A Monthly Research Newsletter from the Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University




	February 29, 2012	Research Extras Attend the 2012 annual Spring Research Career Fair, for research professionals, Friday, April 20, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., at the Student Activity and Academic Center. The fair is an opportunity for applicants to meet face-to-face with representatives from various Emory research departments. Register and learn more. Emory's 6th annual Office of Technology Transfer Celebration of Technology and Innovation will showcase technology start-ups, innovations, and significant deals and events related to tech transfer at Emory. Thursday, March 8, 4:30-6:15 at the Emory Conference Center, Silver Bell Pavilion, followed by a reception. View Emory's recently launched News Center to see combined stories from across the university in a single, easily searchable site that will serves the approximately 4 millions visitors to the university's website annually. The News Center offers stories by topic and a variety of RSS feeds.




	Research Can Improve Quality while Saving Money in Health Care In an era where every dollar counts in health care and quality is a greater priority than ever, health services research is stepping in to study practical and innovative strategies that get the right care to the right people at the right time in the most cost-effective way. Across every field of medicine, public health, and nursing, physicians and scientists are combining clinical information with behavioral, cultural, economic, and social factors to develop better health care processes and delivery systems. Read more...


Christa Lese Martin, PhD, and Daniel Moreno De Luca, MD

	Uncovering Mutations Common to Autism About 30 to 40 percent of all autism cases are of genetic origin, say Emory scientists working to identify regions of the genome that include genetic duplications or deletions implicated in autism. Distinct genetic subtypes can guide families in decision making and treatment. Knowing the affected genetic region can also help identify associated disorders and clinical outcomes, and help estimate the risk of recurrence in siblings. Read more...


Michael Frankel, MD

	Blood Biomarkers May Serve as Predictors in Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury Biomarkers circulating in the bloodstream may serve as a predictive window to identify which stroke patients are at risk for a recurrence. Blood biomarkers also could serve as a precise diagnostic tool to assess the severity of acute traumatic brain injury (TBI). Knowing these important facts could help guide treatment decisions. The two studies are accessing data from two existing clinical trials that have enrolled patients with stroke and TBI. Read more...


Damaged neurons stained bright green

	Potential New Drugs May Halt Brain Inflammation in Neurological Conditions Neurological conditions and diseases such as stroke, epilepsy, and neurodegeneratitve diseases often lead to damaging inflammation in the brain. A newly identified group of compounds may provide protection by blocking signals from a brain receptor called EP2. Outside the brain, the compounds could help treat cancer and inflammatory bowel disease by inhibiting inflammation. Read more...




	Younger Women Have Uncommon Heart Attack Symptoms, Higher Death Risk Compared with men their age, young and middle-aged women tend to have higher rates of death and complications after heart attack, research has found. Younger women are less likely to have typical chest pain, which seems to delay diagnosis and treatment more than in younger men. Women's symptoms may include nausea, shortness of breath and discomfort in the jaw, back and shoulder. Read more...