$125,000 NFL grant supports knee research

NFL Charities, the charitable foundation of the National Football League, has awarded a grant of $125,000 to UC Davis for research on new ways to repair injured knees.

The aim of the work is to engineer new materials to repair the knee meniscus, said Professor Kyriacos Athanasiou, chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. The meniscus is a gel-filled pad that sits between the bones and protects the joint when we run or jump.

“The No. 1 surgery for injured NFL players is meniscal repair,” Athanasiou said.

The grant will run for one year. Athanasiou’s laboratory is also carrying out research on tissue engineering of knee cartilage.

Since 2000, NFL Charities has committed more than $20 million in medical research grants to address issues including injury prevention, heat stress risks and studies on mild traumatic brain injury.

The $125,000 grant to UC Davis is among $1.5 million awarded to 11 institutions this year.

New hours at TAPS

The Davis campus’s Transportation and Parking Services, or TAPS, announced a change in office hours effective Jan. 4.

Customer service hours at the counter in the TAPS building (just north of the west entry garage off Hutchison Drive) will be 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday when the new year begins, replacing the old schedule of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

As always, people can use the TAPS Web site at any time to buy permits and pay citations.

“In light of our current budgetary constraints and an analysis of customer volume, we have determined that this change will not result in any significant impact to campus students, staff, faculty, visitors and departments,” TAPS Director Cliff Contreras said.

“We anticipate that the reduced hours will generate savings, improve our ability to efficiently assist customers, and increase productivity in addressing high-priority tasks. We appreciate your patience and understanding for this necessary change.”

TAPS is not changing its hours of parking enforcement and motorist assistance, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 15 to June 15.

Ags No. 1 in blood drive

UC Davis came up short in the 56th annual Causeway Classic football game, but scored a victory in the second annual Causeway Classic blood drive, pitting the Aggies against the Hornets of California State University, Sacramento.

BloodSource collected 1,463 pints during the Nov. 17-18 drive in Freeborn Hall — a new record for a UC Davis blood drive, said Brie Leon, account manager for BloodSource.

She said the blood bank registered 1,690 prospective donors at UC Davis — including 775 first-time donors, something the blood bank always likes to see. “I hope they all enjoyed the experience and come back again,” Leon said.

“We had another great two-day blood drive at UC Davis,” Leon said. “We had an amazing outpouring of support from students, staff and the community — it truly was a heartwarming sight to see.”

Sacramento State’s two-day Causeway Classic blood drive brought in 1,054 pints, from 1,333 people who registered (including 571 first-time donors).

Besides crowning an overall blood drive champion, BloodSource also offered a $500 prize to the campus group that brought out the most donors. Among more than 80 groups that vied for the prize, UC Davis’ Alpha Phi Omega came out on top — with 42 people supporting the blood drive. Alpha Phi Omega is a co-ed, community service fraternity.