter	Director, Cancer Center	USC (Cancer Center)	DNA methylation in human cancer
Pera, Martin	Director, Center for Regenerative Med	USC (Stem Cell Center)	Stem cell biology, germ cell tumors
Hull, Richard	Senior Director, Life Sciences	USC (Stevens Institute for Innovation)	Technology transfer in life sciences
Thompson, Mark	Chair, Biomedical Nanoscience Initiative	USC (College of Letters, Arts and Sciences)	Organic optoelectronic devices; materials science; nanoscience; photophysics; photochemistry
Crandall, Edward	Chair, Dept of Med	USC (Medicine)	Cardiopulmonary biology
Swain, Christopher	Co-Director, Games Institute	USC (Cinematic Arts)	Interactive game design
Arens, Yigal	Director, Intelligent Systems	USC (Engineering, Information Sciences)	Information integration
Guterman, Jeffrey	Director, Clinical Resource Mgmnt	Los Angeles County Department of Health Services	Health care delivery
Clark, Leslie	Associate Professor	Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (Community Health)	Community behavioral interventions
Gallowy-Gillian, Lark	CTSI Member	Community	Health advocacy and policy

CTSI Research Development Workshops 2006-2009

Date	Title	Outcome
Nov 2006	Organogenesis of Heart, Lung, Gut: Potential for T1 Translation	K99, Two K08s funded
May 2007	Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapeutic Interventions in the Fetus	2008 CTSI Pilot Award
Sep 2007	Community Management of Adolescents with Chronic Disease	2008 CTSI Pilot Award, NIH Challenge Application
Apr 2008	Immunological Challenges in Clinical Transplantation
Sep 2008	Real-Time Assessment of Regional & Systemic Hemodynamics	2008 CTSI Pilot Award, NIH Challenge Application
May 2009	Dissemination of Effective Interventions: Childhood Obesity	2009 CTSI Pilot Award
Sep 2009	Gaming Technology to Produce Health Behavior Change

Pilot Awards 2008 & 2009 ($765,000 total awarded)

Title of Project	Investigator	Partner Schools
Mesenchymal and Stem Cell-Based Therapy for BRONJ	Ahn Le, DDS, Ph.D. Dentistry	Dentistry, Craniofacial
New Paradigm for Development of Novel & Efficient Inhibitors of HIV Integrase	Kyung Jung, Ph.D. Chemistry	Chemistry, Pharmacy, Computational Biology
Development of a Novel Imaging & Informatics Platform for Translational Small Animal & Molecular Imaging	Brent Liu, Ph.D. Radiology & Biomedical Engineering	Engineering, Radiology, Informatics
The Role of Adipocyte in Leukemia Relapse	Steven Mittelman, M.D., Ph.D. Pediatrics	Pediatrics Endocrinology, Hematology-Oncology
MRI Assessment of 3D Blood Flow Dynamics in Patients with Carotid Atherosclerosis	Krishna Nayak, Ph.D. Engineering	Engineering, Radiology
In vivo Imaging of Central Changes in a Parkinson’s Disease Model	Giselle Petzinger, M.D. Neurology	Neurology, Radiology, Engineering
Sub-threshold Electrical Stimulation for Retinal Degeneration Diseases	Biju Thomas, Ph.D. Ophthalmology	Ophthalmology, Neurobiology
Osteocalcin as a Link between Bone and Energy Metabolism in Hispanic Americans	Richard Watanabe, Ph.D. Preventive Medicine	Medicine, Preventive Med, Orthopedics
Microbial Translocation and HIV-Related Endothelial Dysfunction	Michael Dube, M.D. Infectious Disease	Infectious Disease, Immunology
Nanosecond Pulsed Plasma Dental Probe for Dental Disinfection	Chunqi Jiang, Ph.D. Electrical Engineering	Engineering, Dentistry
New Methods for Estimating Personal Ozone Exposure in Large Population Studies	Rob McConnell, M.D. Preventive Medicine	Engineering, Physics, Psychology
Effectiveness of Social Robotics for Enhancing Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder	Maja Mataric, Ph.D. Computer Science	Engineering, Pediatrics, Psychology
Science-based Intervention into Practice: Project AIM and High Risk Adolescents	Leslie Clark, Ph.D., MPH Pediatrics	Psychology, Education
Translating Automated Bi-directional Speech Translation Technologies to Clinical Settings	Panayiotis Georgiou, Ph.D. Electrical Engineering	Engineering, Medicine, Communication
Community-Based Research to Reduce Disparities in Access to Pediatric Care	Michele Kipke, Ph.D. Pediatrics	Pediatrics, Engineering
Ecological Validity of Neurocognition and Functional Outcome Schizophrenia	John Brekke, Ph.D. Social Work	Social Work, Psychiatry
Barriers to Care in Sickle Cell Disease in Los Angeles County	Julie Wolfson, M.D. Pediatric Hematology-Oncology	Pediatric Hematology-Oncology

Innovative Programs and Clinical & Translational Research

I. Basic-Translational Research

Implantable Drug Delivery Device for Glaucoma Management (USC Ophthalmology & BME): Developing a novel intraocular delivery system for glaucoma medication with a MEMS-fabricated microfluidic device in clinical testing.

Biomedical Nanoscience Initiative: $5M USC-wide Provost initiative to apply nanoscale biotic and abiotic approaches to disease detection, treatment delivery, and restoration of tissue and organ function. Investigators from chemistry, electrical engineering, and medicine/pathology have built a multiplexed nanobiosensor platform capable of measuring a wide range of biomaterials, including proteins and oligonucleotides. The sensor array is relatively inexpensive and is under development for clinical testing.

