Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2010

Mentor: Darryl Miles, M.D.
Department: Pediatrics
Room number: C11.204
Mail Code: 9063
Phone number: (214) 695-1899
E-mail: darryl.miles@utsouthwestern.edu
Project title: Multimodal Evaluation of Outcome Prediction after Traumatic Brian Injury in Children Using Inflammatory, Genetic and Clinical Markers

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): IRB # 12005-010

Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):

Project Type
patient-based research

Brief Description of Project:
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in children over the age of 1. Children who suffer moderate and severe TBI are often left with permanent sequelae resulting in lifelong disabilities affecting the individual, their family and society as a whole. Outcome prediction following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children is notoriously inaccurate in the early stages following injury.
Biomarkers of injury severity after TBI establish reliable and accurate predictors of outcome, reveal pathophysiology and molecular processes of disease, generates further data for hypothesis testing and are useful in the determination of cell type or molecular pathways associated with disease for targeted therapies. In a separate prospective study of children with moderate and severe TBI at Children's Medical Center Dallas, we have prospectively collected serum, CSF and DNA samples, data on injury severity, hospital course and neuropsychological outcome measures in over 100 children ages 0-13 with TBI.
The student will be primarily involved in the analysis of serum and CSF cytokine levels and biomarkers of neural injury as well as incorporation of genetic polymorphisms through an established DNA repository. In collaboration with Dr. Robert Barber the student will perform ELISA techniques to measure various inflammatory cytokines e.g., IL1- and TNF- and specific biomarkers for CNS injury e.g., S100 or neural specific enolase (NSE) in the serum and CSF and determine their correlation with injury severity and functional outcome. Various statistical methods will then be performed to set threshold values and significance for outcome prediction. In addition the student will learn DNA polymorphism analysis through data and statistical analysis software to incorporate the influence of various genetic polymorphisms on outcome.
The student will also have the opportunity to participate in bi-monthly meetings of our Brain Nerve and Injury Center encompassing other areas of research in pediatric neurologic injury. In addition, the student may attend weekly meetings at Parkland Memorial Hospital at the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury where research in adult TBI is presented and discussed.

Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students:

Emily Smitherman Predicting Outcome After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Using Quantitative MRI Lesion Volume Analysis. Presented at UTSW Medical Student Summer Research Program and Society for Critical Care Medicine Annual Congress 2009