UNMC College of Medicine faculty received 18 grant awards representing more than $2.3 million in new funding during the month of August.
Here are some of the research highlights:
Understanding chlamydial cell division processes
Scot Ouellette, PhD, pathology & microbiology, has received a National Institutes of Health award for $330,000 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to study the basic microbiological processes of chlamydial cell division, which remain poorly characterized, to improve knowledge that may facilitate rational drug design to limit effects of anti-chlamydial treatment on normal flora of the human host.
Immunometabolism in microbial sepsis
Haitao Wen, PhD, pathology & microbiology, has received a National Institutes of Health award for $320,000 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to study the mechanisms behind the dramatic increase in glucose metabolism that occurs in immune cells during microbial sepsis.
Effects of obesity on alcoholic liver disease
Saraswathi Viswanathan, PhD, internal medicine – diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism, has received a National Institutes of Health award for $320,000 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to determine the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and its increased severity in obesity, and to identify a therapeutic target that has the potential to reduce the effects of ALD.
Industry-sponsored grants:
The following industry-sponsored contracts and foundation grants were received. Information on clinical trials enrolling patients at UNMC can be found here.
Cyrus Desouza, MBBS, internal medicine – diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism, is the UNMC lead on a clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of a novel treatment to reduce cardiovascular outcomes by reducing triglycerides in patients with diabetes.
Whitney Goldner, MD, internal medicine – diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism, has received support to evaluate a new thyroglobulin assay in subjects with differentiated thyroid cancer.
John Colombo, MD, pediatrics – pulmonology, has received continued support from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for the Nebraska Regional Cystic Fibrosis Center, for which he directs the pediatric center.
P. James Murphy, MD, internal medicine – pulmonary, has received continued support from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for the Nebraska Regional Cystic Fibrosis Center, for which he directs the adult center.
Adam Burdorf, DO, internal medicine – cardiology, is the UNMC lead on a clinical study of a new heart failure monitoring system in patients with class III heart failure.
Scott Koepsell, MD, PhD, pathology & microbiology, has received support to evaluate a novel oral and intravenous (IV) drug, to be used for the treatment of several fungal infections, on its in-vitro coagulation parameters.
Pavankumar Tandra, MD, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, has received support from the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium to be the UNMC lead on a phase II study of the effectiveness of a combination therapy as a first-line therapy for metastatic hormone receptor positive breast cancer.
Kristi Warren, PhD, internal medicine – pulmonary, has received an award from the American Lung Association to study how gender and hormone differences may affect asthma severity.
Deepak Madhavan, MD, neurological sciences, has received support to compare the effectiveness of traditional vagus nerve stimulation to a novel stimulation device in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.
John Sparks, MD, pediatrics – administration, has received support from the University of Nebraska Foundation through its SIDS Research Fund for a study titled "Efficacy of local-level data to support implementation of local SIDS initiatives."
Edward Truemper, MD, pediatrics – critical care, has received support from the Virginia Commonwealth University for a study that aims to decrease antibiotic exposure in infants with suspected ventilator-associated infection. Dr. Truemper also has received support from the University of Arizona to study intestinal barrier function and post-operative enteral feeding in children with congenital heart disease.
Mark Kusek, MD, pediatrics – gastroenterology, has received support from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to assist in a study evaluating the use of combination therapy in pediatric patients with Crohn’s disease.
Travis McCumber, PhD, genetics, cell biology & anatomy, has received a NASA Nebraska Space Grant through the University of Nebraska at Omaha for a study titled "In Vitro Quantification and Validation of Mechanically-Induced Osteocyte Strain."
Ted Mikuls, MD, internal medicine – rheumatology, has received technical salary support from the VA Medical Center – Omaha for his Veteran’s Affairs Rheumatoid Arthritis (VARA) registry.