Abstract
Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) received a $2.5 million grant from the Department of Defense (DOD) to continue investigation of the role of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in resuscitation after trauma and hemorrhagic shock. Funding for the project was awarded and administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research & Materiel Command (USAMRMC) and the Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) at Fort Detrick, MD.
BCM researchers previously demonstrated a reduced mortality rate of 80 percent in a rat model treated intravenously with IL-6. Major organs of the animals treated with IL-6 during resuscitation were less adversely affected. Investigators discovered that IL-6 is responsible for activation of the transcription factor STAT3. Researchers will use the funding to investigate the effectiveness of such treatment in other animal models as well as for the treatment of different types of trauma.
Mayo Clinic Receives $100M Gift
The Mayo Clinic received a gift of $100 million from Richard O. Jacobson to establish the Mayo Clinic Proton Beam Therapy Program. The multi-site program will include new facilities on the Rochester and Phoenix campuses and will serve as a part of Mayo Clinic's three-site cancer program. The program will offer cutting-edge targeted technology to treat cancer, including pencil beam scanning, which may alleviate some side effects of traditional radiotherapy.
Mr. Jacobson founded Jacobson Companies, which is headquartered in Des Moines, IA. He is a long-time patient and supporter of Mayo. His previous gifts include the establishment of the Richard O. Jacobson Professorship in Molecular Medicine, currently held by Stephen Russell, MD, PhD. His most recent gift represents the largest sum given to Mayo Clinic by a living person. The new building in Rochester is planned to be named in his honor. The Phoenix and Rochester facilities are expected to be fully operational by early 2016, at which time Mayo estimates treating over 2,400 patients annually as part of the Proton Beam Therapy Program. The cost for both facilities is estimated at over $400 million, and Mayo is seeking additional philanthropic support to complete these projects as well as other cancer-related research and education initiatives.
Medical College of Georgia Renamed
The Medical College of Georgia was officially renamed Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU) in a ceremony on February 1. GHSU leadership announced the name change, which was approved last fall, as the beginning of a new era for the school.
Since its inception in 1828, the university has had 6 names, including: Medical Academy of Georgia; Medical Institute of Georgia, and the University of Georgia Department of Medicine. The institution had been known as Medical College of Georgia since 1950, when it became an autonomous health sciences university. Leaders noted that the new name is representative of the school's growth and increasing prominence over the years. University President, Ricardo Azziz, MD, indicated that the renaming comes at an important time for the school as it endeavors to become a leading research university and top academic health center.
Nih National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities Names Chair
Wayne J. Riley, MD, MPH, MBA, MACP, President and CEO of Meharry Medical College, has been named Chair of the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NACMHD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His appointment was effective in February this year. The NACMHD is an advisory body appointed by the US Secretary of Health and Human Services that serves to inform the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Director and the Secretary on research funding, priorities, and other matters pertinent to minority health in the US. In his new role, Dr. Riley will work closely with current NIMHD Director, John Ruffin, PhD.
A recognized expert in healthcare management and health policy, Dr. Riley previously served as an adviser to President Obama's health care transition team. In addition to his post as President of Meharry Medical College, Dr. Riley currently serves as the Chair of the Association on Minority Health Professions Schools. He is Professor of Internal Medicine at both Meharry and at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He is a member of the Society of Medical Administrators and a Master of the American College of Physicians, where he is also on the Board of Regents.
Dr. Riley earned his MD at the Morehouse School of Medicine and completed residency in internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). He is also an alumnus Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, where he completed a Master of Public Health degree in health systems management, and of Rice University's Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management, where he completed an Executive MBA program. Dr. Riley's undergraduate alma mater is Yale University, where he earned a BA in Anthropology. Prior to joining Meharry Medical College as the school's 10th president in 2007, Dr. Riley served as Vice-president and Vice Dean for Health Affairs and Governmental Relations and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at BCM.
Uab Receives $400,000 Donation from Bcrfa
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama (BCRFA) has donated $400,000 to the University of Alabama (UAB) Comprehensive Cancer Center. Half of the funds will provide the lead contribution for a fund-raising effort to establish an endowed chair in honor of Andres Forero, MD. Dr. Forero, an expert in breast-cancer research, is a senior scientist at UAB Comprehensive Care Center and is a BCRFA board member. The remaining funds will be used to support research in memory of three women who are recognized for their contributions to the breast-cancer community during their lifetimes. The three honorees are: Violeta Caceres, OD, who is recognized for her breast-cancer advocacy efforts in Birmingham; Kathy Kemp, an award-winning journalist for The Birmingham News; and Judith F. Todd, a top estate-planning and probate attorney in Alabama.
Since its inception in 1996, BCRFA has made an annual donation to the Comprehensive Cancer Center with proceeds from its previous year's fund-raising efforts. This year's donation marks the largest annual donation and brings the organization's total amount of support given to UAB to nearly $3 million. Among other fund-raising items, the BCRFA sells specialty breast-cancer license plates that feature a pink ribbon design and the phrase “funding research in Alabama.”
Ucsf Receives Additional $20M from Dolbys for Stem Cell Building
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), received $20 million from Ray and Dagmar Dolby to fund a stem cell building on the Parnassus Campus. The building is named the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Regeneration Medicine Building in honor of the couple's generosity.
The Dolbys previously gave $16 million to launch the fundraising campaign for the building in 2006. The $123.3 million facility, which opened in February this year, will house 25 laboratories at full capacity and serves as the headquarters for the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF. The Dolbys also previously contributed $5 million to support the inception of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).
