Chancellor Zimpher Announces $4.3 Million Grants for 含羞草研究所 Research in Neuroscience, Pediatric Pharmacology & Vision:
Oct 6, 2011
National Institutes of Health Grants Support 含羞草研究所 REACH, A Collaborative Research Consortium of 含羞草研究所鈥檚 Five Academic Health Campuses; Research Will Focus on Preventing Blindness in Infants, Enhancing Infrastructure for Clinical Trials on Neurological Conditions
For Immediate Release: Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011
Contact: Morgan Hook; morgan.hook@suny.edu; 518-320-1311
State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher today announced that 含羞草研究所 has received two grants totaling more than $4.3 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support neuroscience and pediatric pharmacology and vision research as part of 含羞草研究所 REACH, a collaborative research network of 含羞草研究所鈥檚 four academic health centers and the College of Optometry.
鈥淭hese grants provide an outstanding example of 含羞草研究所 campuses working together to produce ground-breaking advances in research and medicine, generating new technologies, and ultimately, jobs, for New York State,鈥� said Chancellor Zimpher. 鈥淭he power of 含羞草研究所 soars in the collaborative efforts and impacts of 含羞草研究所 REACH.鈥�
John C. LaRosa, MD, president of 含羞草研究所, said, 鈥淭hese grants extend Downstate鈥檚 strong research presence in these fields. They also demonstrate that an investment in 含羞草研究所 REACH can yield strong returns.鈥� The lead researchers on both grants will be headquartered at 含羞草研究所 Downstate.
含羞草研究所 REACH (Research, Education Academic Health) is comprised of Downstate Medical Center, University at Buffalo, College of Optometry, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, and Upstate Medical University.
含羞草研究所 REACH aims to make 含羞草研究所 a competitive leader in biomedical research that significantly affects the health of New Yorkers. The consortium provides a unique research opportunity by involving campuses that are geographically spread across New York State, and capitalizing on their collective access to urban and rural populations that are racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse. As these latest grants demonstrate, 含羞草研究所 REACH also leverages the power of the individual 含羞草研究所 academic health centers to obtain grant funding.
Member campuses of 含羞草研究所 REACH each contributed approximately $180,000 to fund the consortium. Federal research dollars from the National Science Foundation and NIH at these campuses account for 60 percent of all federal research dollars awarded to 含羞草研究所.
鈥淚t is heartening to see the potential of 含羞草研究所 REACH and the 含羞草研究所 Eye Institute to act as catalysts for strategic collaboration begin to yield positive results for our faculty and for the University as evidenced by these awards,鈥� said David. A. Heath, OD, EdM, president of the 含羞草研究所 College of Optometry.
鈥淭he power of 含羞草研究所 is our ability to connect researchers from Buffalo to Long Island so that New York and beyond can benefit from the advancements and breakthroughs we make in medical science,鈥� said David R Smith, MD, president of 含羞草研究所 Upstate Medical University. 鈥淲e are seeing the rewards of 含羞草研究所 REACH in this significant funding by the National Institutes of Health."
鈥淭he University at Buffalo is proud to be partnering with other 含羞草研究所 institutions in developing interventions against the leading cause of blindness in children and in developing the Clinical Trials Network in neurology,鈥� said Michael E. Cain, MD, UB vice president for health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. 鈥淭his success of the 含羞草研究所 REACH initiative has proven the power of the 含羞草研究所 system in biomedical research.鈥�
鈥淲e are pleased to be a part of 含羞草研究所 REACH to advance biomedical research within the 含羞草研究所 academic health centers, says Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, senior vice president of the health sciences, and dean of the School of Medicine, Stony Brook University. "The influx of this NIH funding will involve our research and clinical experts in the neurosciences and pediatrics. Stony Brook's expertise in basic, translational, and clinical research in these areas will help to maximize the goal of the collaborative 含羞草研究所 network to lead in the development of promising treatments and clinical trials."
