University of New England

What follows is a very small sampling of scientific research at each of the three colleges.

In the College of Osteopathic Medicine…

Preventing Premature Heart Failure in Diabetics
Amy Davidoff, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physiology/Pharmacology

Some 16 million Americans have diabetes, a chronic disease that, to date, has no cure. Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death by disease in the U.S., and the majority of diabetes deaths is caused by heart disease. Amy Davidoff is studying how diabetes adversely affects the muscle cells that allow the heart to pump blood.

"We are investigating the physiology, molecular biology and biochemistry of what happens to the heart muscles in the disease and how it happens," Davidoff says. "Somewhere in the very complex cascade of intercellular events that cause the heart to beat, something is going wrong with the diabetic person. Our research is focused on isolating what cellular changes occur in the early stages of diabetes that ultimately cause a normal heart to fail."

In addition to potentially preventing premature heart failure in diabetics, the long-term benefits of this basic research my one day help scientists better understand all types of heart failure. More information.


Finding Better Alternatives for Treating Severe Pain
Edward Bilsky, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Physiology/Pharmacology

Morphine, although a highly effective painkiller, is also a highly addictive drug that produces other harsh side effects. Edward Bilsky is investigating a new family of drugs that could replace morphine for treatment of severe pain, help reduce certain drug addictions and treat related drug overdoses.

Bilsky is collaborating with a University of Arizona chemist to develop compounds called opioid glycopeptides. These compounds may offer the powerful painkilling benefits of morphine, a drug made from opium, but be fare less addictive and produce fewer and less severe side effects.

This research is part of Bilsky's larger research interests involving the study of opiate-like compounds in living organisms and the applications of this field to the treatment of chronic pain and addiction. Working in his laboratory, Bilsky has helped develop a series of compounds that contain the chemical properties for the potential development of safe, effective pharmaceuticals. More information.


Seeking a New and Better Approach to Treating Alzheimer's Disease
David Johnson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Physiology/Pharmacology

Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia among older people, affects some four million Americans. Today, an Alzheimer's diagnosis is a death sentence—a slow, oftentimes expensive death, as the brain cell-killing disease takes its toll over many years. David Johnson is investigating how certain neurosteroids could be synthesized and used to increase the production of neurotrophins, chemical "helpers" that nurture brain cells and even help to heal them.

The development of such treatment would have dramatic implications. Physicians would no longer ineffectually treat the symptoms of mental degeneration, but literally heal the brain. Other potential benefits from research into neurosteroids could be quicker, more effective treatment of depression and the reduction of brain cell damage from stroke.

Alzheimer's disease is the most expensive disease there is in term of the cost of caring for those afflicted. This research could possibly change that, giving Alzeheimer's (and other dementia) patients hope for a better future, and perhaps even life. More information.


In the College of Arts and Sciences…

Understanding the Migratory Habits of Striped Bass
Jacque Carter, Ph.D., Marine Scientist and CAS Dean

Striped bass fishing is part of the heritage of coastal southern Maine. The sport is one of the key attractions for tourists visiting our coastal communities. But striped bass may also be ecologically important in regulating the abundance of other species and may serve as links between the ecosystems of Maine's rivers, estuaries and the ocean.

Jacque Carter has designed a research project that applies telemetry technology to determine migration dynamics of striped bass in the Saco River and adjacent coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine. First, hydrophones are suspended underwater. Then, with the help of local recreational fisherman, striped bass specimens are captured and transported to the Marine Science Center where they will be surgically fitted with acoustic tags. Finally, the fish will be released back into the Saco and their movements monitored.

This information will also provide policy makers with better information to make certain that this important fish species continues to thrive in a manner that both preserves the economics of Maine's fisheries and the health of the coastal ecosystem. More information.


Establishing a NASA Center for Marine Remote Sensing
Stephan Zeeman, Ph.D., Professor of Biology

NASA, responsible for Earth-orbiting satellites that can detect myriad kinds of information from space and transmit that information back to Earth, has created a diverse program of "remote sensing" stations in collaboration with universities and research facilities around the world. UNE has received federal funds to develop such a site at our Marine Science Center. The initial application, spearheaded by marine science professor Stephan Zeeman, will be to detect and predict habitat used by marine mammals, which may help save one whale species from extinction.

