News First Grants from Seton's New Research Awards Program Target Epilepsy, Stroke and Abdominal Surgery Treatments

Austin, Texas - (April 6, 2011) - Four grants totaling nearly $140,000 were awarded today for research studies addressing serious medical challenges. The awards were unveiled today at the fifth annual luncheon showcasing University Medical Center Brackenridge and its crucial role in the Central Texas community and beyond.

The new Research Awards Program, launched with money raised last year, helps fund ingenuity and creativity in clinical research. UMC Brackenridge is home to an increasing number of accomplished and prominent medical experts thanks to an affiliation agreement between the Seton Family of Hospitals, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Texas System. Funds for the grants are raised at an annual luncheon benefitting research at UMC Brackenridge.

"Civic, business and policy leaders in our community come together to learn how medical education and research are helping us set the standard for health care in Central Texas," Greg Hartman, president and CEO, UMC Brackenridge, said. "Medical innovation also creates an economic engine for our region and provides accessible, patient-centered health care."

The 2011 Research Awards were presented to:

• Drs. Daniel Peterson and Carlos Brown, who will examine the efficacy and safety of anti-adhesion barrier film in preventing adhesions after routine abdominal surgeries. Postoperative adhesions can unnaturally bind tissues, causing pain, infection, loss of function or re-injury. ($45,000)
• Drs. Zoltan Nadasdy, Robert Buchanan, Mark Lee, Jason Shen and Deborah Briggs and Electroencephalogram Technician De Anne Nelson, who will seek to identify the precise location within the brain where epileptic seizures start, with the ultimate goal being targeted surgeries to prevent future seizures. ($45,000)
• Curtis Merring, Master, Occupational Therapy; Dr. Denise Gobert; and Lauren Brandt, Master of Science in Nursing, who will explore whether a standardized combination of electrotherapies on a stroke patient's upper limb, used with traditional inpatient rehabilitation, increases voluntary motor control and ultimately increases functional independence, when compared to traditional inpatient therapy. ($44,891)
• Drs. Ian Crooks, Hong Yu and Lawrence Hauser, who will conduct a clinical research study attempting to distinguish true epilepsy patients from patients who have non-epileptic seizures of a psychogenic origin. The study will assess whether an evaluation tool used with electroencephalograms can help make the distinction so correct treatment can occur more quickly. ($5,000)

"Money for these grants came from community leaders who appreciate the value of funding meaningful, cutting-edge research at Central Texas' local leader in academic medicine," said Dr. Lisa Leiden, Ph.D., senior director of research for Seton Family of Hospitals. "This helps some of our best medical minds increase their ability to enhance future medical care at UMC Brackenridge. We hope to continue awarding these grants in the years ahead."