Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

Research Incubator Awards Announced

June 10, 2011

Congratulations to our 2011-2012 DIBS Research Incubator Award Winners!

Eight interdisciplinary research teams at Duke have been selected to receive the 2011-2012 Duke Institute for Brain Sciences (DIBS) Research Incubator Awards (four new awards and four continuations). The Research Incubator Awards program is designed to encourage innovative approaches to problems of brain function that transcend the boundaries of traditional disciplines. The award provides seed funding for collaborative research projects that will lead to a better understanding of brain function and translate into innovative solutions for health and society.

To read the project summaries for the awards, click here.

New Awards for 2011-2012:

• Non-Invasive Monitoring and Diagnosis of Ocular Neurodegenerative Diseases Using Cell Density Measurement via Angle-Resolved Low Coherence Interferometry

Investigators: Vadim Arshavsky (Ophthalmology); Sina Farsiu (Ophthalmology); and Adam Wax (Biomedical Engineering)

• Characterization of Brain Circuit Changes Underlying Chronic Social Defeat Stress

Investigators: Herbert Covington (Psychology & Neuroscience) and Kafui Dzirasa (Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences)

• Transsynaptic labeling and functional characterization of sensorimotor circuits in the mouse trigeminal system

Investigators: McClean Bolton (Pediatrics); Wolfgang Liedtke (Neurology); and Fan Wang (Cell Biology)

• Identifying the genetic basis for uniquely human features of cortical development

Investigators: Blanche Capel (Cell Biology); Debra Silver (Molecular Genetics and Microbiology); and Gregory Wray (Biology)

Continuations:

• Investigating the Neural Basis for Motor Learning Abnormalities in a Novel Mouse Model for Dystonia

Investigators: Nicole Calakos (Neurology); Kafui Dzirasa (Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Geriatric Psychiatry); Christopher Lascola (Neuroradiology, Brain Imaging and Analysis Center); Sri Raghavachari (Neurobiology); and Henry Yin (Psychology & Neuroscience).

• Cumulative Maternal Stressor Effects on Enduring Neural and Developmental Outcomes in Offspring

Investigators: Richard Auten (Pediatrics-Neonatology); Staci Bilbo (Psychology & Neuroscience); Marie Lynn Miranda (Environmental Sciences and Policy); and Susan Smith (Psychology & Neuroscience).

• Optimizing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in an Animal Model of Human Cognition

Investigators: Tobias Egner (Psychology & Neuroscience, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience); Warren Grill (Biomedical Engineering); Michael Platt (Neurobiology, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience); and Marc Sommer (Biomedical Engineering, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience).

• Interoception and the Development of Self-Regulation in Adolescence

Investigators: Adrian Angold (Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and the Center for Developmental Epidemiology); Philip Costanzo (Psychology & Neuroscience); Helen Egger (Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and the Center for Developmental Epidemiology); Richard Keefe (Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences); Cynthia Kuhn (Pharmacology & Cancer Biology); Kevin LaBar (Psychology & Neuroscience, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for Neuroeconomic Studies, and the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center); Rhonda Merwin (Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences); Steven Stanton (Center for Cognitive Neuroscience); James T. Voyvodic (Radiology and the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center); Martin H. Ulshen (Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition); Chongming Yang (Social Sciences Research Institute); and Nancy Zucker (Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and the Duke Eating Disorders Program).