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Holiday Phones, Real Kids: “Don’t Give a 10-Year-Old a 24/7 Device Without a Plan”

Smartphones and tablets are among the hottest holiday gifts for tweens and teens. They’re also one of the biggest sources of parental anxiety. “We’re giving 9, 10, 11-year-olds a pocket device with the power to nuke their sleep, social life and self-esteem — and we’re doing it with almost no training,” says Eli Singer, founder and CEO of Offline.now. “The question isn’t ‘Should kids have phones?’ It’s ‘What’s the plan for this incredibly powerful tool?’” Singer, a coach and parent who lives with ADHD himself, takes a non-judgmental, shame-free approach with families. He’s blunt about the risks — social comparison, late-night scrolling, drama at school that now comes home in their pocket — but equally blunt that guilt doesn’t help. “Parents are overwhelmed and scared. They’ve seen the headlines linking social media to anxiety and depression, and they feel like they’re already behind,” he says. “My job isn’t to scare them; it’s to help them write the first draft of a family agreement they can actually live with.” Singer recommends three simple starting points over the holidays: Bedrooms are sacred. Phones charge overnight outside kids’ rooms and ideally outside parents’ rooms, too. Meals are for humans, not phones. A bowl or basket at the table becomes the visual reminder: we’re here together. Model what you ask. If parents scroll through dinner or answer work emails at fireworks, kids get the message long before any rule is written. Offline.now’s Digital Wellness Directory includes professionals who specialize in families, ADHD, and youth mental health; Singer positions Offline.now as the bridge between overwhelmed parents and the right expert help. Why now Late December is “first phone” season. January brings the real-world consequences: blown bedtimes, drama in group chats, school exhaustion. Singer can give reporters a nuanced, practical angle on holiday devices — beyond “phones are bad” vs. “phones are fine” — and concrete questions families can ask before they unwrap the box. Available for interviews Eli Singer - CEO of Offline.now; author of Offline.now: A Practical Guide to Healthy Digital Balance. I speak about practical behavior change, non-judgmental family agreements, and confidence-based starting points - and I can direct people to licensed professionals via the Offline.now Directory when needs go beyond coaching.

