The following 23 grants representing more than $3.4 million in new funding were awarded to UNMC College of Medicine faculty during June.
Ken Bayles, Ph.D., pathology/microbiology, has received a Department of Defense award for $580,000 through the Nebraska Strategic Research Institute. Dr. Bayles will be developing an off-label application to screen Botulinum Neurotoxin inhibitors using a commercially available rapid testing system.
Daniel Murman, M.D., neurological sciences, is the UNMC lead on a multi-center, clinical trial coordinated by the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study located at the University of California, San Diego. This $250,000 study is a landmark public-private partnership funded by the National Institute on Aging, Eli Lilly & Co., and several philanthropic organizations. The A4 trial will test whether an investigational drug can slow the progression of memory problems associated with amyloid plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Mark Carlson, M.D., surgery/general surgery, has received a $150,000 product development award from LNK Chemsolutions for his work in alternative technologies for controlling and/or stopping blood loss. LNK Chemsolutions is a nanotech development firm spun out of the University of Nebraska Technology Park which specializes in nanostructured materials. Dr. Carlson will work with LNK in the further refinement of his hemostatic bandage.
Andrew Dudley, Ph.D., genetics, cell biology & anatomy, has received a Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services LB 606 award for his proposal for cartilage regeneration from multi-potent stem cells. Adopted in 2008 by the Nebraska State Legislature LB 606, the Stem Cell Research Act, established a funding mechanism to support stem cell research that does not use human embryonic stem cells.
Neeru Sharma, Ph.D., and Matthew Zimmerman, Ph.D., cellular and integrative physiology have received American Heart Association awards from the Midwest Affiliate. Dr. Sharma received a $214,000 scientist development grant for his project titled “Post-translational Regulation of nNOS in the Paraventricular Nucleus during Heart Failure.” Dr. Zimmerman received a $143,000 grant for independent investigators for his project titled “Brain Delivery of Nanoformulated Superoxide Dismutase for the Improved Treatment of Hypertension.”
Each year the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NE DHHS) funds grant programs focused on reducing cancer and smoking-related heart disease. LB506 funds proposals directly related to the prevention of cancer and smoking-related diseases or for the prevention or cessation of smoking in racial and ethnic minorities. This year six College of Medicine researchers received awards. The researchers are:
Paul Sorgren, Ph.D., biochemistry and molecular biology, “Regulation of Connexin43 by tyrosine phosphorylation.”
Justin Mott, Ph.D., biochemistry and molecular biology, “Role of GFR signaling in cholangiocarcinoma.”
Ricia Hyde, Ph.D., biochemistry and molecular biology, “The Role of Epigenetic Regulators in Iny(16)Leukemia.
Pi-Wan Cheng, Ph.D., biochemistry and molecular biology, “Mechanism of Altered O-Glycosylation in Prostrate Cancer.”
Hesham Basma, Ph.D., internal medicine/infectious disease, “Reprogramming of Senescent Fibroblasts through iPSCs.”
Yutong Liu, Ph.D., radiology, “MEMRI Assessment of Nicotine Induced Neuroadaptations.”
Industry-sponsored grants
Information on clinical trials enrolling patients at UNMC can be found here.
Susan Swindells, M.B.B.S., infectious diseases, is the UNMC lead on a multi-center, Phase IIb clinical trial to evaluate the antiviral activity, tolerability and safety of a long acting intramuscular study drug compared to its daily dose oral equivalent.
Vijay Shivaswamy, M.B.B.S., department of endocrinology and metabolism, is the UNMC lead on a multi-center, Phase III clinical trial to evaluate a study drug compared to placebo in reducing the occurrence of major cardiovascular events in high risk subjects.
Austin Thompson, M.D., internal medicine – pulmonary, is the UNMC lead on a multi-center, Phase II clinical trial to assess the safety and effectiveness of an antibody based study drug in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Matthew Lunning, M.D., D.O., internal medicine – oncology/hematology, is the UNMC lead on a multi-center, Phase 1 dose escalation study to establish the maximum tolerable dose and toxicity of a tyrosine kinase inhibitor when used in combination with an existing proteasome inhibitor in the treatment of relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma.
Brian Lowes, M.D., Ph.D., cardiology, is the UNMC lead on a multi-center trial to comparative the effectiveness of two study drugs on the recurrence of symptomatic atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter in patients with heart failure who have a specific beta-1 adrenergic receptor genotype.
Perry Johnson, M.D., surgery/plastic and reconstructive surgery, is the UNMC lead on a prospective study on the safety and effectiveness of highly cohesive, anatomically shaped, silicone-filled breast implants.
Cyrus Desouza, M.B.B.S., department of endocrinology and metabolism, has received a Nebraska Educational Biomedical Research Association (NEBRA) award to support his research program.
Irving Zucker, Ph.D., cellular and integrative physiology, has received a contract to evaluate the effectiveness of a targeted receptor study drug on the treatment of chronic heart failure.
Dhirendra Singh, Ph.D., ophthalmology and visual sciences, has received a Bright Focus Foundation award for his work in the role of antioxidants and oxidative stress in glaucoma.
Andre Kalil, M.D., infectious diseases, is the UNMC lead on a multi-center, Phase III, clinical trial to determine the safety and effectiveness of an inhalation system delivered antibiotic combination on the treatment of highly resistant gram-negative bacterial infections in mechanically ventilated patients with respiratory failure.
Diana Do, M.D., ophthalmology and visual sciences, is the UNMC lead on a multi-center Phase IV clinical trial to assess the utility of an enzymatic small molecule used in the treatment of symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion.