URIs_MOMENTUM_Research_and_Innovation_Magazine_Fall_2024_Mel

MARIN MANUEL

Assistant Professor,

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Ryan Research Assistant Professor of Neuroscience

“It’s one of the longest-running NIH-supported programs, bringing in more than $100 million from 2001 to 2029. This funding significantly impacts biomedical capacity building in

human health in Professor Ross’s lab since 2020. She studies how exposure to microplastics may interact with other factors such as age and genetic predisposition to disease to exacerbate adverse health outcomes. Gaspar says, “In our first study, we found that short-term exposure to microplastics via drinking water induced behavioral and inflammatory alterations in our subjects. The microplastics were translocated to nearly every major organ, including the brain.” Gaspar has focused on how plastics exposure in the brain may impact diseases such as Alzheimer’s. “I believe the work we have done, and are continuing to do, has far reaching implications in numerous fields including neuroscience, toxicology, and environmental sciences,” Gaspar says. “The technical experience I have personally gained will be invaluable to me as I move forward with my career.” Marin Manuel, assistant professor of biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences and Ryan research assistant professor of neuroscience, who joined University three years ago from the Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique in Paris, France, offers an example of yet another researcher who has been making breakthroughs.

“They’ll say this bacterium is resistant to everything, and the patient will not last until Friday,” she says. “My research finds synergistic combinations of different antibiotics with different mechanisms that work together.” In addition, her lab analyzes data from more than 150 Veterans Administration hospitals—the largest health system in the country—to find patterns and reduce the time it takes to research and implement treatments. LaPlante says the new biomedical facility will expand research at the College of Pharmacy, while significantly benefit the University and the people of Rhode Island. “We’re bringing in tenure track faculty from all over the country, and they are excited about our community and our research,” she says. Unlike other science departments at URI, the College of Pharmacy is unique in that nearly all its research is focused on finding practical treatments for diseases and other ailments.

Manuel’s lab examines how the spinal cord works, including motor neurons’ electrical properties that might contribute to the degenerative disease ALS. By inserting tiny electrodes in the spinal cords of mice, his lab has found evidence that these motor neurons start to misbehave long before they die. “That means that somehow the system is able to compensate for this, but has to work extra hard,” Manuel says. “It starts slowly and keeps accumulating problems over time until the system cannot work.” If these changes can be pinpointed eventually, they could possibly serve as markers for the disease or help delay the appearance of symptoms in those afflicted. Dean LaPlante’s research focuses in part on multiple drug-resistant bacteria, including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). She receives calls from doctors worldwide treating infections resistant to antibiotics and helps optimize therapeutic dosages.

Rhode Island.” - Bongsup Cho

maintain the equipment so they work efficiently.”

RI-INBRE has secured funding from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training to implement a summer workforce development and training program to train students throughout the state on this advanced equipment free of charge. The new biomedical sciences building will allow the University and RI-INBRE to expand their programs. “We’re making a difference in the portfolio of skills that students have to allow them to apply for jobs,” says Cho. Pharmacy doctoral candidate Lauren Gaspar has been researching the effects of microplastics exposure on

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