Tales of Christmas Past: Preserving Your Family History During the Holidays

During past family Christmas gatherings, many of us remember when older relatives regaled everyone with tales about their fascinating life stories, firsthand experiences as an eyewitness to history or simply sharing how favorite family traditions started. So how do you preserve those precious family memories during the holidays? Baylor University oral historians Stephen Sloan and Adrienne Cain Darough have recorded and preserved the oral history memoirs of thousands of individuals through their work with Baylor’s renowned Institute for Oral History, home of the national Oral History Association. Together, the historians share seven simple best practices to help family members begin oral history conversations that enrich recollections of the past and capture your family memories. “The holiday season brings about the opportunity to spend time with family members, especially those you may not be able to see on a frequent basis,” Cain Darough said. “This presents the perfect opportunity to conduct oral histories to capture the stories and experiences of your family and loved ones, to learn more about them, the history of your family, traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation and more.” Seven best practices for preserving your family’s oral history 1. Ask first! Make sure your family member wants their story to be documented or recorded. That is the first – and most important – question to ask, said Adrienne Cain Darough, M.L.S., assistant director and senior lecturer with the Institute for Oral History. Ask first. “Many oral historians have run into the spot where someone says, ‘Oh, my grandpa would be great for that topic,’ and you get there and it's, ‘Grandpa does not want to talk to you.’ So first, make sure they want their story recorded,” she said. 2. Determine the type of recording equipment you want to use. Decide if you want to record your interview with an audio recorder or use a video recording device. It all depends on your needs and comfort level with the technology. For family members who are unable to travel this holiday season, you can include them by capturing their stories using a remote recording platform like Zoom, which became a vital tool for oral historians when COVID struck in 2020. Helpful resources from Baylor’s Institute for Oral History include: How to choose the right digital recorder Oral History at a Distance webinar on the dynamics of conducting remote oral history interviews Remote Interviewing Resources guide (Oral History Association) 3. Research your family member’s life and their timeline to help you formulate your questions. Recording a family member’s oral history is more than just putting down a recorder in front of them and saying, “Talk.” If you’re recording an oral history over Christmas with a family member, are there specific things that you want to know that are related to the holiday? For example, what was Christmas morning like for them as a child? How did your favorite family traditions start? What is their favorite holiday dish? (Maybe they could even share the recipe. “You can finally learn why Nana’s banana pudding doesn’t even have bananas in it,” Cain Darough said.) “Doing your research to try to form those questions will help you get around the reluctance to talk sometimes,” Cain Darough added. “The favorite thing that I love to hear is, ‘Oh, I don't have much to say,’ or ‘I'm not that important.’ And then you sit down with them, and you listen to their stories, and your mind is just blown by the things that they've seen and experienced.” 4. Start with the basics: “Where are you from?” When Baylor oral historians conduct an interview, they generally begin with some life history of the subject, providing important context for historians. “Ask questions early on that are easy for them to answer: a little bit of the backstory, a little bit of where they're from, where they grew up,” said Stephen Sloan, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Oral History, executive director of Oral History Association and professor of history at Baylor. “I want to understand the lens through which they experienced events, and the only way I can do that is, who was this? What was formative in their life growing up? Who spoke into who they were? What did they learn? Where did they go? What did they do? Those are the sorts of things that I would be exploring early in the interview.” One of the questions Cain Darough enjoys asking is, “What did you want to be when you grew up?” “You want to give them something that's very easy and comfortable to talk about,” Cain Darough said. “What was your favorite subject in school, just to see if that was something that continued on in their life. If there's a certain hobby or something that you know that they're affiliated with, when did you learn about that? Tell me more. What's your interest with this? And then they'll get to talking.” 5. Ask open-ended questions – without making any assumptions. With oral history, it is important that you don’t go into the interview with a specific agenda or try to lead anyone to a certain conclusion. “We can do this very subtly by assuming information, but you can't assume anything about their experience with the topic,’” Sloan said. “If we assume information, it could be very far from how they encountered whatever event that may have been. Allow them to relate the ways in which they lived these experiences.” 6. Listen closely. Listening is an important facet of gathering oral history. But historians say you are not only listening for what they're saying, you're also listening for what they're not saying. “Are there things that are being skipped around?” Cain Darough said. “For example, sometimes when you're talking to veterans about their combat experience, it may be the first time that they're reliving or retelling these stories. They need time, and you just have to be prepared for that.” 7. Be patient. It might take your subject some time to warm up to the conversation. “If you're talking to someone who is 80, 90 or even 100, that's a lot of memories that they have to go through, so patience is important,” Cain Darough said. Looking to know more or arrange an interview? Simply click on Stephen's icon or contact: Shelby Cefaratti-Bertin today to connect with  Adrienne Cain Darough.

Decoding Crypto

As interest in cryptocurrencies move from the fringes to mainstream conversation and public policy debate, Derek Mohr, clinical associate professor of finance at the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester, offers a clear-eyed voice on the subject. Mohr specializes in financial innovation and digital assets, and he’s been in demand with reporters looking to understand the economics behind everything from “Bitcoin-powered” home heaters to gas stations offering discounts for crypto purchases. His message? Not everything that markets itself as a breakthrough actually adds up. For instance, some companies have pitched devices that promise to heat a home using excess energy generated from bitcoin mining. Mohr recently told CNBC the idea might sound clever, but that its practicality collapses under basic financial and engineering realities. “The bitcoin heat devices I have seen appear to be simple space heaters that use your own electricity to heat the room . . . which is not an efficient way to heat a house,” Mohr said. “Yes, bitcoin mining generates a lot of heat, but the only way to get that to your house is to use your own electricity.” Bitcoin mining, he explained, has become so specialized that home computers have virtually zero chance of earning a mining reward. Industrial mining farms operate on custom-built chips far more powerful than any consumer device. In other words, consumers who think they’re heating their homes and earning crypto are, in reality, just paying for electricity and getting no real mining benefit. A pragmatic voice in a volatile space Mohr’s research and commentary help explain not just what is happening in the crypto world, but why it matters for consumers, businesses, and regulators. Whether evaluating the economics of mining or the viability of crypto payments, he brings a steady, analytical perspective to a domain dominated by hype and fast-moving news cycles. For journalists covering cryptocurrency, fintech, and the future of financial transactions, Mohr is available for interviews on digital payments, bitcoin mining economics, crypto regulation, and emerging trends in financial technologies. Top contact him, reach out to University of Rochester media relations liaison David Andreatta at david.andreatta@rochester.edu.

