“Advances in Screening and Treatment of Colorectal Cancer”

Breakfast Education Seminar with HMRI Director of Colorectal Research Dr. Howard Kaufman

Date: Friday, March 2, 2012

Time: 8 – 10 a.m. (Continental breakfast included from 8 – 8:40 a.m.)

Location: HMRI Research Conference Hall, 734 Fairmount Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105

Parking: Public parking $6.00 in the garage on the corner of Congress and Fairmount

Event Cost: Free

RSVP: Deadline – Friday, February 24, 2012. Register online at www.hmri.org. Direct inquiries to Esther Dickinson at dickinson@hmri.org or call (626) 397-5805.

Renowned cancer researcher and physician Dr. Howard Kaufman will discuss new developments in screening for colorectal cancer, helping participants to understand technologies and methods that identify and treat the disease. Dr. Kaufman’s in-depth presentation will address procedures, research and support followed by a Q & A session.

“New Approaches to the Mysteries of Brain Disease”

presented by Dr. Michael Harrington, HMRI Director of Molecular Neurology Research

“The Neglected 50% of our Brain Cells”

presented by Dr. Brian Ross, HMRI Director of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Lunch Education Seminar

Date: Monday, March 19, 2012

Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (lunch included from 11:30 a.m. to noon)

Location: HMRI Research Conference Hall, 734 Fairmount Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105

Parking: Public parking $6.00 in the garage on the corner of Congress and Fairmount

Event Cost: Free

RSVP: Deadline – Monday, March 12, 2012. Register online at www.hmri.org. Direct inquiries to Esther Dickinson at dickinson@hmri.org or call (626) 397-5805.

Two notable HMRI physicians will discuss groundbreaking discoveries about the brain, the causes of common disorders, simple detection tests and treatment followed by a Q & A session.

Dr. Harrington’s work in the areas of Alzheimer’s and migraine provides new insights into brain chemistry and its affect on these maladies.

Dr. Ross’ presentation will focus on the science of brain disorders and the role of glia that acts as an active immune defense to reduce inflammation in the brain which causes neural diseases from Alzheimer’s to epilepsy.

“Adapting Technology to Treat Parkinson’s,
Deafness and Spinal Cord Injuries”

Evening Education Seminar with Dr. Douglas McCreery, HMRI Director of Neural Engineering

Date: Friday, March 30, 2012

Time: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. (Wine and cheese reception included 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.)

Location: Research Conference Hall, 734 Fairmount Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105

Parking: Public parking $6.00 in the garage on the corner of Congress and Fairmount

Event Cost: Free

RSVP: Deadline Wednesday, March 21, 2012. Register online at www.hmri.org. Direct inquiries to Esther Dickinson at dickinson@hmri.org or call (626) 397-5805.

Eminent neural engineering researcher Dr. McCreery will discuss the use of implantable electrodes that send electrical impulses to the brain and spinal cord. Research in microstimulation led to the development of the vagus nerve electrode that helped more than 30,000 people with epilepsy and the deep brain stimulator that has assisted over 50,000 patients for the management of Parkinson’s Disease. The presentation will be followed by a Q & A session.

Theme: “The Heart of Midlothian,” featuring homes in the area intersecting Glenview Terrace, Midwick Drive and Midlothian Drive in Altadena.

Date: Sunday, May 6, 2012

For additional information, contact: Kim Michero (626) 296-8480. For event updates, please visit: www.altadena guild.org.

Event: HMRI Lynn Smith Founders’ Classic

Theme: “Celebrating 60 Years of Research Excellence”

Date: Monday, October 22, 2012

Location: Annandale Golf Club in Pasadena. Event Chairperson: Ann Hall, HMRI board member. For additional information, contact: Esther Dickinson at HMRI: (626) 397-5805; email – dickinson@hmri.org.

• New Implant Therapy Offered to Treat Chronic Involuntary Bowel Incontinence;
• Understanding the Vital Role of Lipids in Alzheimer’s Disease;
• HMRI Boswell Fellow Working to Cure the Incurable;
• Volunteer Spotlight: New President of the Altadena Guild Embraces Tradition While Exploring the New;
• Board Member Spotlight;
• MRC Summer Intern Event;
• HMRI Helps Three Brothers Find Success in Medicine;
• Fashion with Compassion;
• Let’s Not Forget Alzheimer’s;
• Jones Coffee Roasters Hosts HMRI;
• Be a Pathfinder;
• HMRI Gifts: Major Donors, Memorial & Tribute;
• HMRI Publications 2010;

Click here to download our Newsletter in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. You will need the free Acrobat Reader software to read or print these documents.