II. Human Mechanistic and Clinical Research

Modeling of Endocrine Systems in vivo (USC Physiology): Richard Bergman is a world leader in development of relatively simple ("minimal") mathematical models describing endocrine systems in vivo. His initial models of insulin and glucose kinetics revolutionized clinical and epidemiological studies in diabetes, and informed ground-breaking prevention work in Hispanic Americans at USC (Buchanan, Goran). Other models of pre-hepatic insulin secretion, lactate metabolism, and fatty acid metabolism also have been developed, tested, and validated.

Biomedical Simulations Resource (USC Biomedical Engineering): BMSR develops advanced modeling and simulation methodologies for the experimental study of biological systems and excels in the application of "in silico methods" to evaluate candidate drugs to treat cancer, viral, autoimmune, and other diseases. These methods can also model genetically polymorphic populations, cellular PK, and molecular PD in drug development (e.g., Enbrel and Xolair). BMSR modeling of biological control systems (e.g., cardiopulmonary and hippocampal interplay) underlie efforts to create microelectronic components that can reliably emulate physiological functions.

Novel Methods in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics (Preventive Medicine, USC): The Biostatistics Division of the Department of Preventive Medicine has a long history of developing new methods in the areas of genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics. Current research is focused on developing methods for genome-wide association studies, including: (a) designing cost-effective multistage studies that incorporate gene-finding and gene-validation stages; (b) detection of gene-environment interactions; (c) new statistical tests that can identify a non-genotyped causal variant; and (d) combining GWAS data with pathway-based, candidate gene data. Methods development for GWAS has an immediate and direct impact on the studies conducted in the CTSl's Genomic Cohort and in CTSI partner cohorts, as well as in the larger field of genomics research. CTSI Informatics Co-Director Paul Thomas is directly involved in this area of research.

Assistive Robotics for Neural and Behavioral Disease Treatment (USC Engineering): Socially Assistive Robotics uses intelligent, personalized robots to provide individualized care through monitoring, coaching, encouragement, and motivation toward specific goals in convalescence, rehabilitation, special education, and training. The multidisciplinary program has four active components in neurobehavioral diseases: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): post-stroke rehabilitation; traumatic brain injury rehabilitation; and Alzheimer's and age-related dementia. Dr. Maja Mataric was awarded a CTSI pilot grant in 2008 to test the effectiveness of robots to help develop social skills in underserved children with ASD.

III. Community-Translational Research Programs

Bilingual Graphic Novels: "Fotonovelas" (USC Pharmacy): Fotonovelas are photographic comic books charged with amusing, soap-opera moments in Spanish and English. They communicate targeted public health messages and combat misperceptions. One fotonovela on the importance of folic acid contained a discount coupon for multivitamins that was accepted at Los Angeles pharmacies. Other fotonovelas have addressed condom use, diabetes, and sexually transmitted diseases.

The Labyrinth Project (Cinematic Arts, USC): uses interactive transmedia networks-installations, DVDROMs, and websites-to produce documentaries that juxtapose fictional and historical narratives in provocative ways. For example, A Tale of Two MAOs, traced 30 years of genetic research on the two enzymes that control aggression and anxiety in mice and men. Labyrinth is designing e-learning courseware to weave components from online archives into interactive lectures and role-playing games employing 3-D simulations. These tools and technologies are readily adaptable for use by CTSI investigators and OCE community partners for translating and disseminating medical and health information to diverse communities and delivering educational content in innovative ways.

Social Network Research (Institute for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Research (IPR), USC): Social network research can evaluate the impact of social relationships on health outcomes and the effectiveness of structural and organizational features of community-based collaborative efforts. Thomas Valente, USC professor and respected leader in this field, is developing network analysis to evaluate community-based public health interventions. This novel methodology holds particular promise for the CTSI's OCE given its potential utility as a tool for evaluating and improving the OCE's efforts to develop effective, bi-directional partnerships with the community.

Novel Technologies for Measuring Air Pollutants and Particulate Matter (USC Engineering): This program develops devices for measuring exposure to air pollutants and particulate matter (PM). Two such devices now are used by members of the Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center in the Children’s Health Study and by air pollution researchers worldwide: the Personal Sampler for Particulate Matter and the High Volume Particle Sampler. This technology is important for environmental and community health studies

IV. Research in Information. Communication. Education. and Biocomputing

USC Games Institute: Games can be used for training researchers, informing and recruiting potential patients, behavior change, public health interventions, and general community outreach locally or at a distance. Games are being developed for: •violence and bullying prevention among adolescents; • pain management for pediatric cancer patients; • treating post-traumatic stress disorder; • counseling parents of pediatric cancer patients (Stacy Marsella, lSI) and • teaching basic immunology concepts. Marientina Gotsis, New Technology Liaison for the CTSI OCE, directs the Games for Health Initiative (GHI), which is developing game-based approaches for obesity, autism, eye disease, and genetics.

Distributed Environments for Collaboration and Data Sharing (Kesselman, USC lSI): This research examines large scale distributed environments for collaboration and resource/data sharing across the USC CTSI, and with other CTSAs, while respecting privacy rights, organizational security, and organizational concerns. These technologies can provide high performance computing cycles to CTSI users for large scale analyses and computations and allow remote sharing of experimental equipment and large bodies of data across the USC CTSI and with others. Kesselman will lead CTSI efforts to build a unified information architecture that will enable fundamentally new modes for the conduct of translational research.

Immersive Systems for Education and Simulation Training (Cinematic Arts, USC): The CoDesign Lab fosters faculty, student and industry collaboration in stereoscopy, tangible interfaces, and virtual reality. The Lab connects multiple resources such as the Entertainment Technology Center and the Institute for Creative Technologies Mixed Reality (MxR) to create and analyze immersive systems for education and simulation training.