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Okla. Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology Approves 23 Health Research Projects

Posted on: Monday, 21 June 2004, 06:00 CDT

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology has approved nearly $3 million of health research projects.

The 23 projects are expected to attract about $18.5 million of additional outside funding into the state, said Sheri Stickley, interim director of OCAST. The projects were approved by the OCAST governing board.

The money will fund 23 health research projects over three years. The amount of first-year funding for the projects totaled $920,243.

The high return on the state investment is directly related to the high quality of the reviews, said Steve Biggers, OCAST research and development director. There were 133 applications, the most in the last decade; this reflects the growing number of Oklahoma health researchers and the strength of the Oklahoma research sector. This strength is reflected in the increased amount of federal support the researchers have obtained.

Stickley, whose appointment was made last week by OCAST's board, said the strength of the OCAST programs lies in the fact the health research proposals are ranked by out-of-state peer reviewers who are recruited by OCAST to determine which projects to fund.

The purpose of the funding is to strengthen the competitiveness of Oklahoma health researchers for national research funds; recruit and retain outstanding health research scientists for the state; improve health care for Oklahomans; and strengthen the state's health care industry.

Nine of the awards went to researchers who have been in Oklahoma less than four years and are developing their Oklahoma research programs and 13 of the awardees are established Oklahoma researchers.

Five of the projects will gather and evaluate human and animal data to solve problems related to Parkinson's disease, the reproductive aging process, hearing restoration, sleep disorders and peripheral blood disease.

* Frank R. Boutsen at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Allied Health will assess motor and cognitive aspects of movement in eye, speech and upper extremity control. This research will provide insight into Parkinson's disease, motor control and deep brain stimulation.

* Karl Hansen at the OUHSC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, will study the reproductive aging process in women to help assess reproductive age.

* Charles Seeney at NanoBioMagnetics Inc. in Edmond will study implanted magnetically responsive nanoparticles that cause the middle ear and tympanic membrane to vibrate at acoustic levels when in an oscillating magnetic field. The study may lead to new treatment options for the remediation or restoration of hearing loss.

* Han Wang of the University of Oklahoma Department of Zoology will investigate human sleep disorders. The long-term benefit of this study will be to provide insight into the mechanisms of human circadian clocks and to understand the pathogenesis of human sleep disorders.

* Andrew Gardner at the OU Department of Health and Sport Sciences will evaluate a home-based exercise rehabilitation program for patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Two projects will provide insights into heart and blood problems.

* David Kem at the OUHSC Cardiovascular Arrhythmia Research Institute is studying a new approach for prevention and treatment of sudden cardiac death, one of the leading causes of death.

* Randy S. Lewis at the Oklahoma State University School of Chemical Engineering will investigate a polymeric material for medical devices that inhibit platelet deposition. Biomedical devices that contact blood often lose their effectiveness due to surface deposition of platelets or the formation of blood emboli.

Two projects will explore the diagnosis and treatment of cancers.

* Wei-Qun Ding at the OUHSC Department of Pathology will study cellular mechanisms of a fatty acid and its effects on tumor cell viability. The study could lead to the compound becoming a cancer therapeutic agent.

* Marcia R. Saban at the OUHSC Department of Physiology will investigate lymphatic plasticity during bladder cancer progression. Bladder carcinoma is the fifth-leading cause of cancer; however, early bladder cancer detection is not yet possible in daily practice. This study could lead to an efficient diagnostic tool.

The Oklahoma immunology research community infrastructure is supported by seven projects.

* H. Anne Pereira at the OUHSC Department of Pathology will investigate the role of an inflammatory mediator known as CAP37 which is an important regulator of host defense. This study will contribute to developing new therapies for the treatment of certain infections.

* Michael Sakalian at the OUHSC Department of Microbiology and Immunology will explore the potential to inhibit HIV assembly and replication of HIV infection which is again on the rise worldwide.

l Kendra D. White of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Molecular Immunogenetics Program will investigate how antibodies are transported onto mucosal surfaces of the body. This information will be used to design new ways to transport drugs within the body to fight infections.

* Michael Centola of the OMRF Arthritis and Immunology Research Program will develop screening tools for rheumatoid arthritis based on serum cytokine profiling. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting one percent of the U.S. population and there are few treatment options.

* Ziad El Rassi at the OSU Department of Chemistry will use a proteomic approach to discover biomarkers associated with osteoarthritis, a common joint disorder in the elderly.

* Holly L. Hoffman of the OU College of Pharmacy will research the relationship between changes in gene expression with resistant and multidrug-resistant pneumococci to identify potential therapeutic drug targets.Antimicrobial resistance in streptococcus pneumoniae has increased dramatically over the last 20 years.

* Christopher M. West of the OUHSC Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology proposes to study unique glycosylation pathways utilized by microbial pathogens. This innovative proposal is expected to open new opportunities to develop pharmacological control against parasitic infections, including those of the opportunistic infections in AIDS patients.

Seven of the projects will support the Oklahoma genetics, pharmacology and cell/molecular biology research teams to improve the Oklahoma quality of life.

* Yuechueng Liu at the OUHSC Department of Pathology will investigate synaptic transmission to treat neurological disorders including depression, schizophrenia and substance abuse.

* Molina C. Mhatre at the OMRF Free Radical Biology and Aging Research Program will research strategies for preventing Alzheimer's disease and for improving outcomes following episodes of traumatic brain injury. Alzheimer's disease has emerged as the most prevalent form of late-life mental failure in humans.

* Muna I. Naash at the OUHSC Department of Cell Biology has noted there are no clinically acceptable treatments for inherited blinding diseases. This study will address that problem with engineered nanoparticles that will help with the efficient and direct delivery of therapeutic agents to the nucleus of cells.

* Phillip M. Silverman at the OMRF Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology Research Program will study the biology of horizontal RNA transfer among bacterial cells and between bacteria and the cells of higher organisms. This research is important because in this area there are numerous plant and animal pathogens that help spread antibiotic resistance.

* Leonidas Tsiokas of the OUHSC Department of Cell Biology aims to gain an understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms affecting autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, the most common genetic disease of the kidney.

* Jian-xing Ma of the OUHSC has noted diabetic retinopathy is a major complication of diabetes and a leading cause of blindness. This project is designed to develop a peptide drug to treat the condition.

* Michael A. Massiah of the OSU Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has determined patients with certain mutations have dramatic structural abnormalities along their body's midline that may be lethal or require many surgeries for survival. The research aim is to use high resolution multidimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy to study protein associated with Opitz Syndrome.

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