UNMC College of Medicine faculty received 41 grant awards representing $9.57 million in new funding during the months of September and October.
Here’s a brief summary on 16 of the largest research awards:
Tony Wilson, PhD, neurological sciences, has been awarded a $1.3 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for a project that will focus on validating the Research Domain Criteria, a framework for classifying mental disorders based on dimensions of observable behavior and neurobiological measures. Dr. Wilson will employ a variety of methods, including multimodal imaging, to help validate this framework.
Howard Gendelman, MD, pharmacology and experimental neuroscience, has been awarded a $738,000 grant from the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Gendelman will continue to work on research that further develops the field of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) theranostics. This project will focus on developing nanoparticles to facilitate HIV control with an emphasis on the central nervous system.
Iraklis Pipinos, MD, PhD, surgery, has been awarded a $624,600 grant from the NIH’s National Institute on Aging for his project to investigate the impact of certain cell-based therapies for peripheral artery disease (PAD). The project hopes to develop a new treatment for PAD that overcomes the limitations of current treatments.
Kai Fu, MD, PhD, pathology/microbiology, has been awarded a $614,000 grant from the U.S. Army’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs to investigate therapies for MYC-driven lymphomas using PLK-1, an enzyme believed to mediate the development of MYC lymphomas.
Daniel Murman, MD, neurological sciences, has received funding through the University of Southern California from the National Institute on Aging. Dr. Murman will be the UNMC lead on a clinical trial investigating the use of a certain anti-amyloid treatment in patients with early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Channabasavaiah Gurumurthy, PhD, pharmacology and experimental neuroscience, has received a $455,700 award from the NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute for a project focused on developing modular CRISPR technologies to streamline the process of developing genetically modified mouse models for use in research.
Paul Sorgen, PhD, biochemistry and molecular biology, has received a $424,600 award from the NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences to better understand the role of phosphorylation and proteins in the mechanisms underlying lethal cardiac rhythms.
Huangui Xiong, MD, PhD, pharmacology and experimental neuroscience, has received a $411,500 award from the NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse to investigate how methamphetamine abuse exacerbates certain HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders.
Shilpa Buch, PhD, pharmacology and experimental neuroscience, has received a $377,400 award from the NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse for her project which seeks to understand the underlying mechanisms of the neuro-inflammatory response induced by HIV and cocaine to inform the development of novel therapeutics.
So-Youn Kim, PhD, obstetrics/gynecology, has received a $324,000 award from the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for her project focused on understanding how cancer treatments affect the ovarian reserve and developing protective mechanisms to prevent primordial follicle depletion.
Joshua Santarpia, PhD, pathology/microbiology, has received a work order from the National Strategic Research Institute for research related to advanced diagnostics and decontamination.
Samikshan Dutta, PhD, biochemistry and molecular biology, has received a $165,800 award from the NIH’s National Cancer Institute for a project investigating novel targets in therapy-resistant prostate cancer. Dr. Dutta will focus on cellular mediators that facilitate altered expression of genes.
James O’Dell, MD, internal medicine – rheumatology, has received funding through Emory University, from the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, for a project titled, “Strategy to Prevent the Onset of Clinically-Apparent Rheumatoid Arthritis.”
Matthew Lunning, DO, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, has received funding through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from the National Cancer Institute as the UNMC lead on a project to develop and validate the “stress-free intra-tubular cell culture technology” for CAR-T cell production.
Susan Swindells, MBBS, internal medicine – infectious disease, has received funding through the University of California Los Angeles as protocol co-chair on a multi-site clinical trial focusing on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.
Three individuals have received support through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NE DHHS) Stem Cell Research Grant competition. Funded by LB606, this program focuses on stem cell research that does not use human embryonic stem cells. Recipients include:
- Kyle Hewitt, PhD, genetics, cell biology, and anatomy, for a project titled, “Signaling Mechanisms in Hematopoietic Stem Cells;”
- Xiaowei Li, PhD, neurological sciences, for a project titled, “Injectable Antioxidative Resilient Composite for Peripheral Artery Disease Treatment;” and
- Katherine Hyde, PhD, biochemistry and molecular biology, for a project titled, “Evaluation of Novel Agents for HSC Mobilization.”
Industry-sponsored grants and contracts:
The following industry-sponsored contracts and foundation grants were received. Information on clinical trials enrolling patients at UNMC can be found here.
Wuttiporn Manatsathit, MD, internal medicine – gastroenterology and hepatology, will be the UNMC lead on a phase III clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of a certain drug for the treatment of liver fibrosis in adults with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Douglas Stoller, MD, internal medicine – cardiovascular, will be the UNMC lead on a study evaluating the clinical outcomes of a certain drug for type-2 diabetes patients post worsening heart failure.
Joshua Havens, PharmD, internal medicine – infectious diseases, is the UNMC lead on a clinical trial investigating the effectiveness and safety of certain drugs in HIV-1-infected patients with active illicit substance use.
Rudolph Lackner, MD, surgery – cardiothoracic surgery, will be the UNMC lead on a phase I/IIa study evaluating the safety and efficacy of an adjuvant vaccine in adult patients with certain solid tumors.
Julie Vose, MD, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, has received funding as the UNMC lead on a phase III trial of a certain drug for use in adult patients with relapsed aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Nora Sarvetnick, PhD, surgery – transplant, has received funding from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International for a project titled, “CMV Biomarkers for Prediction of Progression to Type-1 Diabetes.”
Ronald Zolty, MD, internal medicine – cardiovascular, has received two awards as the UNMC lead on clinical trials focused on pulmonary hypertension and acute heart failure patients.
Robert (Greg) Bociek, MD, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, will be the UNMC lead on a phase III clinical trial comparing certain drugs in patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Danish Bhatti, MD, neurological sciences, is the UNMC lead on a clinical study evaluating the efficacy and safety of a certain drug for the treatment of dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Afsaneh Shirani, MD, neurological sciences, has received funding from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for a project titled, “Predicting clinical progression in multiple sclerosis patients using a novel imaging biomarker targeted at differentiating and quantifying the underlying pathologies.”
Sarah Holstein, MD, PhD, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, has received funding for a project titled, “Evaluation of the effects of melfluefen on the UPR in myeloma.”
Daniel Monaghan, PhD, pharmacology and experimental neuroscience, has received funding for a project titled, “Synaptic alterations underlying major brain disorders.”
Amy Cannella, MD, internal medicine – rheumatology, has received the Amgen Fellowship Training Award through the Rheumatology Research Foundation.
Hani Haider, PhD, orthopaedic surgery, has received two work orders to evaluate a total hip replacement system and a total knee replacement system.
Sachit Patel, MD, pediatrics – hematology/oncology, has received funding as the UNMC lead on a phase II trial investigating a certain drug for infants with severe combined immunodeficiency.
Krishna Gundabolu, MBBS, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, will be the UNMC lead on a phase III trial investigating a certain drug for secondary prevention of cancer-related venous thrombosis in patients who have received anticoagulation therapy.
Jessica Maxwell, MD, surgery – surgical oncology, has received funding as the UNMC lead on a phase III trial comparing certain therapies in patients with low-risk ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
Donald Coulter, MD, pediatrics – hematology/oncology, has received a work order on the Children’s Oncology Group Pediatric MATCH Trial.
Peter J. Murphy, MD, internal medicine – pulmonary, has received funding as the UNMC lead on a study investigating coproduction in adult cystic fibrosis care.
Zachary Bauman, DO, surgery – general surgery, will be the UNMC lead on a trial investigating a certain catheter in patients with traumatic hemothorax.