Michele Balas, Ph.D., is studying delirium in ICU patients
Michele Balas, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, has earned a $10,000 stipend from the Vada Kinman Oldfield Alzheimer’s Research Fund.
Dr. Balas leads a multidisciplinary team that is testing a model to effectively screen, prevent and treat delirium in patients in the adult intensive care unit. She is conducting her research at UNMC’s hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center.
Two-thirds of patients in ICUs develop delirium, a devastating and sometimes deadly condition often referred to as "acute confusion." Half of those discharged later suffer from a debilitating dementia-like illness that can require nursing home care.
"Dr. Balas’ selected area of research is among the most important acute health problems experienced by older adults," said Jane Potter, M.D., Harris Professor of Geriatric Medicine and chief of the UNMC Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology. "Her approach will help reduce long-term disability from this often devastating problem."
The late Col. Barney Oldfield established the research fund at UNMC in 1999 in honor of his wife, who died that year after an 11-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
In a related research award, UNMC medical student Crystal Reyelts received a $5,000 stipend from the Nancy and Ronald Reagan Alzheimer’s Scholarship Fund Award. Her research focuses on age-related changes in the human brain.
Reyelts works in the lab of Stephen Bonasera, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of geriatrics and gerontology. Since aging of the brain contributes to the cognitive decline found in Alzheimer’s disease, the goal of the research is to study genes that are "turned on" in the aging process.
The Kinman-Oldfield Family Foundation established the award to honor the late president who battled Alzheimer’s for 10 years. The award recognizes scientists for promising research into Alzheimer’s disease.
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