# RR&D Research Career Scientist Award Application - Renewal of Margot Damaser SRCS Award

> **NIH VA IK6** · LOUIS STOKES CLEVELAND VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2022 · —

## Abstract

Summary/Abstract
Dr. Margot Damaser is Senior Research Career Scientist in the RR&D Service of the US Department of
Veterans Affairs and Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at
Case Western Reserve University. She is Deputy Director and co-PI of the Advanced Platform Technology
Center. Dr. Damaser's research is focused on using principles of engineering, physiology, and regenerative
medicine to develop new models and devices for improvement of diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of
pelvic floor disorders (PFD): urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse. Rehabilitation
of these autonomic organs is an understudied field with great relevance to Veterans, particularly women and
those with spinal cord injury or neurogenic disorders. She has initiated development of novel wireless catheter-
free technology for monitoring bladder and bowel function during conscious ambulation and activities of daily
living. This innovative monitoring system provides a paradigm shift in diagnosis, rehabilitation, and treatment of
urinary and fecal incontinence, constipation and voiding dysfunction. In addition, her research focuses on
regenerative approaches to treat PFD, including stem cells and/or their secretions, electrical stimulation, and
elastogenic nanotechnology. She has made significant advances in this area by demonstrating that treatment
with the secretions from stem cells is highly regenerative even when the treatment is given systemically,
suggesting minimal invasive therapy could be utilized. In addition, she has demonstrated that electrical
stimulation can regenerate peripheral nerves even in situations of impaired regeneration. These treatments are
promising to promote rehabilitation, particularly for Veterans with impaired regeneration, such as the elderly,
diabetics, and those with polytrauma affecting both nerves and muscles. The over-arching goals of this research
is to benefit Veterans. To that end Dr. Damaser has invested effort to translate technology and has 4 issued
patents, 3 pending patents, and 1 provisional patent application, as well as 2 licensed technologies, 1 option to
license a technology, 1 joint development agreement, and 1 evaluation agreement with multiple companies in
the field. In 2019, Dr. Damaser was 1st Place winner for the UroMonitor in the Massachusetts Medical
Device Development (M2D2) $200k Challenge, demonstrating the translational potential of her technology.
She is thus on track to translate novel diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation methods to the clinic within the
next 10 years. She has obtained funding for her research from VA, NIH, DOD, the State of Ohio, and foundation
and corporate sources. In recognition of the significance of her research, Dr. Damaser was elected to the
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2014. During the current SRCS award
period, Dr. Damaser published 37 research manuscripts, 19...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10507777
- **Project number:** 5IK6RX003843-02
- **Recipient organization:** LOUIS STOKES CLEVELAND VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** MARGOT S. DAMASER
- **Activity code:** IK6 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-10-01 → 2028-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10507777

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10507777, RR&D Research Career Scientist Award Application - Renewal of Margot Damaser SRCS Award (5IK6RX003843-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10507777. Licensed CC0.

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