UNMC College of Medicine faculty received 17 grant awards representing more than $2.9 million in new funding during the month of January. Highlights included:
Continued support for Ebola preparedness
Peter Iwen, Ph.D., pathology & microbiology, has received more than $600,000 through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services as a federal pass-through from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response. This is a supplemental award for Ebola preparedness and response activities.
Understanding cellular changes leading to aortic aneurysms
Xiong Wanfen, Ph.D., surgery – general surgery, has received a National Institutes of Health award for more than $300,000 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for a study involving molecular and phenotypic changes in aortic smooth muscle cells that lead to thoracic aortic aneurysms that can occur in patients with Marfan syndrome.
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.
Matthew Lunning, D.O., internal medicine – oncology/hematology, is the UNMC lead on a phase II clinical trial to determine the efficacy and safety of a new drug in patients with lymphoblastic leukemia.
Mark Rupp, M.D., internal medicine – infectious diseases, is the UNMC lead on a phase I-II study of a new synthesized human antibody for the treatment of Staph Aureus bacteremia.
Russell Smith, M.D., otolaryngology – head & neck surgery, is the UNMC lead on a phase II trial of a new adjuvant therapy for patients with newly diagnosed late-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth.
Nora Sarvetnick, Ph.D., surgery – transplant, has received support from the Helmsley Charitable Trust for a study of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that leads to the pathogenesis of autoantibody-negative type-I diabetes.
Deepta Ghate, M.D., M.B.B.S., ophthalmology & visual sciences, is the UNMC lead on a phase III study of a novel eye drop medication being tested for its ability to lower intraocular pressure in patients with ocular hypertension.
John Colombo, M.D., pediatrics – pulmonology, has received a Therapeutics Development Center award, as well as funding for an additional research coordinator, from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Dr. Colombo is also the UNMC lead on a phase III study of a new combination therapy for young adults with cystic fibrosis.
James Murphy, M.D., internal medicine – pulmonary, is the UNMC lead on a phase II study of the safety and efficacy of a new treatment for cystic fibrosis.
Quan Nguyen, M.D., ophthalmology & visual sciences, is the UNMC lead on a phase I study of a new drug for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration, as well as a comparative study on a new drug compared to current treatment options for macular edema associated with central retinal vein occlusion.
Diana Do, M.D., ophthalmology & visual sciences, is the UNMC lead on a phase IIIb study that is assessing the long-term safety of intravitreal injections of a new drug for the treatment of non-infectious uveitis.
Pierre Fayad, M.D., neurological sciences, is the UNMC lead on a study comparing the safety and efficacy of two drugs for secondary stroke prevention in patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS).
James McClay, M.D., emergency medicine, has received funding to support biomedical informatics education projects.
Shelby Kutty, M.D., pediatrics – cardiology, has received support from Liga dos Amigos Hospital – Santa Marta in Lisbon, Portugal, for his studies of the impact of treatment modality in vascular properties during the narrowing of the aorta.