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 review papers and 4 book chapters. She co-edited a book that has become a standard reference in the field and mentored many young investigators. Dr. Damaser is currently Deputy Director and co-PI of the Advanced Platform Technology Center (2 I50 RX001871), PI of an NIH R21 grant, (R21HD095234), PI of an NIH Other Transaction Award (NIH OT2 OD023873), and co- Investigator on multiple NIH and foundation grants. She served for 12 years as Chair of the local IACUC (2008- 2020) and serves as a member of the Field Advisory Committee to VA ORO in addition to serving on multiple VA and NIH grant review panels. In addition, she uses her research program to train many clinical, scientific, and engineering trainees in research practices, enlarging the impact of her research. In recognition of this effort, Dr. Damaser was awarded the Urology Care Foundation Distinguished Mentor Award in 2020. In her role as co-PI and Deputy Director of the APT Center, Dr. Damaser is in a position to expand her influence to mentor others in conducting productive translational rehabilitation research and development during the upcoming renewal period of her Senior Research Career Scientist Award.

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 where she collaborates to use 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. This research has application for female Veterans and Veterans with spinal cord injury or central nervous system disorders. During the current SRCS award period, she has published 37 research manuscripts, 19 review papers and 4 book chapters. She has mentored many young investigators and prioritizes translation of technology for the benefit of Veterans. She has 4 Issued Patents, 3 Patents pending, and 1 Provisional Patent application, and 2 licensed technologies.