# Landis Outstanding Mentor Award Supplement

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2021 · $152,500

## Abstract

Project Summary
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease causing progressive muscle
weakness and impairments in swallowing (dysphagia). Dysphagia leads to malnutrition, dehydration,
tracheal aspiration, pneumonia, and death. The parent grant is strongly motivated by fundamental
knowledge gaps that hinder clinical care of dysphagia in ALS. The overarching goal is to improve clinical
practice by 1) increasing our understanding of governing mechanisms and progression rates of dysphagia
in ALS, and 2) identification of sensitive clinical markers of dysphagia. We will perform serial instrumental
swallowing evaluations in 100 individuals with ALS and provide critical longitudinal data to help establish
the first time-course model of ALS swallowing decline. Such a model is needed to guide best practice
recommendations, optimal timing of interventions, planning and design of future clinical trials, and
interpretation of experimental treatment effects. We will also test the discriminant ability and clinical utility of
a set of promising clinical markers of swallowing decline that are pragmatically designed for easy
dissemination into ALS clinical settings. Our long-term goal is to improve clinical care of swallowing
disorders in ALS. The proposed study will deliver new insights into the pathophysiologic mechanisms of
unsafe and inefficient swallowing in ALS to drive the development of future intervention strategies and lead
to earlier and more accurate identification of swallowing impairment. Earlier identification and better
treatment strategies for swallowing dysfunction in ALS will lead to improvements in oral intake, nutrition,
pulmonary health and quality of life, and ultimately reduce aspiration pneumonia associated mortality in this
challenging population. This Landis Supplement Award will support the training and development of a post-
doctoral fellow, who will work on this parent grant. It will additionally support trainee career development
activities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10459693
- **Project number:** 3R01NS100859-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Emily Kate Plowman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $152,500
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10459693

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10459693, Landis Outstanding Mentor Award Supplement (3R01NS100859-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10459693. Licensed CC0.

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