Pilot Grant Recipients - Round #143 Georgia CTSA (8/2025)

  

6 awards funded

  • VibraScope: A Non-Invasive Diagnostic Tool for Early Lung Nodule Detection ($50,000)
    • PI: Ali Adibi, PhD, Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University
    • Suresh Ramalingam, MD, Co-Investigator Emory University
    • Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, MD, MS, Co-Investigator Emory University
    • Ashkan Zandi, PhD, Co-Investigator Georgia Institute of Technology
    • Tarrant McPherson PhD, MA, Co-Investigator Emory University
  • Eye movements as a window to understand brain network dysfunction after mild traumatic brain injury ($49,945.85)
    • PI: Deborah Barany, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Mary Frances Early College of Education, Department of Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Associate Director of Human Imaging, Bio-Imaging Research Center, University of Georgia
    • Co-I: Robert C. Lynall, PhD, ATC, Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Mary Frances Early College of Education, University of Georgia
    • Co-I: Julianne D. Schmidt, PhD, ATC, Georgia Athletic Association Endowed Professor in Education, Department of Kinesiology, Mary Frances Early College of Education, University of Georgia
    • Russell K. Gore, MD, Medical Director of Vestibular Neurology, Shepherd Center, Atlanta GA, Adjunct Associate Professor, Wallace H. Coulter, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
    • Jason W. Allen, MD, PhD, Eugene C. Klatte Professor and Chair, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University, Adjunct Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
    • Vishwadeep, Ahluwalia, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • ZEST-E: A therapeutic robotic exercise system for people with Parkinson's ($40,000)
    • PI: Madeleine E. Hackney, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, & Georgia Institute of Technology, Biomedical Engineering
    • Co-I: J. Lucas McKay, PhD, Associate Professor, Emory University Department of Bioinformatics, & Georgia Institute of Technology, Biomedical Engineering
    • Co-I: Hyeokhyen Kwon, PhD, Assistant Professor, Emory University Department of Bioinformatics
    • Co-I: George Fulk, PhD, Professor and Director, Emory University Division of Physical Therapy
    • Patient Stakeholder Adviser: Jerry Feldman, United States Veteran living with Parkinson’s
  • Cognitive Aging Research and Education: Screening for Cognition and Alzheimer’s Network (CARE-SCAN) ($39,997)
    • PI: Andrew M. Kiselica, PhD, ABPP-CN, Associate Professor, Institute of Gerontology, University of Georgia
    • Co-Investigators: Lisa Renzi-Hammond, PhD, Leonard W. Poon Professor for Innovation in Public Health and Aging, Professor and Director, Institute of Gerontology, Co-Founding Director, Cognitive Aging Research and Education Center University of Georgia
    • Jenay Beer, PhD, Associate Professor and Associate Director, Institute of Gerontology, Co-Founding Director, Cognitive Aging Research and Education Center University of Georgia
    • Stephen Correia, PhD, ABPP-CN, Associate Professor, Institute of Gerontology, Director of Neuropsychology, Cognitive Aging Research and Education Center, University of Georgia
    • Consultants: Nikki Stricker, PhD, LP, ABPP-CN, Director, Medical Psychology Fellowship Program, Neuropsychology, Associate Professor of Psychology, Mayo Clinic
    • Lindsay Clark, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Objective Concussion Assessment Using Portable fNIRS and AI: Simultaneous Characterization of Functional Networks and Behavior ($39,999.93)
    • PI: Taotao Wu, PhD, Assistant professor, School of Chemical, Materials, and Biomedical Engineering, University of Georgia   
    • Sujin Jiang, BS, graduate research assistant, University of Georgia
    • Can Liao, BS, graduate research assistant, University of Georgia
    • Yiwen Luo, MS, graduate research assistant, University of Georgia
  • Wearable 1D Doppler Ultrasound for Continuous Hemodynamic Monitoring in Critically Ill Patients ($49,999.06)
    • PI: Yusuf Yaras, PhD, Research Engineer II, GWW School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Tech
    • Co-PI: Sharaf Khan, MD, Assistant Professor & Associate Chief Health Informatics Officer, Department of Anesthesiology, Emory University
    • Nasim Katebi, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics, Emory University
    • Levent Degertekin, PhD, Professor, GWW School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Tech