Impact at a Glance

Game-changing treatment

Eleven-year-old Hayden Thomas enjoys playing tennis with his sister Madilynn. He can even serve the ball, thanks in part to a novel exercise program incorporating use of a body- powered 3D-printed prosthetic hand. Designed to help patients better manage everyday tasks, the program offers hope for more convenient, cost effective therapy options for children with congenital upper limb deficiencies.

Hayden’s mom, physical therapist Amanda Thomas in the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences, and her Doctor of Physical Therapy students created the at-home program in which Hayden’s strength, range of motion and coordination improved markedly. His 3D-printed hand was created at FIU’s Miami Beach Urban Studios, and the pattern for the adult-sized hand was modified with assistance from university biomedical engineers. Thomas’s study has received global interest since its publication in the Journal of Hand Therapy.

Deadly naïveté

Behold the slough crayfish (Procambarus fallax). Petite enough to fit in the palm of a hand, these freshwater crustaceans were once abundant in the Everglades and a plentiful food source for wading birds. But populations have plummeted 99% in the last decade. Invasive Asian swamp eels are the prime culprit behind the disappearances.

Institute of Environment postdoctoral researcher and wildlife photographer Brandon A. Güell wants to understand why slough crayfish — who expertly evolved to fight, freeze or flee for survival — have become such easy prey. With video and timelapse photography, he documents never- before-seen predator-prey interactions in the lab. Most concerning: Crayfish act unusually nonchalant around the eels. They don’t use anti-predator tactics, like freezing or hiding, as they would to escape native predators. Güell says this is a sign of prey naïveté, the idea native species fail to “recognize” invasive predators as a threat because they didn’t coevolve, and this could explain why the eels have the upper hand not just against the crayfish but potentially other species.

Take out the trash

The dopamine neuron in the cell model pictured here was full of trash. Autophagy, the built-in cellular house cleaning system, wasn’t working as it should to dispose of damaged, misfolded proteins. Too much alpha-synuclein had accumulated. This is the problem protein involved in Parkinson’s disease that clumps together, disrupts cell-to-cell communication and triggers neuronal death.

Kim Tieu and researchers in his lab had doused cells with different concentrations of manganese (exposure to high levels is a risk factor for developing Parkinson’s- like neurological symptoms). Even small amounts impaired autophagy, according to the study’s results published in Molecular Neurodegeneration — suggesting chronic exposure could contribute to neurodegeneration

Then they made a discovery with clinical implications: A partial block of dynamin- related protein-1 (Drp1) coaxed the cell’s clean-up process to take out the trash again, regardless of manganese exposure.

With funding from a $6.6 million National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Revolutionizing Innovative, Visionary Environmental Health Research (RIVER) grant, Tieu’s lab is collaborating with Scripps Research to identify FDA- approved compounds that target Drp1 for new Parkinson’s therapies. They’re currently testing these drugs.

Splat!

You’re cruising down the highway. Splat! A bug hits the windshield. The goopy remains smear across the glass. Even a few swipes of the wipers are no match for the stuck-on mess.

In simple terms, this is exactly how cold spraying works, though the process is far more elegant. Sophisticated systems (like this VRC Raptor in the Cold Spray and Rapid Deposition Laboratory) blast microscopic powder particles onto surfaces at supersonic speeds. As the spray nozzle at the end of the robotic arm moves around, it builds layer-upon-layer of material. Unlike other types of manufacturing, there’s no melting involved in the process nor volatile fumes — making it a more environmentally friendly option for applying protective coatings or making repairs.

Supported by $22.9 million from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, FIU’s state-of-the-art lab gives researchers a place to push the boundaries of cold spray. To date, they’ve developed and patented dozens of new advanced materials, such as high-strength aluminum composites, that can be fabricated using this technology for applications in the aerospace, automotive and defense industries.