
Seed grants bring ASU, Mayo Clinic researchers together to advance patient care
Exploring new research ideas on a small scale often enables scientists and biomedical engineers to make progress that attracts funding to support more extensive work that may improve patient care and spark advances in a variety of health-related fields. Mayo Clinic and ASU’s Alliance for Health Care have been providing seed grants for these projects to fuel medical advances for more than 15 years. Five new research proposals have recently been awarded funding. Two projects will involve work by Fulton Schools faculty members. Assistant Professor David Brafman will team with Mayo Clinic neurology expert Richard Caselli to look at factors that present African American with elevated risks of Alzheimer’s disease. Assistant Professor Christopher Plaisier will collaborate with Mayo Clinic cancer biology specialist Nhan Tran to study how tumor cells interact with other cells to invade and proliferate in the human body.