Huntington Medical Research Institutes (HMRI) is an independent, nonprofit, applied medical research organization in Pasadena, California. The Institutes conduct laboratory and clinical work for the development of technology used in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. The Molecular Medicine programs, such as cancer genetics, molecular neurology, molecular pathology and tissue engineering, were conducted at the 99 North El Molino Avenue facility until April 2018. The Neural Engineering program is conducted at the 734 Fairmount Avenue building directly adjacent to

Huntington Hospital Huntington Health, an Affiliate of Cedars-Sinai is a 544-bed, not-for-profit hospital in Pasadena, California. The hospital originally opened as Pasadena Hospital, though the official name of the hospital is the Pasadena Hospital Association DB ...

. The Advanced Imaging Laboratory is located nearby at 10 Pico Street, as is the Liver Center at 660 South Fair Oaks Avenue. A new 35,000 square foot laboratory building for HMRI opened at 686 South Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena in April 2018. Programs in the new facility include neurolological and cardiovascular studies, as well as preeclampsia research.

Cellular and molecular medicine

The original organization of HMRI was established in 1952. The El Molino Avenue laboratory began as the Pasadena Foundation for Medical Research, which placed emphasis on cancer research. Projects included pioneering work with the biomedical research application of laser energy, and in their

cell culture Cell culture or tissue culture is the process by which cell (biology), cells are grown under controlled conditions, generally outside of their natural environment. After cells of interest have been Cell isolation, isolated from living tissue, ...

laboratory they had developed a now widely used line of prostate cancer cells. Current work includes the study of protein abnormalities underlying susceptibility to

migraine Migraine (, ) is a complex neurological disorder characterized by episodes of moderate-to-severe headache, most often unilateral and generally associated with nausea, and light and sound sensitivity. Other characterizing symptoms may includ ...

headaches, and the development of "histoid" tumor models.

Neural engineering

The Fairmount laboratory was founded as the Institute of Medical Research of Huntington Memorial Hospital. It also housed the Pasadena Neurovascular Foundation. Past work included the proposal of improvements for

automobile safety Automotive safety is the study and practice of automotive design, construction, equipment and regulation to minimize the occurrence and consequences of traffic collisions involving motor vehicles. Road traffic safety more broadly includes roadw ...

, the neurosurgical introduction of a silicone plastic material that made cerebrospinal fluid shunting practical for the treatment of

hydrocephalus Hydrocephalus is a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) builds up within the brain, which can cause pressure to increase in the skull. Symptoms may vary according to age. Headaches and double vision are common. Elderly adults with n ...

, advances in cardiovascular research, and the development of electronic neurological devices, including interface technology for

vagus nerve stimulation Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a medical treatment that involves delivering electrical impulses to the vagus nerve. Initially developed by James Leonard Corning to compress or stimulate the carotid sheath, VNS typically refers to an implantable ...

. Current work in

neuroprosthetics Neuroprosthetics (also called neural prosthetics) is a discipline related to neuroscience and biomedical engineering concerned with developing neural prostheses. They are sometimes contrasted with a brain–computer interface, which connects the ...

includes development of improved electrodes for

deep brain stimulation Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a type of neurostimulation therapy in which an implantable pulse generator is stereotactic surgery, surgically implanted subcutaneous tissue, below the skin of the chest and connected by Lead (electronics), leads ...

for the treatment of movement disorders, such as

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

, the treatment of profound deafness by direct stimulation of the brain, and new methods of electrical stimulation to control bladder evacuation in paralyzed patients.

Imaging

The El Molino and Fairmount operations merged in 1982 as the Huntington Medical Research Institutes. At that time research at the Pico Street location added clinical studies of

magnetic resonance imaging Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and ...

(MRI). Earlier advances at Pico Street included development of methods for providing CT-scanner guidance of 3-dimensional brain

stereotactic surgery Stereotactic surgery is a minimally invasive form of surgery, surgical intervention that makes use of a three-dimensional coordinates, coordinate system to locate small targets inside the body and to perform on them some action such as ablation, ...

systems. Comparative studies of CT versus MRI contributed to the regulatory approval of magnetic resonance for medical imaging.

Magnetoencephalography Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a functional neuroimaging technique for mapping brain activity by recording magnetic fields produced by electric current, electrical currents occurring naturally in the human brain, brain, using very sensitive magn ...

(MEG) research at Pico has improved the precision of

brain mapping Brain mapping is a set of neuroscience techniques predicated on the mapping of (biological) quantities or properties onto spatial representations of the (human or non-human) brain resulting in maps. According to the definition established in 2 ...

and subsequent surgery to remove parts of the brain responsible for some kinds of

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

. Research on

in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy In vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a specialized technique associated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), also known as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, is a non-invasive, io ...

focuses on brain metabolism and on development of hyperpolarization agents to enhance signal output from tissue. New work includes anatomical, functional and biochemical studies of mild

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity ranging from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI/concussion) to severe traumati ...

Liver Center

The Liver Center conducts clinical trials of new drugs to treat

hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. ...

and

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...

, and is developing new ways to conduct surveillance and do early intervention for post-hepatitis

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

Fellowships and training

HMRI conducts a joint postdoctoral fellowship program in conjunction with the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

as well its own undergraduate student research program. HMRI has a 25-year history of conducting clinical training courses in magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy."Beyond MRI: MR Spectroscopy for the New Millennium, with Brian Ross MD and Alexander Lin"
GE MR Masters Series Physicians MR Training Program. GE Medical Systems. Retrieved May 29, 2013.

References

External links

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Altadena Guild website
{{authority control Medical research institutes in California Organizations based in Pasadena, California Science and technology in Greater Los Angeles