Marlon L. Wong, P.T., Ph.D., associate professor of clinical physical therapy at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has been awarded a grant from Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research. The award will support research focused on improving quality of life for patients living with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and other long-term effects of cancer treatment. 

Plant-based diets are good for you.

A new NIH-funded study led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center will use advanced brain imaging to identify which stroke survivors are most likely to benefit from a noninvasive spinal stimulation therapy for urinary incontinence. The team will map how stroke disrupts the brain networks that control bladder function and test whether imaging biomarkers can predict response to transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (TSCS), a therapy designed to restore communication between the brain, spinal cord, and bladder. By combining functional MRI, diffusion imaging, and clinical bladder testing, the study aims to move beyond trial-and-error care and enable more personalized treatment. The findings may also have broader implications for bladder dysfunction caused by other neurological conditions, including traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative disease.

A new study by the Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research, University of Oxford, reveals that industrial poultry farming has led to more than 100-fold increase in the movement of Campylobacter, allowing strains that once circulated in wild birds to mix extensively in commercial poultry populations. The study analysed nearly 2,800 bacterial genomes collected from chickens and wild birds in 30 countries and found that the huge global expansion of chicken farming has created ideal conditions for Campylobacter to spread, mix and acquire new traits that help it survive. 

A new study reveals that lignin - a natural plant polymer - can be transformed into a bioactive material that promotes the formation of bone-like minerals while supporting the growth of bone-forming cells. Inspired by the natural partnership between lignin and silica in plants, the research offers a promising step toward sustainable, plant-based materials for future bone regeneration therapies.