CorriXR Launches Bold Collaboration to Create First Inhaled CRISPR Therapy for Lung Cancer

CorriXR Therapeutics, ChristianaCare’s first commercial biotherapeutics spinout, has launched a major collaboration with InhaTarget Therapeutics and Merxin Ltd to develop an inhaled genetic therapy for lung cancer. The goal is to deliver a CRISPR-based treatment straight to tumors in the lungs to improve effectiveness and cut harmful side effects. A New Way to Treat Lung Cancer Lung cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers worldwide. Squamous cell lung carcinoma, an aggressive form of non-small cell lung cancer, accounts for up to 30% of cases. More than 380,000 people are diagnosed each year, yet the five-year survival rate stays under 15%. Standard chemotherapy and immunotherapy often become less effective, and many patients develop resistance that leaves them with few options and rising toxicity. CorriXR is taking aim at this problem. Its CRISPR gene editing system targets NRF2, a key driver of treatment resistance. By switching off NRF2, the therapy has the potential to make tumors sensitive to chemotherapy again and give patients a chance at better outcomes. As reported in a recent paper in Molecular Therapy Oncology, researchers at ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute showed in preclinical lung cancer models that disabling NRF2 can resensitize tumors to chemotherapy with minimal off-target effects. “This partnership is about more than science. It’s about hope for patients,” said Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., founder and CEO of CorriXR Therapeutics and chief scientific officer at ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute. “Lung cancer patients deserve therapies that work and improve quality of life. By combining our CRISPR-based technology with inhaled delivery, we can target tumors directly and reduce systemic toxicity. Our goal is to make treatment simpler, more effective and less invasive.” How the Inhaled Delivery System Works The treatment will be given through inhalation using InhaTarget’s lipid nanoparticle formulation delivered by Merxin Ltd’s advanced inhaler platform. The goal is a non-invasive therapy that patients could use at home. “Combining our pulmonary drug delivery LNP platform with CorriXR’s groundbreaking science and Merxin Ltd’s device technology has the potential to reshape the landscape of lung cancer treatment. We are eager to advance work on this novel combination,” said Frédéric De Coninck, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of InhaTarget Therapeutics. Merxin Ltd’s technology is central to the approach. Its inhalers are built to deliver precise, consistent doses straight to the lungs. For this collaboration, Merxin Ltd is adapting its device to handle lipid nanoparticle formulations for the first time in a cancer treatment. “Our advanced inhaler technology is designed to ensure non-invasive, precise, consistent delivery of novel therapeutics,” said Philippe Rogueda, Ph.D., co-founder and chief business officer of Merxin Ltd. “We are excited to contribute to this vital effort and help bring innovative solutions to patients with lung cancer.” Why This Matters Patients with squamous cell lung carcinoma often face a fast-moving disease and few treatment choices. A therapy that can reach tumors directly, reduce toxicity and avoid resistance would mark a major shift. “This collaboration underscores the power of combining innovative science with practical delivery solutions,” said Kmiec. “Our CRISPR-based approach is designed to overcome one of the toughest challenges in oncology: treatment resistance. By partnering with experts in inhalation technology, we are moving closer to a therapy that is not only effective but accessible.” Studies will begin soon, with a substantial set of results on effectiveness and impact expected by spring 2026.

