Congratulations to the recipients of the Health Technology Innovator Awards, Anastasia Kuzkina, MD, Department of Neurology, Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases and Lao-Tzu Allan-Blitz, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine, Division of Global Health Equity.
Lao-Tzu Allan-Blitz, MD, MPH – “The Development of Low-Cost, Point-of-Care Tests for Simultaneously Detecting Three Sexually Transmitted Infections”
Despite the continued dramatic rise in rates of sexually transmitted infections, low-resource settings lack access to diagnostic testing. I aim to develop low-cost, point-of-care tests with the potential to transform sexual health care globally.
Anastasia Kuzkina, MD – “Identifying Triggers of Parkinson’s Disease in Patient-Derived Brain Cells”
A specific protein, alpha-synuclein, “goes rogue” in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) – for unknown reasons, it clumps and spreads within and across brain cells with devastating consequences. To identify the enviornmental and hereditary triggers of this harmful rpocess, we are developing a highly precise platform that can measure the levels of clumped alpha-synuclein in patient-derived brain cells, laying the groundwork for new strategies to understand and treat PD.
