Research highlights

UNMC College of Medicine faculty received 29 grant awards representing more than $5.9 million in new funding during the months of December and January.
 
Here’s a brief summary of seven of the largest grants received:
 
Keer Sun, PhD, pathology & microbiology, received a National Institutes of Health award for $493,000 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for her project titled, "Oxidative Burst in Influenza and MRSA Co-Infection."
 
Babu Padanilam, PhD, cellular & integrative physiology, received a National Institutes of Health award for $425,000 from the National Institute of Mental Health for his project titled, "Reno-protective mechanisms of EETs in acute and chronic obstructive nephropathy."
 
Merry Lindsey, PhD, cellular & integrative physiology, received a National Institutes of Health award for $381,000 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for her project titled, "MMP-12as an Endogenous Post-MI Resolution Promoting Factor."
 
Saraswathi Viswanathan, PhD, internal medicine – diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism, received a National Institutes of Health award for $184,000 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for her project titled, "The Role of TP-R on Adipose Tissue Browning: Therapeutic Implications in Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease."
 
Kyle Hewitt, PhD, genetics, cell biology & anatomy, received a National Institutes of Health Mentored Research Scientist Development Award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for his project titled, "Mechanisms of a GATA Factor-Dependent Hematopoietic Signaling Pathway."
 
Saswati Karmakar, a PhD student in the department of biochemistry & molecular biology,  received a National Institutes of Health Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award from the National Cancer Institute for her project titled, "Pancreatic cancer stem cells: PD2-mediated novel mechanistic link and metabolomic alterations."
 
Trey Farmer, a PhD student in the department of biochemistry & molecular biology, has received a National Institutes of Health Individual Predoctoral Fellows Award from the National Cancer Institute for his project titled, "A Novel Role for Membrane Trafficking in Mitochondrial Homeostasis and Apoptosis."
 
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.
 
M. Rohan Fernando, PhD, obstetrics/gynecology, received transitional research support from the Ryan Foundation.
 
Kelsey Klute, MD, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, received support through the Mayo Clinic to assist with a phase II clinical study of the safety and efficacy of a novel combination therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer.
 
Muhamed Baljevic, MD, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, is the UNMC lead on two separate clinical studies, including a phase 1b/2 study of CAR-T therapy in multiple myeloma patients and a phase 1b/2 study of a combination therapy with backbone treatments for multiple myeloma.
 
Javeed Iqbal, PhD, pathology & microbiology, received support from the Mayo Clinic for a study titled, "Molecular Pathogenesis and genetic etiology of newly defined subgroups of PTCL-NOS."
 
Keely Buesing, MD, surgery – general surgery, received a task order award through the National Strategic Research Institute for a proof of concept study of the use of oxygenated microbubbles to mitigate acute respiratory distress for en route care.
 
Howard Fox, MD, PhD, neurological sciences, received funding from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for a study titled, "Parkin as a Protective Strategy against Mitochondrial DNA Stress."
 
Joshua Santarpia, PhD, pathology & microbiology, received a task order through the National Strategic Research Institute for the development of a biological sampler.
 
Pavankumar Tandra, MD, internal medicine – oncology/hematology, received support through the Hoosier Cancer Research Network, as part of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium, to assist with their phase II clinical study of a combination therapy in HER-2 negative advanced/metastatic breast cancer patients.
 
Richard Gumina, MD, PhD, internal medicine – cardiovascular, received support through the Vanderbilt University Medical Center to study ectonucleotidases in ischemic heart disease.
 
John Colombo, MD, pediatrics – pulmonology, received a Therapeutics Development Center award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
 
Eric Peeples, MD, pediatrics – newborn medicine, received an award from the Edna Ittner Trust through the University of Nebraska Foundation for a study titled, "Extracellular vesicles as biomarkers for neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy."
 
Carol Toris, PhD, ophthalmology & visual sciences, received a work order from the NicOx Research Institute.
 
Donald Coulter, MD, pediatrics – hematology/oncology, received four separate awards through the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to assist with clinical studies ranging from new antibody treatments for children and young adults with lymphoblastic leukemia to combining novel drugs with intensive therapy for children with newly diagnosed high-risk neuroblastoma.
 
Adam Sutton, MD, otolaryngology-head & neck surgery, received support through the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery for a study titled, "Integration of Patient Reported Outcome and Skin Cancer Treatment."
 
Samuel Bierner, MD, physical medicine & rehabilitation, received support from the University of Nebraska at Omaha to assist with their study of the impact of using an assistive device during treadmill and over ground walking post-stroke.
 
Aaron Barksdale, MD, emergency medicine, is the UNMC lead on a Johns Hopkins University clinical trial of vitamin C, thiamine, and steroids as combination therapy in patients with sepsis.
 
Jonathan Cramer, MD, internal medicine – cardiovascular, received support from the Oregon Health and Science University to study the outcomes of congestive heart failure in patients with systemic right ventricle.
 
Andrea Zimmer, MD, internal medicine – infectious diseases, received support to study incidence and practice patterns of adenovirus infections in hematopoietic cell transplants.