The long-term goal of the first phase of this project is to develop a real-time early warning system for use by mariners to avoid ship-whale collisions. Whales in all parts of the world are subject to collisions with large vessels, and this is of special concern with the North Atlantic right whale. There are only about 300 of these whales left. Such a system would use remote sensing data and satellite tagging of animals to predict where concentrations of these marine mammals might occur.

Education will be an important part of this research initiative. Scientists will develop an interactive website using GIS technologies that will enable users to view movements of marine mammals overlain on NASA remote sensing imagery, both from archival and real-time data. More information.


Learning from Living Systems to Create Better Human-made Systems
New England Institute for Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Psychology

The New England Institute was established in 2001 to foster research and education in a new interdisciplinary area: the connection between cognitive science (the investigation of the deep structures that lie beneath our conscious mind) and evolutionary psychology (the study of the human mind and behavior from a biological perspective). It quickly garnered an impressive list of Fellows, including MIT's Noam Chomsky, Ph.D. and Harvard's Steven Pinker, Ph.D. The institute is headed up by psychology professors Robert Haskell, Ph.D. (retired), and David Livingstone Smith, Ph.D.

Within the institute, the Endogenous Systems Research Group was created to understand the distinguishing features of living things and to apply what is learned to the creation of human-made systems having the same properties. A feature that distinguishes living processes from non-living processes, for example, is a self-producing organization.

This research is valuable to scientists and engineers who seek to control living systems or to create artificial versions of them, such as computer-based artificial intelligence. More information.


In the College of Health Professions…

Reducing Smoking Among Low-income People with Mental Illness
Stephen Rose, Ph.D. and Thomas McLaughlin M.S.W. ‘97, Professors of Social Work

People with mental illness and a higher rate of poverty smoke more, begin smoking earlier, and die from smoking-related diseases at a much higher rate than the general population, according to research being done by social work professors Stephen Rose and Thomas McLaughlin.

Their research project was recently awarded a two-year continuation of funding on top of the original $100,000 grant from the American Legacy Foundation, set up as a result of class action lawsuits against the tobacco industry. The project is a collaborative effort with partners including Counseling Services, Inc. (CSI), the major community-based non-profit mental health agency in York County; Goodall Hospital's Partnership for Healthier Communities; and the Center for Tobacco Independence at Maine Medical Center.

Rose and McLaughlin's research started with gathering all the health data on the clients at CSI. Many of these clients had never been asked their health histories, particularly surrounding smoking. In this population so far they've found interesting facts such as the average smoker is a 32-year-old woman who earns 50% of the median income in York County, has smoked for 15 years or more, has two or more children, and is likely to have come from a family of heavy smokers. Their illnesses differ from those of non-smokers, with 59% of the population having been hospitalized for major illnesses as opposed to 3% of non-smokers. They also found that most of these patients rarely see physicians for their illnesses, having difficulty communicating their health problems, being less likely to have health insurance and not having access to a family physician.

The data gathered in this research study will be used by primary health care teams to implement medical treatment plans, including smoking cessation programs. These teams are developing a holistic view of the patient, using the data and the patient's own input and addressing both medical and mental health issues. More information.


Training Students for the Future of Periodontal Research
Lisa Dufour '76, M.S., Professor of Dental Hygiene

Having done periodontal lab research in the past, Lisa Dufour continues to complete scholarly research of her own, but also includes her dental hygiene students in the process. While on sabbatical several years ago, she worked in Bates College's molecular biology lab as a primary investigator conducting research on one of the bacteria that causes periodontal disease. This research looks at ways the immune response to this bacteria can cause damage to oral tissues, and it led to the publication of two papers. With current research pointing out the links between periodontal disease and heart disease, early labor in pregnant women, and even diabetes, Dufour says, "this is a very interesting time in the field of periodontology."

As a professor, Dufour encourages scholarly research by her students, and has worked on articles published in professional peer review journals with several of them. One article she is currently working on with student Jennifer Erich, involves the study of chemotherapy-induced mucositis and the oral hygiene strategies for risk reduction. In addition to developing the students' scholarly research skills, she feels that this type of work helps them learn to make observations that can lead to their asking questions in their own dental hygiene practices, plus, as she says, "it's thrilling for students to have published articles as something they have done while attending college here."