Eating disorders affect an estimated 9% of Americans — nearly 30 million people — and can impact a person’s eating behaviors and perceptions about food and their bodies. The UofL prototype technology, dubbed Awaken Emerse, helps users virtually face and overcome their associated fears, such as the fear of gaining weight.

“Research shows exposure treatment can be really effective in taking back control over these devastating and life-altering fears,” said Christina Ralph-Nearman, a assistant research professor, researcher and co-inventor of the technology. “Our virtual simulation allows people to do that in a safe way.”Ěý

In a pilot study, Awaken Emerse — invented by Ralph-Nearman and researcher Cheri Levinson — was shown to be effective in helping participants face their fears of gaining weight. The new grant, $125,000 through the NEDA’s Feeding Hope Fund, will support work by the inventors, along with Andrew Karem of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, to expand the platform to be more inclusive of all body types and sizes, ethnicities, races and gender identities and to further test outcomes in a clinical setting.ĚýĚý

“Eating disorders don’t just affect one type of person — there are a multitude of factors that can influence them,” said Levinson, associate professor and director of the Eating Anxiety Treatment (EAT) Lab. “Treatment and prevention options should reflect that full range of experience.”

The NEDA grant comes on the heels of some $11.5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support Levinson’s work to better understand and address some of the most devastating effects of eating disorders. That research will investigate how eating disorders may develop in childhood and adolescence, their contribution to suicidal behaviors and how innovative personalized treatments, like VR simulation, may offer hope.

“Despite the high prevalence of eating disorders, there still aren’t many options for treatment and prevention,” she said. “This work will not only create new options by leveraging technology, but open previously unopened doors for treating people on a personal, individual level.”

Work to develop the VR technology has also been supported by the UofL Office of Research and Innovation’s intellectual property and new ventures teams. This includes patenting, coaching by entrepreneur-in-residence Alice Shade, and training and financial support through two innovation development programs: KYNETIC, focused on furthering biomedical technologies, and PRePARE, focused on technologies that address a health or societal problem resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

KYNETIC is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH) and part of the national NIH Proof-of-Concept Network. The program offers entrepreneurial education and proof-of-concept/product development grants to accelerate the translation of research innovations into biomedical products by investigators throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky.Ěý Ěý

The goal is to advance the most promising biomedical research innovations — including pharmaceuticals, devices and apps — from the state’s eight public universities and the Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS).

In this cycle, KYNETIC awarded roughly $40,000 grants to each of the following research teams:

• Christina Ralph-Nearman and Cheri Levinson, University of Louisville
• Melissa Smith and Corey Watson, University of Louisville
• Stuart Williams, Maxwell Boakye and Michael Voor, University of Louisville
• Daniel Boamah, Kimberly Greene and Austin Griffiths, Western Kentucky University
• Jamie Fredericks, Eastern Kentucky University
• Mark Fritz and Guigen Zhang, University of KentuckyĚý
• Jill Kolesar and Chris Richards, University of Kentucky
• Brittany Levy, University of Kentucky

KYNETIC is led by UofL, the University of Kentucky, the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and Kentucky Commercialization Ventures. Launched in 2019, the KYNETIC program builds on UofL’s strong history of translational research support, which includes a prestigious for turning research into products.

“These programs help to drive UofL research from lab to market – impactful research with the power to improve and even save lives,” said Jessica Sharon, UofL’s director of innovation programs who helps lead KYNETIC. “The UofL projects selected for KYNETIC funding in this cycle embody that goal.”

The pre-application window for KYNETIC’s Cycle 8 is currently open. The deadline is July 18, 2023, by 5 p.m. Pre-applications can beĚý.

KYNETIC Project Managers are available for consultation before you submit your pre-application and throughout the application process. You can find more informationĚý.

KYNETIC is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH) and part of the national NIH Proof-of-Concept Network.

The program offers entrepreneurial education and proof-of-concept/product development grants to accelerate the translation of academic innovations into biomedical products by investigators throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky.ĚýĚý

KYNETIC awarded grants to the following applicantsĚýor teams, three of which are from UofL:

• Andrea Behrman, University of Louisville
• Levi BeverlyĚý(PI), Robert Buchanan (Co-PI), Craig Grapperhaus (Co-PI), University of Louisville
• Christina Ralph-NearmanĚý(PI), Cheri Levinson (Co-PI),ĚýUniversity of Louisville
• Daniel BoamahĚý(PI), Kimberly Green (Co-PI),ĚýWestern Kentucky University
• Andrew LongĚý(PI), Steven Wilkinson (Co-PI),ĚýNorthern Kentucky University
• Mark Fritz, University of Kentucky
• Kip Guy, University of Kentucky
• Jill Kolesar, University of Kentucky

The KYNETIC program is led by the University of Louisville, the University of Kentucky, the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and Kentucky Commercialization Ventures.

The pre-application window for KYNETIC’s Cycle 7 is currently open. The deadline is 5 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 13. Pre-applications can beĚý.

KYNETIC Project Managers are available for consultation before you submit your pre-application and throughout the application process. You can find more informationĚý.

Six projects were selected this funding cycle, two of which are from UofL:

• Pediatric NeuroRecovery Posture Control System (researcher Andrea Behrman)
• Vertify Probe: Intraoperative Device for Measurement of Bone Quality (researchers Stuart Williams, Maxwell Boakye and Michael Voor)

KYNETIC is a statewide program supported by $6.6 million in funding, including a $4 millionĚýResearch Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH) grant from the National Institutes of Health and matching funds. The goal is to advance the most promising biomedical research innovations — including pharmaceuticals, devices and apps — from the state’s eight public universities and the Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS).

KYNETIC grants support six-month, milestone-driven projects focused onĚýquickly determining whether or not each technology is viable as a commercial product.ĚýAwardees will receive funding for product-focused research and development, attend trainings, and get advice from program staff, industry, investors and other experts on identifying needs, navigating regulations and protecting their intellectual property.Ěý

Paula Bates, professor of medicine at UofL, who co-leads KYNETIC, said the idea is to spur innovation and economic development through collaboration.

“I’m very pleased with the strong projects awarded in this cycle of KYNETIC, each of which will have a positive impact on human health,” she said. “Collaboration and innovation go hand-in-hand, and that’s our goal with KYNETIC. It’s a really powerful way to use our collective expertise to help to turn great ideas from our state into products that improve people’s health and wellbeing.”

Applications for the next cycle of KYNETIC funding are ĚýandĚýrequire a two-page pre-proposal. Funding cycles are offered twice a year and are open to faculty, staff, trainees and students. Competitive renewal opportunities are available.

Launched in 2019, the KYNETIC program builds on UofL’s strong history of translational research support, which includes a prestigious for turning research into products.

“Through these programs, UofL supports commercialization of the work being done by our researchers here,” said Jessica Sharon, UofL’s director of innovation programs. “The goal is to translate research into products that can improve, or even save, lives.”

KYNETIC is led by UofL, the University of Kentucky, the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, and Kentucky Commercialization Ventures, and works closely with Kentucky’s regional universities and KCTCS.