UNMC College of Medicine faculty received 22 grant awards representing more than $1.9 million in new funding during the month of February.
Here’s a brief summary of two of the largest grants received:
Alternative treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy
Deepak Madhavan, MD, neurological sciences, has received $500,000 from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to lead a medical cannabidiol pilot clinical study, which allows access to cannabidiol oil for patients who suffer from intractable or treatment-resistant seizures.
Effects of starvation stress on bacterial pathogens
Scot Ouellette, PhD, pathology & microbiology, has received $390,000 from the Molecular and Cellular Bioscience Division of the National Science Foundation to study the underlying changes in gene expression of bacterial pathogens in response to starvation conditions. This project will also focus on using several strategies to increase participation by American Indian students in college-level STEM research.
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.
Muhamed Baljevic, MD, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, is the UNMC lead on a phase I/II clinical study of a novel treatment for patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma.
Austin Thompson, MD, internal medicine – pulmonary, is the UNMC lead on a clinical trial of a new drug for patients with progressive fibrosing interstitial lung disease, which currently has no worthwhile treatment available. Dr. Thompson is also the UNMC lead on a study that will use a wearable wrist device to evaluate the effect of a study drug on the physical activity of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Vijaya Bhatt, MD, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, has received support from the National Marrow Donor Program to serve as the UNMC lead on a phase III clinical trial of a new maintenance therapy following allogeneic transplant in patients with a genetic form of acute myeloid leukemia.
J. Americo Fernandes, MD, neurological sciences, is the UNMC lead on a clinical study to examine the effect of a novel injectable drug on functional decline in adult patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Kerry Rodabaugh, MD, obstetrics/gynecology, has received funding from the Gynecologic Oncology Group Foundation to serve as the UNMC lead on a phase III clinical study that will evaluate the safety and efficacy of a combination therapy in patients with ovarian, fallopian, or peritoneal cancer.
Jonathan Cramer, MD, pediatrics – cardiology, is the UNMC lead on a study of a novel drug in pediatric patients with only a single ventricle in the heart and who have undergone corrective surgery. Dr. Cramer also has received funding from Baylor Research Institute to assist with their adult congenital heart disease patient-reported outcomes tool.
Peter James Murphy, MD, internal medicine – pulmonary, is the UNMC lead on a phase I clinical study that will assess the safety and tolerability of a novel drug on healthy adult volunteers and in patients with cystic fibrosis who are currently on stable therapies. Dr. Murphy also has received funding from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to assist with developing a novel chronic care network for cystic fibrosis and piloting a new learning health system.
Carol Toris, PhD, ophthalmology & visual sciences, has received support to study the ability of nitric oxide donating compounds on their ability to lower intraocular pressure in an animal model.
Paul Thomes, PhD, internal medicine – GI, has received funding from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to study the role of modifications to lipid droplets in the liver in metabolic syndrome.
Jean Grem, MD, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, has received support through the Hoosier Cancer Research Network through the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium to serve as the UNMC lead on a phase I/II clinical trial of a novel study drug in patients with advanced or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma.
Sidharth Mahapatra, MD, PhD, pediatrics – critical care, has received an award from the Edna Ittner Trust through the University of Nebraska Foundation for a study titled "Elucidation of miR1253 as a putative tumor suppressor gene in non-SHH/WNT MB."
Paul Sorgen, PhD, biochemistry & molecular biology, has received funding from Rutgers University for a study of the gating and regulation of connexin hemichannels.
Pierre Fayad, MD, neurological sciences, has received support from the University of Cincinnati to serve as the UNMC lead on a clinical study of a novel treatment to perform better than aspirin in the prevention of recurrent stroke in patients with cryptogenic ischemic stroke and atrial cardiopathy.
Daniel Monaghan, PhD, pharmacology & experimental neuroscience, has received support from Creighton University to study NMDA receptor subtypes in the basal ganglia.
Stephen Obaro, MBBS, PhD, pediatrics – infectious diseases, has received support to develop strategies to enhance diagnostics for malaria in endemic settings where there is a high prevalence of genetic defects involving the hemoglobin molecule.
Stephen Rennard, MD, internal medicine – pulmonary, has received funding from the University of Illinois-Chicago to assist with a clinical study comparing two treatments to prevent exacerbations and episodes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Gernon Longo, MD, surgery – urologic surgery, is the UNMC lead on a clinical trial that will compare the effectiveness of the best available surgical treatment with the best available endovascular treatment in patients with critical limb ischemia.