School’s Out, Screens Are In: Why Your Kids Copy Your Phone Habits on Winter Break

When the bell rings for winter break, most parents worry their kids will “disappear into their phones.” What often goes unmentioned? The adults usually disappear into theirs first. New behavioral data from Offline.now, the digital wellness platform founded by author Eli Singer, shows we now spend about 10 of our 16 waking hours on screens, roughly 63% of our day. Kids off school are simply mirroring the digital norms they see at home. Executive Function Coach and child development specialist Craig Selinger says winter break is less a test of kids’ willpower and more a test of family norms: “If you want behavior change in kids, start with the parent model. A 12-year-old will not put their phone away at dinner if their parents won’t.” Selinger points to what he calls the “mobility problem”: what used to be a TV in the living room is now a device in your child’s pocket. “Mobility makes tech sticky - there’s no natural ‘show’s over’ when Minecraft and TikTok never end.” Offline.now’s experts note that high, especially late screen use is tied to disrupted sleep and next-day behavior in children and teens, exactly when parents say, “They’re monsters over break.” Selinger’s work with families suggests the answer isn’t banning devices outright, but changing what kids see adults do with theirs. When parents put phones in a basket at meals, leave devices out of bedrooms, and actually join “old school” activities: cooking, board games, hands-on hobbies, kids’ attention and confidence start to rebound: “Micro-independence beats micromanagement. If you engineer small wins off-screen - a 20-minute task kids can complete without their phone - you rebuild their real-world confidence one brick at a time.” Key message for journalists: Over winter break, the real story isn’t just “kids are on their phones all day.” It’s that adult behavior quietly sets the ceiling on what’s realistic for children. The most effective “screen-time rule” is the one parents are willing to follow themselves. Featured Expert Craig Selinger, M.S., CCC-SLP - Executive Function Coach and child development specialist (Brooklyn Letters), focused on how kids actually learn and how digital dependency affects attention, writing, family systems, and school success. Expert interview availability can be arranged through Offline.now’s media team.

VR Technology Offers Lessons in Navigating a Snow Squall

WCBS-TV, WPIX 11, and WNYW Fox 5 interviewed Dr. Jase Bernhardt, Hofstra associate professor of geology, environment, and sustainability, about his virtual reality program designed to teach the public about the danger of driving in a snow squall. Funded by a $100,000 Road to Zero Community Traffic Safety Grant from the National Safety Council, Dr. Bernhardt’s project emphasizes the importance of heeding emergency weather advisories and what drivers should do if they are on the road when a snow squall occurs. Users wear a headset and hold a device – like a video game controller – in each hand to replicate the movements of a steering wheel. Bernhardt’s collaborators include Assistant Professor of Sustainability Sasha Pesci; software developer Frank Martin ’22, ’23, who earned both a BS and an MS in Computer Science from Hofstra University; and John Banghoff and other meteorologists at the U.S. National Weather Service (NSW) Office, State College, PA.

When Markets Wobble (Part 2): How Canadians Can Use Home Equity as Their Ultimate Cash Wedge:

