UNMC College of Medicine faculty received 10 grant awards representing $1.9 million in new funding during the month of April. Highlights included:
Stephen Bonasera, M.D., Ph.D., internal medicine – geriatrics, has received more than $900,000 in support from the University of California, San Francisco, to create the UCSF and UNMC Dementia Care Ecosystem. This collaboration intends to develop innovative technologies to personalize and deliver coordinated care for persons living with dementia.
Yasir Sepah, M.D., ophthalmology & visual sciences, has received more than $500,000 in support to provide image reading and sample analysis for two separate clinical trials involving diabetic macular edema.
Samuel Cohen, M.D., Ph.D., pathology & microbiology, has received more than $100,000 in support to study the proliferative effects of polyhexanide (PHMB), a disinfectant, on liver tissue in an animal model.
Industry-sponsored grants:
The following industry-sponsored contracts and foundation grants also were received. Information on clinical trials enrolling patients at UNMC can be found here.
Sara Bares, M.D., internal medicine – infectious diseases, has received support from Massachusetts General Hospital to be the UNMC lead for an NIH-supported clinical trial that focuses on HIV-related cardiovascular disease.
Rebecca Wilshusen, a Ph.D. student in pharmacology & experimental neuroscience, has received a National Institutes of Health award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for her project titled, "T cell-mediated mechanisms of neurodegeneration in models of Parkinson's disease."
Bryan Becker, a Ph.D. student in cellular & integrative physiology, has received a National Institutes of Health award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for his project titled, "Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Sympathoexcitation in Chronic Heart Failure."
Howard Gendelman, M.D., pharmacology & experimental neuroscience, has received support through the Michael J. Fox Foundation for his research on novel agonists that provide neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects in Parkinson’s disease.
Walter (Scott) Campbell, Ph.D., pathology & microbiology, has received support to utilize new slide scanning technology for use in anatomic pathological analysis of patient tissue samples.
Shane Tsai, M.D., internal medicine – cardiology, has received support to take part in a multi-center observational study of adults with repaired congenital heart disease who are at risk for developing pulmonary arterial hypertension.