UNMC College of Medicine faculty received 40 grant awards representing more than $3.4 million in new funding during the months of May and June. Highlights included:
Understanding bacterial programmed cell death
Kenneth Bayles, Ph.D., pathology & microbiology, has received more than $300,000 through a National Institutes of Health award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study the metabolic, molecular, and regulatory control of bacterial programmed cell death in order to gain a better understanding of the bacterial death process that would direct the development of future therapeutic strategies to fight bacterial infections.
Understanding growth plate cartilage development
Andrew Dudley, Ph.D., genetics, cell biology & anatomy, has received more than $300,000 through a National Institutes of Health award from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for a study involving growth plate cartilage cells to better understand how these cells create a highly ordered array of cells during development as a way to direct future therapies for the treatment of growth disorders and to improve cartilage tissue engineering.
Reducing airway inflammation with diet changes
Tara Gries, Ph.D., internal medicine – pulmonary, has received a nearly $90,000 award from the National Institutes of Health – National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for a study to better understand the underlying mechanisms and the role that a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids plays in reducing inflammation, specifically in treating and preventing airway inflammation that is caused by agriculture-related dust exposure.
Gene mutation pathways in pancreatic cancer
Michel Ouellette, Ph.D., internal medicine – GI, has received more than $300,000 through a National Institutes of Health award from the National Cancer Institute for a study of K-Ras gene mutations and their impact on the initiation and progression of human pancreatic cancer. With a better understanding of new pathways and mechanisms controlled by mutant K-Ras, future novel therapeutic targets could be identified for the treatment of these cancers.
Effect of alcohol on insulin secretion and fatty liver disease
Karuna Rasineni, Ph.D., internal medicine – GI, has received a $108,761 National Institutes of Health award from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to study the effect that alcohol ingestion has on ghrelin and Rab3D levels, which lead to impaired insulin secretion and the movement of fatty acids from adipose tissue into the liver, causing fatty liver disease.
Signaling pathways in ovarian cancer
Cheng Wang, Ph.D., obstetrics/gynecology, has received more than $300,000 through a National Institutes of Health award from the National Cancer Institute to study the effects of a novel signaling pathway in order to uncover the molecular mechanisms leading to the initiation of high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma.
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.
Vijaya Bhatt, M.D., internal medicine – oncology/hematology, is the UNMC lead of a phase I clinical study of a novel combination therapy for the treatment of acute graft vs. host disease.
Cyrus Desouza, M.B.B.S., internal medicine – DEM, is the UNMC lead on a study investigating the cardiovascular safety of a drug in subjects with type 2 Diabetes. Dr. Desouza also has received support from George Washington University to assist in a study of emotional distress in a comparative effectiveness trial of diabetes treatments. Finally, Dr. Desouza also received technical salary support for his Veteran’s Affairs Nebraska Educational Biomedical Research Association-sponsored clinical trials.
Howard Fox, M.D., Ph.D., pharmacology & experimental neuroscience, has received support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for a study titled "Effect of Elevated Parkin on Brain Mitochondrial Bioenergetics and Proteome Dynamics."
Ronald Zolty, M.D., Ph.D., internal medicine – cardiology, is the UNMC lead of three separate clinical studies, including: a study to assess a novel drug in patients with pulmonary hypertension after the implantation of a left ventricular assist device; a study of a novel treatment for patients with left ventricular systopic dysfunction who are undergoing cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass; and assessment of a study drug in patients with chronic heart failure that are at a high risk of recurrent heart failure decompensation.
Daniel Murman, M.D., neurological sciences, has received support from the University of Southern California to assist in a study titled "Longitudinal Evaluation of Amyloid Risk and Neurodegeneration (A4-LEARN)."
James O’Dell, M.D., internal medicine – rheumatology, has received support from the University of California – San Francisco to assist in a study titled "Strategy to Prevent the Onset of Clinically-Apparent Rheumatoid Arthritis (StopRA)."