In an earlier post I laid out one of the foundational blocks of your retirement defense system: the "Cash Wedge" - that boring-but-brilliant cushion of cash, GICs, and T-Bills that protects you from selling investments when markets wobble. The Cash Wedge is the mild-mannered superhero of your retirement plan. It buys you time, flexibility, and peace of mind, as it gives you permission to wait for markets to recover—  Now if you missed Part 1, go back and give it a quick read here. For Canadian homeowners — especially those whose wealth is mostly in their property — there are additional options that allow you to use your equity as a second buffer, dramatically strengthening your financial resilience.  How Home Equity Strategies Can Help You Create a Backup Wedge for Retirement Here's the risk that catches thousands off guard: sequence-of-returns risk combined with home equity concentration. Translation: While you own your home, you encounter problematic market conditions early in retirement while withdrawing, and your options narrow quickly. Author Wade Pfau's research demonstrates that home equity can serve as a "buffer asset," shielding investments during economic downturns. Instead of selling investments when markets are down, it might be smarter to temporarily access a pre-arranged HELOC or reverse mortgage. Once markets recover, you can repay the credit line. This isn't debt panic — it's strategic damage control. Warren Buffett's Wisdom Applied to Canadian Retirement As an investor, Warren Buffett is the epitome of control and discipline. His now famous quote rings true in these times. “The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.” Translation for retirees: Keep dry powder. Own quality investments. Don't chase fads. And stop looking for the bottom — nobody knows where it is until it's in the rear-view mirror. The Canadian "Brick-and-Mortar" Retirement Strategy Listen up, homeowners. Canadians whose retirement plan is pretty much: buy a home, pay it off, and repeat; "we're mortgage-free" with pride. This strategy is very common and effective. But let's be honest: if your home is part of your retirement plan, economic changes matter even more. If you’re in this camp, you need to accept the facts and plan how you'll use your equity to secure your retirement. It’s better to have a ready, aim, fire approach than the more typical fire, ready, aim! When markets decline, central banks often cut rates. Lower rates can support real estate — but they don't guarantee rising prices. Meanwhile, inflation drives up costs, buyers' budgets fluctuate, property values can soften, and retirees feel the impact most quickly. Even a modest dip in home values creates real erosion in net worth when your home carries the bulk of your financial future. The Case for Securing Home Equity Access Now It's much easier to qualify for credit when home values are higher, finances are stable, and you're not already in a pinch. Your options: Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) This includes products like Manulife One: Competitive rates and flexible options — but retirees often face income qualification barriers. Reverse Mortgage: No income needed, no payments required. Plus, the No Negative Equity Guarantee — you can never owe more than your home is worth — but retirees dislike debt! HESA (Home Equity Sharing Agreement): You get cash now in exchange for sharing a percentage of your home's future appreciation. No monthly payments, not technically debt, but you give up a share of future gains. This isn't about needing money today. It's about safeguarding your future from having to sell, downsize, or rely on credit card debt because the economy experienced a mood swing. It's insurance — with a door handle. Building Your Cash Wedge: Step-by-Step Calculate 12–24 months of living expenses. Select where to store each layer (high-interest Savings Account, cashable GICs, T-Bills). Refill the wedge with income from dividends, distributions, or planned draws Monitor your situation closely.  If your income is tight: consider arranging a home-equity line or reverse mortgage as a backup wedge - not an emergency scramble. Review annually — cost of living changes, inflation changes, and so should your wedge. The Bottom Line for Canadian Retirees The real question isn't "Do I need a Cash Wedge?" It's "Can I afford NOT to have one?" Retirees have limited capacity to earn income to cover shortfalls. Budgets can tighten unexpectedly. Inflation doesn't seek permission. And sometimes the thing we think we'll never need becomes the lifeline that secures our retirement. Your retirement security comes from: Owning quality investment Building reliable dividend income Preparing smart home-equity backstops Keeping emotions out of financial decisions Avoiding saving too much while living too little The Cash Wedge is the most boring tool in your retirement plan — and the most powerful. Yet most financial plans ignore it.  Don't. Sue Don’t Retire… ReWire!!! Want to become an expert on serving the senior demographic? Just message me to be notified about the next opportunity to become a "Certified Equity Advocate" — mastering solution-based advising that transforms how you work with Canada's fastest-growing client segment.

