Highlights of Ongoing Research
Extraordinary work takes place each day in the basic science and clinical research labs at the medical center. Following are selected highlights, noting a few of the many ways in which Stanford faculty are advancing the world's capabilities in medical science:
. AIDS - Investigation of potential drug treatments and immunization strategies against AIDS and collaborative research effort with industry to devise new approaches to AIDS therapy
. Arthritis - Research and education on arthritis, including training in innovative self-care methods; and ARAMIS, a national databank on medical and social aspects of the disease
. Autoimmune diseases - Development of novel therapies based on genomics and proteomics - including gene and peptide-based therapies, monoclonal antibodies and customized vaccines - for the treatment of diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus
. Basic immunology - Molecular studies focusing on how the immune system orchestrates the body's defenses against disease and how the myriad components of the immune system develop
. Behavioral medicine and the biological basis of mental illness - Research and treatment of anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders and other behavioral disorders; research on neurotransmitters, the chemicals responsible for communication between cells in the brain
. Biocomputation - Programs using the power of computing and medical imaging to improve surgical training and practice
. Bioethics - Research on the social, ethical, legal and political implications of advances in human genetics
. Biomedical imaging - Translational research in new methods of morphological, functional and molecular imaging for diagnosis and therapy using high field magnetic resonance, single photon emission computed tomography, computed tomography and 3-D image visualization tools
. Bone marrow and stem cell transplantation - Experimental and clinical marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for leukemia, lymphoma, selected solid tumors and inherited blood disorders
. Cancer treatment - Chemotherapy enhancers that thwart cancer cells' resistance to toxic drugs; radiosensitizers, chemicals that can increase cancer cells' susceptibility to radiation bombardment; and new approaches to solid tumors of the head and neck and to tumors of the genito-urinary system
. Cardiovascular medicine - Studies of drugs and devices for treating heart disease, including stents to open arteries, angiogenic compounds to enhance blood vessel growth, agents for preventing heart attack and treating arrhythmias, drugs to dissolve blood clots, and implantable devices to shock ailing hearts into normal function; cell transplantation into failing hearts; new techniques for imaging arteries without angiograms; research into the role of cytomegalovirus in transplant-induced artery blockage; and studies of the genetic causes of cardiovascular disease
. Comparative medicine - Research into a variety of animal diseases, animal models of human diseases, and the development of transgenic mice to study the molecular basis of disease
. Complementary and alternative medicine - Testing claims of therapeutic benefits of health practices, such as tai chi, and nutritional supplements, such as soy, garlic and ginkgo biloba
. Cystic fibrosis - Research program investigating the genetic and molecular basis for cystic fibrosis
. Digestive diseases - Investigation of how molecules interact with the intestines and liver to solve problems including infant diarrhea, the top killer of children under the age of 2
. DNA replication - Key to understanding how cells of living things normally grow and differentiate, as well as key to abnormal growth and cancer
. Endocrinology and metabolism - Research into the cause, treatment and prevention of diabetes and other metabolic disorders
. Epilepsy - Studies of pathways of epileptic activity throughout the brain by means of projections from microscopic images
. Expert systems - "Intelligent" computer programs to help in diagnosis and treatment of disease
. Fungal disease - Development of new drugs and therapies to treat life-threatening fungal infections
. Genetic markers of disease - Identification of genes or genetic markers that determine an individual's susceptibility to specific diseases
. Genetics - Following successful collaboration on the human genome, large-scale DNA sequencing of other animal genomes, including the mouse and the frog
. Genomics - Using knowledge of an organism's genome as a tool for basic and clinical research, including the use of microarray chips to seek new antibiotic drug targets for the treatment of tuberculosis, to develop cancer diagnostics and to observe genetic expression in fruit fly metamorphosis
. Health-care policy - Multidisciplinary research on the impact of regulation, financing and organization on health-care delivery in the United States
. Health-care quality - Evaluation of new methods for measuring quality, effectiveness and cost of treatment and intervention options; development of Web-based instructions for conducting improvement of care projects in clinics and hospitals
. Kidney disease - Studies of causes for failure of normal and transplanted kidneys; mechanistic study of urinary protein loss; and multicenter trial of the benefit of treating mildly elevated homocysteine levels on the cardiovascular health of patients with advanced kidney disease
. Manipulating genes in bacteria and yeast - Studies of bacterial/yeast "factories" to synthesize biologically active and medically useful substances such as hormones and vaccines
. Modernization of clinical care - Design of programs that organize patient visits by type and allow for same-day and preventive care; standardization and improvement of pneumonia treatment and vaccination
. Molecular basis of cancer - Studies of genes and molecules that may play a role in cancer; development of new molecular methods of diagnosis and treatment of many different cancers, including leukemias and lymphomas
. Molecular structure - Studies to determine the structure of fundamental biological molecules and efforts to engineer proteins with clinical significance
. Monoclonal antibodies - Specific man-made protein molecules that dramatically improve treatment methods for some forms of cancer and autoimmune disease
. Neonatal intensive care - Basic and applied research in areas of neonatal biology and physiology, including transitional metabolism and nutrition, pulmonary function and neuroprotection - interventions used to protect the brains of newborns from damage or further injury during labor, delivery and immediately following birth
. Neurological diseases - Research into the causes of devastating illnesses such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, as well as researching nerve growth following injury or disease
. Prevention - Interdisciplinary research in the behavioral and social basis for chronic diseases; development and testing of programs to prevent and manage chronic illnesses in communities and dissemination of successful programs
. Pulmonary vascular disease - Programs to diagnose, treat and cure pulmonary vascular disease in adults and children focusing on pulmonary hypertension
. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy to treat Hodgkin's disease - Refinement of techniques developed at Stanford that have resulted in an 80 percent cure rate for this once-fatal form of lymphatic cancer
. Radiology - New imaging equipment allowing research into techniques that offer therapeutic intervention under MR guidance, enhanced pediatric imaging and research in intravenous coronary angiography
. Reproductive research - Bench-to-bedside transfer of basic research findings relating to infertility and assisted-reproductive technologies, premature birth, reproductive biology and reproductive endocrinology
. Skin diseases - Basic and applied research in psoriasis, skin lymphoma, skin cancer, wound healing and genetic disorders, such as epidermolysis bullosa
. Sleep disorders - New information about the physiology and neurobiology of sleep, wakefulness and circadian processes; hazards associated with use of sleep medications; genetic aspects of narcolepsy and sleep problems in the elderly
. Stroke - Research and clinical testing of methods to prevent or treat stroke, including medication, radiology techniques and surgery
. Transfusion medicine - Molecular and immunological research on clinical problems associated with blood transfusion
. Transplantation - Studies aimed at controlling tissue rejection and lengthening the lives of heart, heart/lung, kidney, pancreas and liver transplant patients; advanced-flow cytometer used to determine optimal dosage of experimental immunosuppressant drugs
. Tropical and third-world diseases - Studies of parasites, bacteria and viruses that cause diseases afflicting hundreds of millions of people in underdeveloped parts of the world
. Vascular medicine - Studies of agents that enhance the growth of new blood vessels in individuals who have peripheral arterial disease; studies of a photosensitizing agent that causes regression of plaque; studies of blood vessel lining damage and potential treatments; development of animal models and study of new lymphatic vessel growth; imaging and clinical studies of lymphatic disease
From Stanford University Medical Center Facts 2003-04
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