2022 Sexual Medicine Research Fund Awards Announced

Jai Marathe, Jonathan Wisco, Robin Cotton and Amy Brodeur have received 2022 Sexual Medicine Research Fund awards.

Jai Marathe, MBBS, MS, assistant professor of medicine/infectious diseases, and her team develop products that prevent both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STI), including HIV-1. The monoclonal antibody (mAb), Human Contraception Antibody (HCA), rapidly agglutinates and immobilizes sperm and anti-HIV and anti-Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) mAbs neutralize HIV-1 and HSV-2. They will evaluate the feasibility of delivering these antibodies using sexual lubricants and bioadhesive gels for on-demand non-hormonal male contraception and STI protection.

Jonathan Wisco, PhD, associate professor of anatomy & neurobiology, will study how prostate cancer patient demographics of race, ethnicity, education, geographic location, cultural perception of healthcare, along with satisfaction with provider interaction and navigation programs correlate with MRI findings, blood- and tissue-based biomarkers in a model to predict clinical outcomes of remission and side effects. Side effects of prostate cancer treatment such as impotence, incontinence, and infertility, can be minimized, if patients access high quality care early and consistently. By studying the complex relationship between sociological and clinical metrics, more effective patient navigation may improve access to care and clinical outcomes.

Robin Cotton, PhD, associate professor of anatomy & neurobiology, and Amy Brodeur, MFS, assistant professor of anatomy & neurobiology, will aim to develop a more specific, multiplex approach to forensic body fluid identification. They will measure expression of human miRNA markers in forensically relevant body fluids using a commercial miRNA whole transcriptome assay and next-generation sequencing. Using miRNA to differentiate between body fluids may be better than current methods for the forensic identification of mixed biofluid stains.

Congratulations!