UNMC College of Medicine faculty received 15 grant awards representing more than $4 million in new funding during the month of December.
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.
Vijaya Bhatt, MD, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, is the UNMC lead on two separate clinical studies, including a phase III study of a drug for patients with corticosteroid-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease, as well as a phase 1/2 study of a new drug in subjects with advanced malignancies. Dr. Bhatt also serves as the UNMC lead on a phase II clinical study, sponsored by the National Marrow Donor Program, that will compare different treatment regimens in patients with acute graft-versus-host disease.
Nora Sarvetnick, PhD, surgery – transplant, has received support from the Helmsley Charitable Trust to study the underlying mechanisms that cause autoantibody-negative type 1 diabetes.
Susan Swindells, MBBS, internal medicine – infectious disease, is the UNMC lead on a phase IIIb study of two long-acting antiretroviral drugs on their ability to suppress viral levels in adults with HIV-1.
Matthew Lunning, DO, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, is the UNMC lead on a phase 1/2 study of different combinations of a new drug to treat relapsed and refractory B-cell malignancies.
Daniel Murman, MD, neurological sciences, is the UNMC lead on a phase III clinical study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a new drug in patients with prodromal to mild Alzheimer's disease.
Maneesh Jain, PhD, biochemistry & molecular biology, has received support from Iowa State University to assist in developing nanovaccine platforms to be used against pancreatic cancer.
Pavankumar Tandra, MBBS, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, has received support from Alliance Foundation Trials to be the UNMC lead on their phase III study that will evaluate whether the addition of a study drug in combination with anti-HER2 therapy and endocrine therapy is superior as a treatment in patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer.
Marilynn Larson, PhD, pathology & microbiology, has received a task order from the National Strategic Research Institute to develop and optimize microbial assays and provide training on their use as a diagnostic tool in the field.
Chi Lin, MD, PhD, radiation oncology, has received funding from the Otis Glebe Medical Research Foundation, through the University of Nebraska Foundation, to complete a dose-escalation study of the combination of a study drug with standard radiation therapy in newly diagnosed cases of anal squamous cell carcinoma.
John Dickinson, MD, PhD, internal medicine – pulmonary, has received funding from Dartmouth College as part of their Cystic Fibrosis Program to study the transition of lung transplant patients with cystic fibrosis.
Shane Havens, MD, ophthalmology & visual sciences, is the UNMC lead on a clinical study of a new ophthalmic solution in patients of Japanese heritage with elevated intraocular pressure.
Bradley Britigan, MD, dean of the College of Medicine, has received technical salary support from the V.A. Medical Center – Omaha.
Hani Haider, PhD, orthopaedic surgery, has received support to perform constraint testing of modified designs of a total knee replacement system.