Dr. Ahmad lands $1.5 million grant to study new treatments for glaucoma
Here’s a list of research awards received by College of Medicine faculty during November. These seven awards represent more than $2 million in new funding to UNMC.
Iqbal Ahmad, Ph.D., ophthalmology and visual sciences, has received a National Institutes of Health R01 grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI). This $1.5 million award will allow Dr. Ahmad to further his work in induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and their use as a renewable source of retinal progenitors for the treatment of glaucoma. Glaucoma is the most prevalent optic neuropathy where a progressive degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) leads to vision loss. Dr. Ahmad will build on his previous success in generating retinal progenitor cells to determine the conditions needed to generate RGCs from iPSC-derived retinal progenitors. He hopes to address the barriers that make stem cell therapy impractical. This could lead not only to a treatment for glaucoma but also develop new models for screening drugs and genes for additional new approaches for addressing glaucomatous retinal degeneration.
Stephen Rennard, M.D., internal medicine – pulmonary, will be the UNMC lead on a National Institutes of Health R01/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute collaborative award through the University of Michigan. Dr. Rennard will lend his expertise in the treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to the team of national experts tasked with developing new screening methods for the identification and treatment of COPD patients.
Jason Shiffermiller, M.D., internal medicine – general medicine, will be the physician director of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield-sponsored Midtown Multi-morbidity Project. The project will utilize a case management intervention to prevent readmissions in the Midtown Clinic patients with multiple chronic illnesses. The Midtown Clinic is an innovative, state-of-the-art internal medicine teaching clinic. The clinic uses a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model and the staff includes a full-time social worker, a licensed mental health professional and a registered nurse with specialized training in diabetes education. Unique clinic services include onsite health education, pharmacy services and group diabetes education classes. The focus is on a collaborative team approach to health care in which patients and physicians engage in a health care relationship that focuses on health, wellness, and prevention as well as treatment.
Industry-sponsored contracts:
The following industry-sponsored contracts also have been received. Here is more information on clinical trials enrolling patients at UNMC.
Hani Haider, Ph.D., orthopaedic surgery, has received two industry-sponsored contracts for material testing of joint replacement materials.
Mojtaba Akhtari, M.D., internal medicine – oncology/hematology, will be the UNMC lead for a clinical trial with the University of Utah to evaluate an existing chemotherapeutic agent in the treatment of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). Here are more details on the trial, which is currently recruiting participants.
Adam Reinhardt, M.D., pediatrics – rheumatology, is conducting a clinical trial to determine the safety and efficacy of a current combination of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory/proton pump inhibitor (NSAID/PPI) drug used to treat arthritis for possible treatment in adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Here are more details on the trial, which is currently recruiting participants.
Diana Florescu, M.D., internal medicine – infectious diseases, is conducting a clinical trial for a developmental drug’s safety, tolerability and effectiveness to prevent or control cytomegalovirus (CMV) in hematopoietic cell transplant recipients. Here are more details on the trial.