Want a Better Thanksgiving? Start With a Screen Break

For many families, Thanksgiving weekend has quietly become a four-day screen marathon: football, streaming, shopping, scrolling through sales, and group chats buzzing in the background. Personal development coach Mark Diamond has spent decades seeing what happens when people take a different approach. After running a tech-free camp for 25 years, he’s watched kids and adults transform when phones disappear and the outdoors becomes the main event. “You can actually feel nervous systems reset,” he says. “People sleep better, they laugh more, and they have the kinds of conversations that just don’t happen when everyone’s half-present on their devices.” Diamond believes Thanksgiving is one of the easiest times of year to test what he’s learned - without asking anyone to give up the game or the parade. “You don’t have to cancel screens,” he says. “You just have to make sure they’re not the only thing you remember about the weekend.” He suggests families experiment with one simple offline tradition they can repeat every year: Everyone helps with the meal - put on some good music and try to learn to cook! Hear family stories - instead of talking about trending videos, have some questions ready to learn about the lives of relatives you don't see so often. A tech-free walk before or after dinner - leave phones at home or in pockets on airplane mode. An outdoor game (even in colder weather) - touch football, a scavenger hunt for younger kids, or a quick “around the block” relay. A “no scroll, just snap” rule - photos are fine, but posting and scrolling wait until the next day. When people are already together, Diamond notes, it’s actually easier to introduce new traditions. “You can say, ‘This year, let’s try 30 minutes of no screens while we do X.’ It feels like a shared experiment, not a punishment.” The real payoff, he says, isn’t just fewer hours online. It’s the memories and inside jokes that come from doing something real together, not just watching the same screen side by side. “We’re not going to remember every highlight reel or Black Friday deal,” Diamond says. “We remember the time we got caught in the rain on a walk, or when somebody’s throw went wildly off course and everyone burst out laughing.” In his coaching work, Diamond helps people who feel “glued to their phones” design lives where brief, meaningful offline moments are built in — starting with accessible opportunities like holiday weekends. “Thanksgiving is a perfect low-stakes test. If one tiny offline tradition makes the day feel better, that’s powerful feedback. You can carry that forward into December, and into the new year.” About the Expert Mark Diamond is a personal development coach and founder of a long-running tech-free camp. He focuses on outdoor wellness, sustainable behavior change, and helping people reconnect to happiness and real-world experiences in an age of constant screens. Mark is part of the Offline.now expert directory, contributing to the community supporting better parental modelling for device use.

Heart valve developed at UC Irvine shines in early-stage preclinical testing

UC Irvine researchers designed and developed a minimally invasive replacement pulmonary heart valve. Created for pediatric patients, the device can be expanded as children grow, eliminating the need for multiple surgeries. The team successfully conducted laboratory and early-stage animal feasibility testing of the implant, crucial steps toward approval for human use. Irvine, Calif., June 23, 2025 — Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have successfully performed preclinical laboratory testing of a replacement heart valve intended for toddlers and young children with congenital cardiac defects, a key step toward obtaining approval for human use. The results of their study were published recently in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The management of patients with congenital heart disease who require surgical pulmonary valve replacement typically occurs between the ages of 2 and 10. To be eligible for a minimally invasive transcatheter pulmonary valve procedure, patients currently must weigh at least 45 pounds. For children to receive minimally invasive treatment, they must be large enough so that their veins can accommodate the size of a crimped replacement valve. The Iris Valve designed and developed by the UC Irvine team can be implanted in children weighing as little as 17 to 22 pounds and gradually expanded to an adult diameter as they grow. Research and development of the Iris Valve has been supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and the National Science Foundation. This funding has enabled benchtop fracture testing, which demonstrated the valve’s ability to be crimped down to a 3-millimeter diameter for transcatheter delivery and subsequently enlarged to 20 millimeters without damage, as well as six-month animal studies that confirmed successful device integration within the pulmonary valve annulus, showing valve integrity and a favorable tissue response. “We are pleased to see the Iris Valve performing as we expected in laboratory bench tests and as implants in Yucatan mini pigs, a crucial measure of the device’s feasibility,” said lead author Arash Kheradvar, UC Irvine professor of biomedical engineering. “This work represents the result of longstanding collaboration between our team at UC Irvine and Dr. Michael Recto at Children’s Hospital of Orange County built over several years of joint research and development.”  