NYU Meyers study to compete in STAT Madness 2020

Two NYU studies have been selected to compete in STAT Madness 2020, a virtual tournament of the best innovations in science and medicine.

The studies—one led by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry and one by NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing—are two of 64 studies chosen for the bracketed, March Madness-inspired competition. The public is invited to vote on its favorite research starting Monday, March 2, with the first round of voting ending Sunday, March 8. A champion will be crowned in early April after six rounds of voting. Details and dates for each round are available on the STAT Madness site.

The NYU Meyers research, led by Audrey Lyndon and colleagues at UCSF, found that a quarter of women who have serious maternal complications during childbirth also have premature births, posing a “dual burden” on families. The study, published in July in The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, is the first to focus on dual burden births and identifies a unique group of families that may need higher levels of support from healthcare providers.

Published in November in Nature Nanotechnology, the NYU Dentistry study used nanoparticles to deliver a drug—one that previously failed in clinical trials for pain—into specific compartments of nerve cells, dramatically increasing its ability to treat pain in animals. The international team of researchers, led by NYU Dentistry’s Nigel Bunnett, are investigating nanoparticle drug delivery in order to develop much-needed alternatives to opioids to treat pain.

STAT Madness was created by the health news site STAT News, which is produced by Boston Globe Media.