{"611118":{"#nid":"611118","#data":{"type":"news","title":"NIH $3 million grant will enable Emory, Georgia Tech researchers to tackle sickle cell disease with new technologies","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe National Institutes of Health has awarded a four-year, $3 million grant to a research team at Emory and Georgia Tech that will use new technologies to improve the effectiveness of blood transfusions in patients with sickle cell disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research will take place in the labs of\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/faculty\/Wilbur-A.-Lam\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EWilbur Lam\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E, M.D., Ph.D., and\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/faculty\/Melissa-Kemp\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMelissa Kemp\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ph.D., both associate professors in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ECoulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;at Georgia Tech and Emory University and researchers in the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, and at the University of Minnesota lab of\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bme.umn.edu\/people\/faculty\/wood.html\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EDavid Wood\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ph.D. Lam is also part of the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children\u0026rsquo;s Healthcare of Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe NIH-funded project is entitled \u0026ldquo;Redefining clinical viscosity in sickle cell disease by leveraging microfluidic technologies.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/scinfo.org\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESickle cell disease\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;is a life-threatening genetic blood disorder in which red blood cells become physically altered and misshapen. Viscosity, or resistance to flow, is a complex biophysical property of blood that changes in various parts of the circulation in the body and is rendered even more complex by sickle cell disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;While blood viscosity in sickle cell disease is poorly understood,\u0026rdquo; explains Lam, \u0026ldquo;it remains important clinically, because physicians are instructed to use blood transfusions judiciously to avoid \u0026lsquo;hyperviscosity,\u0026rsquo; but are also hampered by clinical transfusion guidelines that are not scientifically sound or evidence-based.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers propose to use new microfluidic and computational modeling techniques to model the different blood vessels and to more precisely define what \u0026ldquo;viscosity\u0026rdquo; means in different parts of the circulation within a sickle cell disease patient. They also will study how viscosity changes in the context of blood transfusions, which will lead to more patient-specific transfusion guidelines.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We are grateful for this funding, and confident that the grant will allow us to make a significant contribution to redefining and improving guidelines for blood transfusions in sickle cell disease,\u0026rdquo; says Kemp. \u0026ldquo;This could make a significant difference in the quality of life and long-term health of these patients.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:wrich@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Manager\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers propose to use new microfluidic and computational modeling techniques"}],"uid":"27513","created_gmt":"2018-09-07 21:23:04","changed_gmt":"2018-09-10 14:35:47","author":"Walter Rich","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-09-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2018-09-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"611117":{"id":"611117","type":"image","title":"Red blood cells, some of which are sickle cells","body":null,"created":"1536355057","gmt_created":"2018-09-07 21:17:37","changed":"1536355057","gmt_changed":"2018-09-07 21:17:37","alt":"Red blood cells, some of which are sickle cells","file":{"fid":"232662","name":"wlam-894635244.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/wlam-894635244.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/wlam-894635244.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":157220,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/wlam-894635244.jpg?itok=Oh3P2A9a"}}},"media_ids":["611117"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1612","name":"BME"},{"id":"126571","name":"go-PetitInstitute"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["wrich@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}