Awards & Recognitions – December 2024

AAN DEI Innovator Grant

Barrow vascular neurologist Dr. Judea Wiggins‘ project has received a 2025 DEI Innovator Grant from the American Academy of Neurology. This grant is designed to support new, untested, and innovative approaches to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion.

As co-principal investigators, Dr. Wiggins and University of Utah Stroke Center Director Jennifer Majersik, MD, will create a stroke awareness campaign culturally tailored to Pacific Islanders living in Utah.

The project builds upon a needs-based survey the investigators conducted in Utah, which has the highest concentration of Pacific Islanders of any continental U.S. state. The survey of 98 adult Pacific Islanders was funded by a seed grant from the University of Utah Department of Neurology, where Dr. Wiggins trained as a stroke fellow before joining the faculty in the Petznick Stroke Center at Barrow. The results showed significant knowledge gaps in identifying and responding to stroke symptoms. Survey participants also expressed a desire to learn more about stroke prevention, stroke recovery, and their unique stroke risk factors as Pacific Islanders.

Compared to other racial groups, Pacific Islanders are four times more likely to experience a stroke and 30% more likely to die after a stroke. Yet, there has been no community stroke education specific to Pacific Islanders in the United States, with existing education combining this population with all Asian Americans.

Drs. Wiggins and Majersik plan to consult with experts in community health education to design and distribute information both digitally and in print. They hope to eventually replicate this campaign to Pacific Islanders nationwide.

Packard Center ALS Grant

Rita Sattler, PhD, MSc, a professor in the Department of Translational Neuroscience at Barrow, has received a grant from the Packard Center at Johns Hopkins University.

The grant will support Dr. Sattler and her lab as they continue to explore how communication between neurons in the brain is affected in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). By gaining a better understanding of dysfunction in neuronal connections, Dr. Sattler hopes to identify promising therapeutic targets for treating these neurodegenerative diseases.

Dysfunction in these nerve cell connections, which are called synapses, is thought to occur very early on in ALS/FTD—before the deterioration of the neurons themselves and before clinical symptoms are detected.

Studies have shown that a different group of brain cells called astrocytes play an important role in forming and stabilizing synapses during brain development. Furthermore, Dr. Sattler’s previous work in human disease model systems of C9orf72-ALS/FTD, the most prevalent familial form of these diseases, shows that astrocytes contribute to synaptic dysfunction in ALS/FTD. What remains unknown, however, is precisely how astrocytes mediate synaptic dysfunction and whether intervening therapeutically in this dysfunction could halt the disease process.

In an effort to answer these questions, the Sattler Laboratory will use their “brain in a dish” model to identify critical players in the astrocyte-synapse regulatory pathways. They will specifically focus on Sparcl1, a protein that is secreted by astrocytes and that has been shown in mouse models to contribute to synapse formation and maintenance during brain development.

Neurodegeneration Chair

Rita Sattler, PhD, MSc, a professor in the Department of Translational Neuroscience at Barrow, has been named the inaugural David and Weezie Reese Chair for Neurodegeneration, recognizing her trailblazing work in the research of neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia.

“We understand how difficult the journey is for patients living with ALS, FTD, Alzheimer’s, and other neurodegenerative diseases,” the Reeses said. “We are proud to support Dr. Rita Sattler’s innovative research to better understand the mechanisms of these devastating diseases and find specific drug targets that can be developed into new therapies for patients.”

NIH R01 Grants

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $3.6 million R01 grant to neuroscientist Saif Ahmad, PhD, (left) and endovascular neurosurgeon Andrew Ducruet, MD, for a study aimed at understanding why and how some people experience a secondary injury following ischemic stroke treatment—and what we can do to prevent it.

By examining what’s happening in the brain at a molecular level, these Barrow researchers hope to pave the way for a drug that could prevent this secondary injury. Such a drug might allow more people to receive existing therapies aimed at restoring blood flow in the brain, while improving patient outcomes across the board. Learn more.

White spots on the brain are a frequent finding on imaging, but we still know little about their impact on brain health. Chia-Ling Phuah, MD, MMSc, a neurologist-scientist in the Barrow Department of Neurology and co-director of the Barrow Neuro Analytics Center, hopes to change that with the support of a $3.9 million R01 grant from the NIH.

The five-year award will allow Dr. Phuah and her team to employ artificial intelligence to analyze vast amounts of neuroimaging and genetic data in hopes of identifying patterns in the distribution of white matter hyperintensities. Learn more.