Congenital heart defects affect about 1 percent of children born in the United States and Europe, with over 1 million cases in the U.S. alone. These conditions often necessitate surgical interventions early in life, with additional procedures required to address a leaky pulmonary valve and prevent right ventricular failure as children grow. The Iris Valve can be implanted via a minimally invasive catheter through the patient’s femoral vein. The Kheradvar group employed origami folding techniques to compress the device into a 12-French transcatheter system, reducing its diameter to no more than 3 millimeters. Over time, the valve can be balloon-expanded up to its full 20-millimeter diameter. This implantation method, along with the ability to begin treatment earlier in very young patients, helps mitigate the risk of complications from delayed care and reduces the need for multiple surgeries in this vulnerable population. “Once the Iris Valve comes to fruition, it will save hundreds of children at least one operation – if not two – throughout the course of their lives,” said Recto, an interventional pediatric cardiologist at CHOC who’s also a clinical professor of pediatrics at UC Irvine. “It will save them from having to undergo surgical pulmonary valve placement, as the Iris Valve is delivered via a small catheter in the vein and can be serially dilated to an adult diameter and also facilitate the future placement of larger transcatheter pulmonary valves – with sizes greater than 20 millimeters, like the Melody, Harmony and Sapien devices – if needed.” Kheradvar said that the next phase of preclinical testing of the Iris Valve is funded by the Brett Boyer Foundation, which is committed to supporting research into treatments for congenital heart disease. “We are actively engaged with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to define and carry out the required experiments and documentation for first-in-human authorization of the Iris Valve,” Kheradvar said. “Our team is urgently advancing the Iris Valve through preclinical studies to enable its clearance for first-in-human use. This is a critical step toward providing toddlers – who currently have no viable minimally invasive treatment until they reach the 45-pound threshold – with a much-needed option.” First co-author Nnaoma Agwu, a biomedical engineering Ph.D. candidate at UC Irvine, said: “The development of the Iris Valve required a strong and knowledgeable team that understood the clinical and mechanical design requirements. This accomplishment would not have been possible without the collaboration of talented clinicians, veterinarians and engineers. With this milestone reached, we are rigorously advancing the Iris Valve’s development, setting our sights on human clinical trials.” Joining Kheradvar, Recto and Agwu as co-authors of the article in Journal of the American Heart Association were Daryl Chau, a recent UC Irvine master’s graduate; Gregory Kelley and Tanya Burney, both research specialists at UC Irvine, with Burney also affiliated with the Beckman Laser Institute; Ekaterina Perminov, a clinical veterinarian with UC Irvine’s University Laboratory Animal Resources; and Christopher Alcantara, a radiology technician at CHOC. About UC Irvine’s Brilliant Future campaign: Publicly launched on Oct. 4, 2019, the Brilliant Future campaign aims to raise awareness and support for the university. By engaging 75,000 alumni and garnering $2 billion in philanthropic investment, UC Irvine seeks to reach new heights of excellence in student success, health and wellness, research and more. The Samueli School of Engineering plays a vital role in the success of the campaign. Learn more by visiting https://brilliantfuture.UC Irvine.edu/the-henry-samueli-school-of-engineering About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UC Irvine, visit www.uci.edu. Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus studio with a Comrex IP audio codec to interview UC Irvine faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UC Irvine news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at https://news.uci.edu/media-resources.

