Nora Sarvetnick, Ph.D., surgery-transplantation, has been awarded a $2.6 million National Institutes of Health grant by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). She will study the role of a subset of immune cells – CD8 T cells expressed in the interleukin 18 receptor – in precipitating the onset of autoimmune diabetes. The role of these cells will provide a new model for understanding how diabetes develops in humans and open avenues for the prevention and treatment of type 1 diabetes. For more information, click here.
Huangui Xiong, M.D., Ph.D., pharmacology/experimental neuroscience, has been awarded a $1.8 million National Institutes of Health grant by the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to study how HIV-1 triggers microglia activation, a phagocytic cell strongly linked to HIV-1 activated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Dr. Xiong will explore the ion-channel, Kv1.3 as a potential target for the development of therapeutic strategies in HAND. For more information, click here.
Surinder Batra, Ph.D., biochemistry and molecular biology, has been awarded a $147,000 National Institutes of Health grant by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to further his work in the role of MUC4 in pancreatic cancer. He aims to investigate whether down regulating the expression of MUC4 can be used in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs to treat pancreatic cancer. For more information, click here.
Paul Sorgen, Ph.D., biochemistry and molecular biology, was the recipient of a University of Nebraska Foundation equipment grant. He will use the grant to purchase an EmulsiFlex-C3 Homogenizer to be used in the rupture of cellular membranes. This equipment will be available to campus researchers who need a more gentle method of cellular disruption to further their structural biology and biophysics studies.
The School of Allied Health Professions has received two grants aimed at improving health care in rural communities. The largest grant – from the Health Resources and Services Administration – provides $993,910 over five years and will allow UNMC to host a biennial Physician Assistants Rural Primary Care National Conference in 2014 and 2016. Michael Huckabee, Ph.D., and Kyle Meyer, Ph.D., are co-primary investigators. The second grant – from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality – provides $593,088 to improve patient care and safety by reducing inpatient falls in critical access hospitals that primarily serve rural older adult populations. Katherine Jones, Ph.D. is the primary investigator.
The UNMC Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences has received a $110,000 grant from Research to Prevent Blindness to conduct research to discover causes of and cures for eye diseases such as macular degeneration and glaucoma. RPB is the world’s leading voluntary organization in support of eye research.