The UNMC College of Medicine recently received grants and awards representing $7.1 million in new funding. Awards included:
- Venkateswaran Subramanian, PhD, internal medicine-cardiovascular, received a grant of $504,671 from DHHS/NIH/NHLBI to study the role of mir-146a in abdominal aortic aneurysm.
- Apar Ganti, MD, internal medicine-Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, received a grant of $300,000 from the University of Washington to study the safety and efficacy of a multiple antigen vaccine (STEMVAC) in non-small-cell lung cancer patients.
- Kelly Stauch, PhD, neurological sciences, received a grant of $300,000 from the University of Washington to study the safety and efficacy of a multiple antigen vaccine (STEMVAC) in non-small-cell lung cancer patients.
- Amy Cannella, MD, internal medicine-rheumatology, received a grant of $100,000 from the Rheumatology Research Foundation for the RRF Fellowship Training Grant 2026-28.
- Peter Pellegrino, MD, PhD, anesthesiology, received a grant of $95,556 from the Glebe Medical research Foundation-NO Foundation for “Non-invasive measurement of the fight -or-flight nervous system: Disease Insights from the Guardian of Health.”
- Lisa Chudomelka, internal medicine-administration, received a grant of $75,672 from the Nebraska Biomedical Research Association as an ICA for Purnima Guda, PhD.
- Padmashri Ragunathan, PhD, neurological sciences, received a grant of $40,000 from the Omaha Community Foundation for the Heflin Auditory Research Fund.
- Adedayo Ogunware, cellular and integrative physiology, received a grant of $35,338 from the American Heart Association for the study “S. aureus biofilms exploit lipid metabolism to promote PMN-to-G-MDSC reprogramming.”
- Roslyn Mannon, MD, internal medicine-nephrology, received a grant of $33,753 from the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute as a senior staff SRTR.
- Nithya Ramesh, DMSc, internal medicine-cardiovascular, received a grant of $25,694 from the American Heart Association as the AHA Ppost-doctoral fellowship on the study “Role of miR 146a in thoracic aortic aneurysm.”
- Smitha Mathew, MBBS, orthopaedic surgery, received a grant of $5,000 from the Pediatric Trauma Society to study acute stress as a predictor of functional and psychosocial outcomes in pediatric orthopaedic trauma.
- Arenn Carlos, PhD, neurological sciences, received a grant of $5,000 from the American Academy of Neurology to study cerebrovascular reactivity as a screening and monitoring tool for amyloid-beta burden in Alzheimer’s disease patients receiving anti-amyloid immunotherapy.
Industry-sponsored grants and contracts:
The following industry-sponsored grants and contracts were received.
- Matthew Lunning, DO, internal medicine-oncology/hematology, received funding for a study evaluating the safety and efficacy of LYL314, a CD19/CD20 dual-targeting chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in participants with aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Kelsey Klute, MD, internal medicine-pulminary, received funding for a study of RAS(ON) inhibitors in patients with gastrointestinal solid tumors. Dr. Klute also received funding to compare BMS-986504 in combination with Nab-paclitaxel and Gemcitabine vs. placebo in combination with Nab-paclitaxel and Gemcitabine in participants with untreated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
- Ruxana Sadikot, MD, internal medicine-oncology/hematology, received funding for a study to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of BI 1291583 2.5 mg administered once daily for up to 76 weeks in patients with bronchiectasis.
- Harshraj Leuva, MBBS, internal medicine-oncology/hematology, received funding for a trial of Casdatifan and Cabozantinib vs. placebo and Cabozantinib in patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma.
- Laura Tenner, MD, internal medicine-oncology/hematology, received funding for a study of Zolbetuximab in combination with Pembrolizumab and chemotherapy (CAPOX or mFOLFOX6). Dr. Tenner also received funding to evaluate the safety and efficacy of MK-1084, Cetuximab, and mFOLFOX6 vs. mFOLFOX6 with or without Bevacizumab.
- James Willcockson, MD, surgery-plastic and reconstructive, received funding for a trial of Stimulan VG with debridement and a course of systemic antibiotics vs. standard of care for the treatment of osteomyelitis associated with Stage IV pressure ulcers.
- Carlos Gomez, MD, internal medicine-infectious diseases, received funding for a trial assessing the clinical utility of plasma-based microbial cell-free metagenomic sequencing among immunocompromised patients.
- Anum Abbas, MBBS, internal medicine-infectious diseases, received funding to evaluate the persistence of immune response of the adjuvanted RSVPreF3 vaccine and the safety and immunogenicity following revaccination in lung and kidney transplant patients.
- Brad Brabec, MD, pediatrics-health system science, received funding to investigate the safety and immunogenicity of a single dose of a 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in children and adolescents with sickle cell anemia.
- Brett Duncan, MD, surgery-cardiothoracic, received funding for a multicenter patient registry for outcomes from comprehensive ablation treatments of atrial arrhythmias.
- David F. Mercer, MD, PhD, surgery-transplant, received funding for a trial investigating the long-term safety and efficacy of Glepaglutide in adult patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS) rolling over from the EASE SBS 2 or 3 trials.
- Alfred Fisher, MD, PhD, internal medicine-geriatrics, received funding for a clinical validation of BrainCheck Digital Cognitive Testing.
- Gwenn Skar, MD, pediatrics-infectious diseases, received funding for a Material Transfer Agreement – Pediatric CSF Biomarkers.
- Krishna Gundabolu, MBBS, internal medicine-oncology/hematology, received funding for the “Expanded Access Program (EAP) for Obecabtagene Autoleucel (obe-cel) Out-of-specification (OOS) in Adult Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.”