Taking discoveries to the real world for the benefit of human health

It takes about a decade and a lot of money to bring a new drug to market—between $1 billion to $2 billion, in fact. University of Delaware inventor Jason Gleghorn wants to change that. At UD, Gleghorn is developing leading-edge microfluidic tissue models. The devices are about the size of two postage stamps, and they offer a faster, less-expensive way to study disease and to develop pharmaceutical targets. These aren’t tools he wants to keep just for himself. No, Gleghorn wants to put the patented technology he’s developing in the hands of other experts, to advance clinical solutions in women’s health, maternal-fetal health and pre-term birth. His work also has the potential to improve understanding of drug transport in the female reproductive tract, placenta, lung and lymph nodes. Gleghorn, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, was named to the first cohort of Innovation Ambassadors at UD, as part of the University’s effort to foster and support an innovation culture on campus. Below, he shares some of what he’s learned about translating research to society. Q: What is the problem that you are trying to address? Gleghorn: A lot of disease has to do with disorganization in the body’s normal tissue structure. My lab makes microfluidic tissue models, called organ-on-a-chip models, that have super-tiny channels about the thickness of a human hair, where we can introduce very small amounts of liquid, including cells, to represent an organ in the human body. This can help us study and understand the mechanism of how things work in the body (the biology) or help us do things like drug screening to test therapeutic compounds for treating disease. And while these little microfluidic devices can do promising things, the infrastructure required to make the system work often restricts their use to high-end labs. We want to democratize the techniques and technology so that nonexperts can use it. To achieve this, we changed the way we make these devices, so that they are compatible with standard manufacturing, which means we can scale them and create them much easier. Gleghorn: One of the problems with drug screening, in general, is that animal model studies don’t always represent human biology. So, when we’re using animal models to test new drugs — which have been the best tool we have available — the results are not always apples to apples. Fundamentally, our microfluidic devices can model what happens in humans … we can plug in the relevant human components to understand how the mechanism is working and then ask questions about what drives those processes and identify targets for therapies to prevent the dysfunction. Q: What is innovative about this device? Gleghorn: The innovation part is this modularity — no one makes these devices this way. The science happens on the tiny tissue model insert, which is sandwiched between two pieces of clear acrylic. This allows us to watch what’s happening on the tissue model insert in real time. Meanwhile, the outer shell’s clamshell design provides flexibility: if we’re studying lung tissue and we want to study the female reproductive tract, all we do is unscrew the outer shell and insert the proper tissue model that mimics the female reproductive tract and we’re off. We’ve done a lot of the engineering to make it very simple to operate and use, and adaptable to common lab tools that everyone has, to eliminate the need for financial investment in things like specialized clean rooms, incubators and pumps, etc., so the technology can be useful in regular labs or easily deployable to far-flung locations or countries. With a laser cutter and $500 worth of equipment, you could conceivably mass manufacture these things for maternal medicine in Africa, for example. Democratizing the technology so it is compatible and useful for even an inexperienced user aligns with the mission of my lab, which focuses on scaling the science and the innovation faster, instead of only a few specialized labs being a bottleneck to uncovering new mechanisms of disease and the development of therapies. We patented this modularity, the way to build these tiny microfluidic devices and the simplicity of how it's used as a tool set, through UD’s Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships (OEIP). Q: How have you translated this work so far? Gleghorn: To date, we've taken this microfluidic system to nine different research labs across seven countries and four continents — including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Belgium and South Africa. These labs are using our technology to study problems in women’s health and collecting data with it. We’re developing boot camps where researchers can come for two or three days to the University of Delaware, where we teach them how to use this device and they take some back with them. From a basic science perspective, there is high enthusiasm for the power of what it can tell you and its ease of use. As engineers, we think it's pretty cool that many other people are using our innovations for new discoveries. Q: What support and guidance have you received from the UD innovation ecosystem? Gleghorn: To do any of this work, you need partners that have various expertise and backgrounds. UD’s Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships has built a strong team of professionals with expertise in different areas, such as how do you license or take something to patent, how do you make connections with the business community? OEIP is home to Delaware’s Small Business Development Center, which can help you think about business visibility in terms of startups. Horn Entrepreneurship has built out impressive programs for teaching students and faculty to think entrepreneurially and build mentor networks, while programs like the Institute for Engineering Driven Health and the NSF Accelerating Research Translation at UD provide gap funding to be able to do product development and to take the work from basic prototype to something that is more marketable. More broadly in Delaware is the Small Business Administration, the Delaware Innovation Space and regional grant programs and small accelerators to help Delaware innovators. Q: How have students in your lab benefited from engaging in innovation? Gleghorn: Undergraduate students in my lab have made hundreds of these devices at scale. We basically built a little manufacturing facility, so we have ways to sterilize them, track batches, etc. We call it “the foundry.” In other work, graduate students are engineering different components or working on specific system designs for various studies. The students see collaborators use these devices to discover new science and new discoveries. That's very rewarding as an engineer. Additionally, my lab focuses on building solutions that are useful in the clinic and commercially viable. As a result, we've had two grad students spin out companies related to the work we've been doing in the lab. Q: How has research translation positively impacted your work? Gleghorn: I started down this road maybe five years ago, seriously trying to think about how to translate our research findings. Being an entrepreneur, translating technology — it's a very different way to think about your work. And so that framework has really permeated most of the research that I do now and changed the way I think about problems. It has opened new opportunities for collaboration and for alternate sources of funding with companies. This has value in terms of taking the research that you're doing fundamentally and creating a measurable impact in the community, but it also diversifies your funding streams to work on important problems. And different viewpoints help you look at the work you do in new ways, challenging you to define the value proposition, the impact of your work.