The Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) Precision Health function is pleased to announce its Precision Health Innovation Precision Health Innovation 2024 Awardees.
The purpose of the awards is to advance initial discovery pilots for Precision Health ICTS investigators.
This year’s awarded partnerships are:
Brian DeBosch, MD, PhD, WashU Medicine: Department of Medicine –
Gastroenterology
Proposal Title: Viral Metagenomic Prediction of Pediatric Obesity and Fatty Liver Disease Using Early-life Stool
Description: We hypothesize that early-life stools from healthy newborn infants harbor viral genes that act as a “signature” to predict obesity and its liver-related complications. To test this, we will analyze the viruses that live in the stool (e.g. the “virome”) of healthy patients with normal body mass index, and correlate which viruses predict the development of obesity and/or liver disease. We wish to do this because nobody, to our knowledge, has done this before us, diagnosing and intervening or preventing obesity and liver disease at the earliest possible time point could greatly affect a child’s health for many years.
Brett Maricque, PhD, WashU Medicine: Department of Genetics
Proposal Title: The Black Genome Project: Building Trust and Capacity through Community Data Analysis and Education
Description: Genetic Data are increasingly utilized to diagnose, treat, and predict disease. To date, the overwhelming majority of participants in genetics research have been of European descent, with few studies committed to reaching non-European communities. To solve this problem, we believe we must start by centering the voices of communities of non-European ancestry within genomics research. Our current objectives are to: 1) engage community members in analysis, interpretation and discussion of mixed-methods data from the Black Genome Project and 2) develop, implement, and evaluate a community-driven genomics education curriculum.
Drew Schwartz, MD, PhD, WashU Medicine: Department of Pediatrics – Infectious Diseases
Proposal Title: Using Long-Read Sequencing to Provide Personalized Antibiotic Stewardship in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Description: Preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are at highest risk of bacterial infection because of immature skin and gut barriers. While awaiting results of standard bacterial cultures, infants are treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics, which are often continued when no bacterial infection is identified. This process disrupts the gut microbiome and increase the risk of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection. This proposal will use rapid sequencing of the gut microbiome to provide personalized antibiotic recommendations to minimally disrupt the gut microbiome and treat potential bacterial infections. These results could usher in an era of personalized antibiotic stewardship.
James Walsh, MD, PhD, WashU Medicine: Department of Ophthalmology
Proposal Title: Biomarkers of Uveitic Macular Edema Response to Topical NSAIDs
Description: Macular edema is the leading cause of vision loss in patients with uveitis, but the molecular underpinnings of this disease are still poorly understood. This project aims to quantify the clinical characteristics of NSAID-responders from NSAID-nonresponses and evaluate the molecular underpinnings of those responses to better target therapy and to understand different processes that can lead to macular edema in uveitis.