With the Dolbys' most recent gift, UCSF has $12.5 million left to raise for the building. A series of four split-level floors with terraced grass roofs, the facility was designed by architect Rafael Viñoly. The flow of the design, which features open laboratories, brings together experts from a variety of disciplines to facilitate a collaborative research environment.
University of Louisville Researcher Receives Funding for CAESAR Project
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded $9.56 million to fund a consortium for preclinical assessment of cardioprotective therapies. Robert Bolli, MD, director of the Institute of Molecular Cardiology and chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Louisville (UofL), will serve as principal investigator of the “CAESAR Project.” The project will also involve laboratories at Johns Hopkins University, Emory University, and Virginia Commonwealth University, and is the first NIH award to fund a multi-center network of laboratories to test cardioprotective therapies at the preclinical level.
Researchers will conduct blinded, randomized animal studies to determine how to reduce the severity of damage done to cardiac muscle during a myocardial infarction. The CAESAR Project will differ from prior research in the area by incorporating a statistician in the development of the research study design and by conducting parallel and independent testing at two centers. The identical, independent testing will provide comparative results and serve to demonstrate reproducibility. The ultimate goal of the project is to identify effective therapies in preclinical models that may be advanced to the clinical trial stage.
Dr. Bolli's colleagues in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine in the Department of Medicine at UofL who will assist with the project are: Xian-Liang Tang, MD, associate professor of medicine; Yiru Guo, MD, associate professor of medicine; Qianhong Li, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine; and Steven Jones, PhD, associate professor of medicine. Maiying Kong, PhD, associate professor of bioinformatics and biostatistics in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences, will also be part of the research team from UofL. The efforts at Johns Hopkins will be led by Charles Steenbergen, MD, PhD. Jakob Vinten-Johansen, PhD, and David Lefer, PhD, will lead the work at Emory; and Rakesh Kukreja, PhD, will head the project at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Awarded $7.8M
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine was awarded a $7.8 million renewal grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for long-term study of manic symptoms in children. The award is a continuation of a study that began 5 years ago to screen and evaluate 707 children, ages 6 through 12 years, for elevated symptoms of mania (ESM). The researchers anticipate that by characterizing the natural history of the development of ESM, it may be possible to determine what factors contribute to the development of a bipolar spectrum disorder.
Robert L. Findling, MD, the Rocco L Motto, MD, Professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at the CWRU School of Medicine, and director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center, is the coordinating principal investigator. In the initial phase of the study, the children were evaluated every six months for their psychiatric diagnoses, symptoms, use of mental health services and medication, and psychosocial function. With the grant renewal, these children, now ages 8 through 17 years old, will continue to be evaluated every six months. Neuroimaging will be utilized in the second phase of the project. Investigators are focused on identifying biomarkers that signal or reflect underlying biological mechanisms that predispose individuals to bipolar disease, and on developing methods for accurate diagnosis and appropriate intervention in children with bipolar spectrum disorders.
Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program Announced
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), in partnership with the Lasker Foundation, announced the formation of the Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program. The program, the first of its kind, will function as an “intramural-extramural” partnership and will provide support for a small number of outstanding early-career clinical researchers who will be designated as Lasker Research Scholars.
Lasker Scholars may receive NIH funding for clinical research for upwards of 11 years, including a period of independent research as a Principal Investigator in the NIH Intramural Research Program (5-7 years) and subsequent opportunity for additional years of independent financial support either at the NIH or at an extramural research institution. The Scholars will also have access to the NIH Clinical Center and, through an arrangement with the Lasker Foundation, will have the opportunity to participate in Lasker functions, including the Lasker Breakfast and Award Luncheon and the foundation's annual scientific meetings.
According to the program description, available online at http://www.nih.gov/science/laskerscholar:
Candidates for the program must have an MD, MD/PhD, DO, DDS, DMD, RN/PhD, or equivalent clinical doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution and must have a professional license to practice in the United States. The program is intended for early-stage investigators. At the time of application, applicants must be no more than 6 years from completion of their core residency training. Applicants will generally have completed or be completing a post-residency clinical fellowship, and will have demonstrated significant patient-oriented research experience to qualify for a tenure-track level appointment. Scholars do not have to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Nimhd Appoints Scientific Director
The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), named William G. Coleman, Jr., PhD, as the NIMHD's first permanent scientific director. His appointment, resulting from an extensive national search, also marks the first African-American scientific director in the history of the NIH Intramural Research Program.
Dr. Coleman, a scientist in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Intramural Research Program, has held a number of positions within NIDDK. He has served as research microbiologist, staff fellow, and senior investigator. Dr. Coleman's recent research has focused on H pylori pathogenesis. Prior to joining NIH, Dr. Coleman was a lecturer at Purdue University. He earned his PhD from Purdue University and master's degree from Atlanta University. In 2005, he was honored with the Dr. Philip J. Browning Scientific Pioneer Award.
As NIMHD Scientific Director, he will be responsible for the overall portfolio of trans-disciplinary research conducted through the NIMHD's recently established Health Disparities Intramural Research Program. According to the NIH announcement of Dr. Coleman's appointment, the goals of the intramural program are to: conduct state-of-the-art research focusing on the linkage between biological and non-biological determinants of health in health disparity populations; create training and mentorship opportunities to increase the number of intramural researchers focusing on health disparities research including those from health disparity populations; contribute to a pool of early stage and experienced investigators that would enhance the diversity of the NIH Intramural Research Program in terms of scientists and research disciplines; and utilize its successful Centers of Excellence and Community Based Participatory Research Program models to expand health disparities intramural research into urban and rural health disparities communities in order to respond to urgent public health needs, examine high-risk/high impact research opportunities, and establish collaborations for long-term complex research efforts. (http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jan2011/nimhd-14.htm).