Several new research awards representing more than $2.2 million in new funding were received by College of Medicine faculty during the month of May. They included:
Cyrus Desouza, M.D., internal medicine-diabetes, endocrinology & metabolism, will be the UNMC lead for a National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) funded project initiated through Georgetown University. This $235,000 clinical trial will compare the effectiveness of four common glucose lowering medications when used with the first line of treatment – metmorfin – over long term use. The study will help to identify the most effective means of treating type 2 diabetes by comparing drug effects on glucose levels, adverse effects, diabetes complications and quality of life. It is expected to have major public health implications.
Shilpa Buch, Ph.D., pharmacology and experimental neurosciences, has received a National Institutes of Health R01 grant from the National Institutes on Drug Abuse (NIDA). This $1.8 million award will further Dr. Buch’s work in the interconnectedness of drugs of abuse and HIV associated neurological disorders (HAND). Dr. Buch has previously shown that injectable opioids seem to worsen the central nervous system impact of HIV infections. Her new grant will explore the mechanisms of cocaine and HIV/HIV proteins interaction which lead to neuronal toxicity and exacerbate disease pathogenesis.
Dmitry Oleynikov, M.D., surgery-general surgery, will be the surgical collaborator for a National Institutes of Health-National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) funded project awarded to engineering researcher Carl Nelson, Ph.D., of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Furthering a longtime collaborative relationship in the development of tools and techniques for minimally invasive surgery, Drs. Oleynikov and Nelson will be developing multifunctional miniature robots for use in transvaginal and transcolonic endoscopic procedures.
Industry-sponsored contracts
The following industry-sponsored contract also has been received. Here is more information on clinical trials enrolling patients at UNMC.
John Colombo, M.D., pediatrics pulmonology, is the UNMC lead for a multi-site, Phase III clinical trial on the safety and effectiveness of a combination of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) correctors and potentiators. It is hoped that by combining these therapeutic agents they will improve the transport of chloride through ion channels that are defective in patients with cystic fibrosis.