Quan Nguyen, M.D., ophthalmology & visual sciences, is the UNMC lead on a phase II clinical trial that will evaluate the use of a novel drug for inducing posterior vitreous detachment in patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
Diana Florescu, M.D., internal medicine – infectious diseases, has received support for three separate studies. Dr. Florescu will assist in a study of a novel treatment for serious adenovirus infection, an evaluation of adenovirus infection in solid organ transplant recipients, and an observational trial to evaluate the accuracy of a new diagnostic assay in diagnosing and monitoring cytomegalovirus infection or allograft rejection.
Samuel Cohen, M.D., Ph.D., pathology & microbiology, has received support to study the effects of short-term dietary administration of pyroxasulfone on urine and the bladder in a rat model.
Shyam Nandi, Ph.D., cellular & integrative physiology, received a postdoctoral award from the American Heart Association (Midwest Affiliate) for a study titled "Mitochondrial abnormality and its regulation by miRNA in diabetic hearts."
Pi-Wan Cheng, Ph.D., biochemistry & molecular biology, has received support through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NE DHHS) Cancer and Smoking Disease Research Grant competition for a study titled "Mechanism of the formation of tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens."
Melissa Teoh-Fitzgerald, Ph.D., biochemistry & molecular biology, has received support through the NE DHHS Cancer and Smoking Disease Research Grant competition for a study titled "Role of stromal Nox4 in breast cancer."
Todd Wyatt, Ph.D., internal medicine – pulmonary, has received support through the NE DHHS Cancer and Smoking Disease Research Grant competition for a study titled "Mechanism of decreased lung secretory IgA in cigarette smokers who drink alcohol."
James Harper, M.D., pediatrics – oncology/hematology, is the UNMC lead on a phase III clinical study of a novel treatment for patients with severe hemophilia A.
Paul Sorgen, Ph.D., biochemistry & molecular biology, has received support from the University of Arizona to study the phosphorylation and gating of cardiac connexin channels.
Kari Simonsen, M.D., pediatrics – infectious diseases, has received support from Duke University to assist in a phase II/III, multi-center study which will assess the safety and efficacy of a novel treatment for adolescents and children with suspected or confirmed community-acquired bacterial pneumonia.
John Harrington, M.D., internal medicine – pulmonary, has received support from National Jewish Health to assist in developing tailored treatment to enhance risk perception in sleep apnea.
Susan Swindells, M.B.B.S., internal medicine – infectious diseases, has received support from Brigham & Women’s Hospital to assist with the AIDS Clinical Trials group.
Kai Fu, M.D., Ph.D., pathology & microbiology, has received support from the Mayo Clinic to study the molecular diagnosis and prognosis in aggressive lymphoma.
Donny Suh, M.D., ophthalmology & visual sciences, has received support from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for a study on postnatal growth and retinopathy in cases of prematurity.
Andrea Zimmer, M.D., internal medicine – infectious diseases, has received support from the University of Alabama – Birmingham to assist in a multi-center, case control study of novel assays for the diagnosis of histoplasmosis.
Diana Do, M.D., ophthalmology & visual sciences, is the UNMC lead on a study which will assess the safety and efficacy of a novel treatment for patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
Julie Vose, M.D., internal medicine – oncology/hematology, has received support from Columbia University to assist in a study involving auto-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with Epstein-Barr virus.
Christopher Erickson, M.D., pediatrics – cardiology, has received support from Yale University for a study designed to better understand the effects of exercise in genetic cardiovascular conditions.
Pariwat Thaisetthawatkul, M.D., neurological sciences, has received support from the University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute for a study titled "Patient Assisted Intervention for Neuropathy: Comparison of Treatment in Real Life Situations (PAIN-CONTRoLS)."
Timothy Baxter, M.D., and Jason Johanning, M.D., surgery – general surgery, have both received a 2016 Student Research Fellowship from the Society for Vascular Surgery Foundation.
Lora Arnold, pathology & microbiology, has received support from the New York University School of Medicine to study the growth, differentiation and diseases of urothelium