HMRI and Military Medicine from HMRI on Vimeo.

DARPA, the Department of Defense research and development office, has been faced with a continual challenge regarding prosthetics used by wounded war fighters returning from combat. Today’s best prosthetics have low functionality, and DARPA seeks to upgrade to models with greater dexterity and brain communication capability.

That’s where researchers of HMRI’s Neural Engineering Department come in. They will determine why current brain interfaces to prosthetics fail over a relatively short time, usually a month or two.

Once that has been determined, HMRI researchers hope to enable control of complex arm prosthetics by the brain to boost capability from 2 degrees of movement to 22 degrees, increasing elbow and wrist rotation and finger movements for greater facility in picking up objects, and keep that ability for years.

In a recent clinical trial, “intracortical electrodes that could eventually be used for these complex robotic arms have shown to be unreliable even though they showed some promise,” said Dr. Martin Han, the primary investigator on the project, working with Dr. Douglas McCreery, director of HMRI’s Neural Engineering Program, and Dr. Victor Pikov.

This project is a natural for HMRI’s Neural Engineering researchers. Established in 1970, the multi-disciplinary program’s goal is design, development and evaluation of implantable devices for functional electrical stimulation to replace impaired function of the nervous system.

The HMRI program has internationally recognized expertise in evaluating the safety of the electrode-tissue interface, a major factor in the success of implantable neural prostheses such as those that could potentially be used by amputees.

This is the first time the Neural Engineering Program has submitted a proposal to DARPA, and it’s not surprising HMRI won the contract.

By incorporating four widely used electrode designs into a hybrid array, the Investigators propose to determine why the microelectrodes fail to record neuronal action potentials over long periods of time.

Researchers have been trying to answer the question “Why do these devices fail?” “However, different researchers have used different surgical techniques, and different devices implanted into different brain regions,” Han said.

“Whenever these neurons fire, they tell these devices what to do. It’s very critical. When you lose that interface, you lose function,” he explained.

“That interface” between neurons and prosthetic device is created when a microelectrode is implanted into the brain to record and decode its instructions to control the device. The microelectrode can be as thin as a single strand of hair and made of metal or metal-like silicon, though HMRI’s neural engineers have created thinner, more flexible polymer models.

In this project, instead of stimulating neurons to fire, the microelectrodes “wait” for the neurons to transmit information that will drive a prosthetic arm in a certain way, for example, direction and velocity of movement.

Some prosthetic arms are currently attached to muscle groups that govern movement. Implantable microelectrodes transmitting directly from neurons could offer users greater control and natural movement.

Findings from this study could go beyond prosthetics to applications for other neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy, Han added.

“This could be used for detecting epileptic seizures,” he explained. “Before a major onset of an epileptic seizure, there’s known to be some subtle brain activity that’s hard to detect with current technologies, but with these electrodes in the brain, they can detect the pending onset of a seizure before it happens.”

This work is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), under the auspices of Dr. Jack W. Judy (jack.judy@darpa.mil) as part of the Reliable Neural Technology Program, through the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) Systems Center (SSC) Pacific grant No. N66001-11-1-4010.

For HMRI’s guests, this was simply an afternoon to enjoy and be recognized for their ongoing support. Board Chairman Michael C. Doyle welcomed the crowd, and HMRI President William Opel, PhD, took a moment to acknowledge all the different groups in attendance – from Altadena Guild members to researchers to donors.

Mireya Jones offered guests the fascinating presentation, “From Seed to Cup.” Guests then joined Chef Manuel in the kitchen, where they were able to see first-hand how he prepares his mouth-watering paella. A perfect summer dinner of paella, salad, and dessert followed.

Later, Jones Coffee CEO Chuck B. Jones led a question-and-answer session. It was a sea of hands as guests asked questions about everything from marketing to coffee. Chuck’s passion for coffee stems from his family’s 140-year-old coffee plantation in the highlands of Guatemala, where Mireya was born.

As roasters, growers and importers of premium specialty coffees, Jones Coffee Roasters has been sharing a passion for fine beans with consumers, retailers and wholesalers in the Pasadena area and beyond since 1994.

Lawrence W. Jones, MD – aka “Larry” to all — joined HMRI in 1974 and currently serves on its Board of Directors. Combining his strong interest in research with the practice of medicine made him a successful collaborator in HMRI’s cell culture and prostate cancer research programs. He generously contributed his time and efforts to make this special event a success.