Associate professor receives National Institute of Nursing Research grant

May 18, 2022

The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) has awarded its grant for The Role of the Gut Microbiome and Short Chain Fatty Acids in the Regulation of Inflammation and Neuropsychological Symptoms in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer to Canhua Xiao, PhD, RN, FAAN, an associate professor with Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. This is also a multi-PI and multi-site study, with Dr. Xiao as the contact PI. The R01 Research Project grant provides funding for four years of $3,064,029 to understand the role of the gut microbiome in the development of neuropsychological symptoms (NPS) among patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) through potential roles of short-chain fatty acids and inflammation among patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) receiving chemoradiotherapy.

Neuropsychological symptoms, such as fatigue, depressive symptoms, cognitive dysfunction, sleep problems, and pain, are the most common, debilitating, and long-lasting side effects of cancer and its treatment and are prognostic to survival. This research will examine the association between the gut microbiome and neuropsychological symptoms through the role of short-chain fatty acids and inflammation in the gut-brain axis among patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiotherapy. The findings may indicate new biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets for neuropsychological symptoms in cancer survivors.

The R01 Research Project grant allows Dr. Xiao and her team to study 350 HNC patients receiving active treatment to examine the association between the gut microbiome and NPS before and after treatment. Patients with HNC also have a high risk of dysbiosis due to severe side effects (i.e., mucositis, dry mouth, and difficulty opening mouth) of cancer treatment. These debilitating and long-lasting side effects reduce patients’ capability for food intake and could result in marked changes in the gut microbiome and, subsequently, SCFAs.

Dr. Canhua Xiao is an Associate Professor, tenured, and joined Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing as an Assistant Professor in 2014. Dr. Xiao’s general research interests focus on patient-reported outcomes, cancer-related symptoms/symptom clusters, cancer-related fatigue, and biological mechanisms. Dr. Xiao’s research has contributed to understanding symptom clusters and fatigue in patients with head and neck cancer. This disease has seen increasing incidence in the U.S. due to the prevalence of Human Papillomavirus.

For more information on Dr. Canhua Xiao, visit her faculty profile. To learn more about the R01 Research Project grant, visit the National Institute of Health website.

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