Powerful, Precise New Communication Tools
GRANT AWARD
$900,000
Source: Office of Naval Research
Teri Odom’s research group is exploring new ways to improve the speed, energy efficiency and cost of communications by focusing on new types of information carriers called polaritons, units that are made partly of light and partly of matter.
“These new hybrid carriers can facilitate more efficient communication over longer distances while consuming less power,” explains Odom, the Joan Husting Madden and William H. Madden Jr. Professor of Chemistry in Weinberg College and professor of materials science and engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering.
These light-matter hybrids are remarkably sensitive and can be fine-tuned to carry information in unique ways. Until now, such control typically required extremely cold environments, but Odom has discovered how to manipulate polaritons under everyday conditions, opening the door for ultra-fast, hard-to-intercept communications and improved encryption methods.
“This research is critical given our society’s increased reliance on digital technology,” says Odom.
Funded by a grant from the DOD, this cutting-edge research may impact future consumer tech, national defense and intelligence, and public safety. It could also lead to the creation of highly sensitive detection tools for chemical, biological or environmental threats.
“This project requires the expertise and integration of several different disciplines — chemistry, physics, optics,” she says. “This interdisciplinary approach … is a hallmark of Northwestern — [a] unique way to solve complex problems [and train] the next generation of scientists and engineers.” — S.H.
Preventing Cardiac Events With Apple Watches
GRANT AWARD
$37 Million
Source: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Atrial fibrillation (A-fib), the most common type of heart rhythm disorder, affects more than 5 million people in the U.S. — a number that is expected to more than double by 2030, according to the American Heart Association. The condition greatly increases the risk of stroke, heart failure, dementia and premature death.
Northwestern cardiologist Rod Passman, director of the Feinberg School of Medicine’s Center for Arrhythmia Research, is leading a clinical trial using customized Apple Watches to continuously monitor the heart rhythms of people with A-fib. Passman is the Jules J. Reingold Professor of Electrophysiology in the medical school.
If successful, he says, the trial would be a medical breakthrough.
Currently, patients with A-fib take daily blood thinners on a continuous basis. These medications can be expensive, and while they help prevent strokes, they also increase the risk of excessive bleeding and other complications. In the Northwestern-led study, patients wear Apple Watches that have been customized for the trial with an algorithm that monitors their heart rhythms and prompts them to take medication only when an A-fib episode strikes. This personalized approach could save lives, lower health care costs and improve quality of life for millions.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the clinical study is three years into its planned seven-year run and has enrolled 2,000 patients at 85 sites nationwide.
“It took about 15 years of research for me and my team to get to this point,” Passman says. “If this trial doesn’t continue, it could be another lifetime before someone addresses this again — and countless patients could lose the chance for safer and better care.” — B.S.
Leading the Fight Against Rare Cancers
GRANT AWARD
$5 Million
Source: National Cancer Institute
Drug companies tend to focus on developing medications for cancers that affect large patient populations, because there are more potential users for those drugs. That leaves gaps in treatment research for rare cancers, such as carcinoid tumors, low-grade ovarian cancers and certain lymphomas or leukemias.
Northwestern oncologist Daniela Matei is working to fill that gap. She leads a $5 million National Cancer Institute grant that supports more than 60 clinical trials at Northwestern and partner institutions.
The clinical studies address common cancers, such as colon, lung and pancreatic cancer and melanoma — but they also focus on rare cancers, which often lack treatments when initial options fail.
“For patients with rare cancers, treatment A may not work — and there may be no treatment B,” Matei says. “These National Institutes of Health–sponsored trials give them that chance.”
Matei is the Diana, Princess of Wales Professor of Cancer Research in Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
One exciting effort supported by this grant is a group of trials that match patients to treatments based on genetic mutations in their tumors, rather than their cancer’s type. For example, a mutation common in melanoma might appear in only a small number of ovarian cancer cases. Instead of requiring a separate ovarian cancer trial that might not recruit enough participants, these trials pool all patients with the mutation and give them access to the same targeted treatment regardless of their cancer type.
“These trials open new doors for patients who otherwise wouldn’t have options because of their cancer’s rarity,” Matei says. “For many, it’s a lifeline.” — B.S.
Sean Hargadon is editor in chief of Northwestern Magazine.
Communications.
Learn more about the impact of University research.
Reader Responses
No one has commented on this page yet.
Submit a Response