Research highights

UNMC College of Medicine faculty received 17 grant awards representing more than $2 million in new funding during the month of March.
 
Five of the most significant research grants are highlighted below:
 
Alfred Fisher, MD, PhD, internal medicine-geriatrics, has received support through the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio to assist with their NIH-funded grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke investigating a novel method to improve the effectiveness of omega-3 fatty acid supplements.
 
Larisa Poluektova, MD, PhD, pharmacology & experimental neuroscience, received a National Institutes of Health award for $529,000 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to investigate how HIV, in combination with alcohol, has a toxic effect on liver cells, with the goal of identifying additional treatments to prevent liver damage in patients with HIV. Additionally, Dr. Poluektova received an NIH award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to support her ongoing work studying hepatitis B and HIV co-infection.
 
Scot Ouellette, PhD, pathology & microbiology, has received support from Washington State University to assist with their NIH-funded grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases investigating the processes that allow disease-causing organisms to survive undetected, with a particular focus on chlamydiae.
 
Cyrus Desouza, MBBS, internal medicine-diabetes, endocrine & metabolism, received funding through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to support the Nebraska Center for the Prevention of Obesity Diseases (NPOD) and their research into the role of the amino acid histidine in obesity-related metabolic disorders.
 
Kathleen Grant, MD, internal medicine-pulmonary, critical care, sleep & allergy medicine, has received funding from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for continued investigation and development of methods for treating smokeless tobacco use in veteran populations.
 
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.
 
Lori Maness-Harris, MD, internal medicine-oncology & hematology, is the UNMC lead of a phase I/II clinical study of a novel drug for use in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a bone marrow failure disorder.
 
Adam Burdorf, DO, internal medicine-cardiovascular medicine, is the UNMC lead on a clinical trial investigating a new device for cardiovascular monitoring in heart failure patients.
 
Michael Lankhorst, MD, anesthesiology, is the UNMC lead for a phase III clinical study of a novel single-injection drug for relieving pain in patients with sciatica.
 
Aleem Siddique, MBBS, surgery-cardiovascular & thoracic, has received support to serve as the UNMC lead assessing the safety and effectiveness of an organ care system used to preserve and assess lungs prior to transplantation.
 
Diego Torres-Russotto, MD, neurological sciences, is the UNMC lead on a phase III clinical study investigating a novel drug for use in patient populations with isolated cervical dystonia.
 
Shane Tsai, MD, internal medicine-cardiovascular medicine, has received support to serve as the UNMC lead on a study investigating the clinical factors surrounding the use of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy, which are devices that prevent sudden cardiac death.
 
Peter James Murphy, MD, internal medicine-pulmonary, critical care, sleep & allergy medicine, is the UNMC lead on a phase III clinical trial investigating a novel drug therapy for patients with cystic fibrosis.
 
Andrew Goldsweig, MD, internal medicine-cardiovascular medicine, has received funding through the Cardiovascular Research Foundation to assist with a study investigating a novel approach to transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
 
Nitin Garg, MBBS, surgery-general surgery, has received support to serve as the UNMC lead on a clinical follow-up study evaluating the outcomes of patients who received a novel patch during vascular repair or reconstruction.
 
Matthew Van Hook, PhD, ophthalmology & visual sciences, has received support through the University of Nebraska Foundation, in the form of a Nebraska Bankers Association Equipment Grant, to implement a custom electroretinography system to study retinal function.
 
Vijay Shivaswamy, MD, internal medicine-diabetes, endocrinology & metabolism, has received salary support for a clinical research associate on his clinical studies sponsored by the Veterans Affairs Nebraska Educational Biomedical Research Association.