Month: October 2015

JUPITER SCIENTIST’S PLAN TO ‘TRICK’ INCURABLE DISEASES WINS $4.8M

A Jupiter scientist’s ambitious proposal to take on more than 30 incurable illnesses including Lou Gehrig’s Disease has won a prestigious $4.8 million, five-year award announced Tuesday by the National Institutes of Health.
Matthew D. Disney, a professor on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute, has been awarded a 2015 Pioneer Award, one of 13 given this year.

scrips disney photoThe award is part of the federal agency’s High Risk, High Reward research program, officials said. Disney pitched a plan to defuse devastating illnesses by getting diseased cells to open their doors to chemical con artists that seek out and work only on them.

“Really what we want to do is show this works not just for one disease but many diseases,” Disney told The Palm Beach Post. “This is an immense challenge.”

The idea, as he put it in a statement that formally announced the award, is to “trick disease-affected cells into making their own drug against diseases for which there are no known cures.”

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PALM BEACH GARDENS PRIMED FOR HIGH-TECH, BIOTECH EXPANSION

utcxcccFor United Technologies Corp., Palm Beach Gardens’ approval of a planned Center for Intelligent Buildings paves the way for what the company boasts will be a cutting-edge facility showcasing innovations in green energy standards.

“It’s going to be a really cool building,” said Sara David, UTC’s vice president for legal affairs.

For Palm Beach Gardens, the Oct. 8 vote was another W in the effort to brand the north county city of 50,000 as a hub for corporate headquarters or key installations.

“Palm Beach Gardens is an address people want to be in,” said City Manager Ron Ferris.

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MARCUS NEUROSCIENCE INSTITUTE FIRST IN FLORIDA TO IMPLEMENT NEW THERAPY FOR BACK AND LEG PAIN

Boca Raton Regional HospitalRobert Levy, MD, PhD, Director of the Marcus Neuroscience Institute (MNI) at Boca Raton Regional Hospital is the first physician in the state of Florida to use the latest and most advanced form of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) as a method to treat patients with chronic back and leg pain. The Senza® SCS system, developed by Nevro Corporation, is a spinal cord stimulator that has demonstrated superior results as compared to standard stimulation systems, with patients achieving approximately a 50% greater improvement in pain score than those with traditional SCS therapy.

Pain in general is the most common reason for physician visits in the United States. Chronic pain can significantly interfere with a person’s quality of life and functionality. There are a variety of treatment options for chronic pain that range from medications to surgical interventions.

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SCRIPPS FLORIDA SCIENTIST WINS COVETED NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH PIONEER AWARD

disneyMatthew D. Disney, a professor on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has been awarded a prestigious 2015 Pioneer Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The award, one of only 13 given this year, enables scientists to develop groundbreaking approaches with a significant impact on broad areas of biomedical science.

“This program has consistently produced research that revolutionized scientific fields by giving investigators the freedom to take risks and explore potentially groundbreaking concepts,” said NIH Director Francis S. Collins. “We look forward to the remarkable advances in biomedical research the 2015 awardees will make.”

“This is a great honor not only for Matt and his lab, but for The Scripps Research Institute as well,” said TSRI’s President-Elect Steve Kay. “Matt’s work represents the kind of research the institute is known for—bold, imaginative and aimed at helping those people with the greatest medical needs. Our congratulations to Matt on this well-deserved achievement.”

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