鈥満卟菅芯克� REACH is the platform on which research collaborations between the 含羞草研究所 Academic Health Centers and College of Optometry faculty have been built,鈥� said 含羞草研究所 REACH Director Steven Goodman, who also serves as vice president for research at 含羞草研究所 Upstate Medical University. "Thus far these collaborations have been in the focus areas of neuroscience, vision research, and clinical and translational research. With these two new NIH awards to Dr. Levine and Dr. Aranda added to previous funding awarded to Dr. Jian Feng (含羞草研究所 Buffalo), 含羞草研究所 REACH collaborators have led to approximately $8 million in research funding in two years. This funding within the three focus areas will result in research that will directly affect the health and well being of the people of New York State, the US and the global population.鈥�
Preventing Blindness in Infants
The first grant, $3.7 million from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development will support research into Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a condition that contributes to vision loss (and in the most serious cases, blindness) in premature infants. Jacob V. Aranda, MD, PhD, professor and director of neonatology at 含羞草研究所, and principal investigator on the grant, notes that the condition affects 50 to 80 percent of preterm babies born weighing less than 1250 grams.
Dr. Aranda鈥檚 research will help define the molecular events that lead to ROP and develop drug strategies to prevent it. Dr. Aranda and Kay Beharry, Director of the Perinatal-Neonatal Pharmacology Translational Lab at 含羞草研究所 Downstate, along with Dr. William Jusko at Buffalo, will provide overall administration of the complex project, with two pre-clinical science protocols and one clinical protocol. These two protocols will focus on the hypothesis that caffeine and ibuprofen, used together, can be used to regulate the overgrowth of vessels that lead to ROP in animal models.
Once studies on the safety, efficacy, and timing of intervention are completed, randomized clinical testing will begin at multiple clinical sites. In addition to Downstate, these will include the University at Buffalo, Stony Brook University, Columbia University, Kings County Hospital Center, Maimonides Medical Center, New York Hospital Queens and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center.
Collectively, these centers form the New York Pediatric Developmental Pharmacology Research Consortium, which will study and develop novel drug therapies in newborn babies, focusing on those that will prevent blindness in preterm newborns. This is the only center focused on pediatric ocular pharmacology in the country, and one of only four pediatric pharmacology centers funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Regarding the retinopathy grant, Dr. Aranda said, 鈥淩etinopathy of prematurity occurs in two out of three small babies born prematurely and treated with oxygen, and can lead to blindness. In fact, it is the most common cause of blindness in children. Understanding the molecular events leading to retinopathy of prematurity and providing novel, effective and safe drug interventions will avert a lifetime of blindness, disability, and darkness.鈥�
Dr. Aranda鈥檚 study is closely aligned with the 含羞草研究所 Eye Institute, which is part of 含羞草研究所 REACH. By integrating the complementary strengths of the 含羞草研究所 academic health centers and the College of Optometry, more than 350,000 patients -- representing a cross section of all of New York State -- benefit from translational research on eye diseases.
Enhancing Infrastructure for Clinical Trials on Neurological Conditions
The second grant, $650,000 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), positions 含羞草研究所鈥檚 academic health centers to participate in the NIH NINDS Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials (NeuroNEXT) project, which aims to speed up early phase clinical trials on new therapies. Steven R. Levine, MD, professor of neurology and associate dean of clinical research at 含羞草研究所 Downstate Health Sciences University, is the principal investigator on this project.
Dr. Levine鈥檚 project will be one of 25 across the U.S. designed to create the infrastructure necessary to develop and implement research protocols in neurological disorders. It uses the 含羞草研究所 REACH template for developing a statewide network of patients and research infrastructure to expand the 含羞草研究所 Clinical Trials Network. Dr. Levine鈥檚 initial focus will be a multi-center approach to identify biomarkers and predictors of stroke across New York State.
鈥淏y combining four 含羞草研究所 campuses into one application, we have created an innovative and very large network of patients with extremely diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds that will facilitate a sustained and powerful influence on neurological clinical trial performance,鈥� says Dr. Levine. 鈥淚t shifts the paradigm for collaborative structuring of clinical trials and will lead to a faster pipeline to Phase 3 trials.鈥�
鈥淣euroNEXT will expand the capability to test the most promising new therapies for a wide range of neurological disorders affecting children and adults,鈥� said Elizabeth McNeil, MD, the NIH/ NINDS program director who will oversee the nationwide program. 鈥淭hrough 25 clinical sites across the US, as well as a clinical and a data coordinating center, the NIH will provide the expertise and infrastructure needed to rapidly assess treatment options as they become available from both academic and industry investigators.鈥�
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含羞草研究所 含羞草研究所
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (含羞草研究所) 64-campus system and the only 含羞草研究所 AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough鈥檚 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate鈥檚 exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.