Claire Kowalick

Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based therapeutics and the potential of mRNA as a treatment for various conditions has been researched for decades. A key challenge remains finding a delivery system that enables enough of the mRNA to reach target tissues safely without causing adverse effects. Lipid nanoparticles have been studied since the 1960s, but widespread use and optimization of delivery for mRNA therapeutics, including vaccines, really came to the forefront during COVID-19. While these vaccines saved countless lives, current lipid nanoparticle-mRNA delivery systems still face limitations that researchers are working to improve for broader therapeutic use.

Migraines are more than just bad headaches; they stem from a genetic neurological disease that causes suffering for one in seven people. Those who experience migraines can have a myriad of debilitating symptoms, including pain, nausea, sensitivity to light and visual disturbances that prevent them from participating in work and family life. Pain is one way our body warns us something is wrong, but what do we do when this alarm system prevents us from living life fully?

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common form of childhood muscular dystrophy and one of the most severe forms of inherited muscular dystrophy. The x-linked genetic condition causes mutations in the dystrophin gene that leads to progressive muscle weakness. Typically affecting boys, it occurs in about every 1 in 3,500 to 5,000 male births, with around 15,000 to 20,000 people living with this condition in the United States and about 300,000 worldwide.

This year in the United States, it is projected that more than 2 million people will be diagnosed with cancer. Additionally, more than 600,000 people will die of the disease — an average of nearly 1,680 each day.

Migraines are more than just bad headaches; they stem from a genetic neurological disease that causes suffering for one in seven people. Those who experience migraines can have a myriad of debilitating symptoms, including pain, nausea, sensitivity to light and visual disturbances that prevent them from participating in work and family life. Pain is one way our body warns us something is wrong, but what do we do when this alarm system prevents us from living life fully?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, community health clubs in the South Texas area quickly adapted to virtual programs to address misperceptions about the virus and vaccines and provide timely, scientifically accurate information.

Shared by Claire Kowalick A study published in October 2024 in Springer Nature's Molecular Psychiatry found that brain volume changes

A study published in October 2024 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry found that brain volume changes correlate with social behavior differences in psychiatric conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia.

Scientists from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) co-led a global research team that discovered the answer to a longstanding question in malaria research — Do people who live in areas where malaria is ever-present develop broadly neutralizing antibodies against the malaria parasite? The answer is yes, as presented in a study published November 20, 2024, in Nature

Shared by Claire Kowalick This article is featured in the December 2024 issue of San Antonio Medicine Magazine.