Award Data

ABSTRACT Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a debilitating disease (without curative therapies) that is critically influenced by dysregulated inflammatory pathways. This A0 R42 STTR application focuses on a highly novel humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb), ALT-100, to target and neutralize eNAMPT (extracellular nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase), a damage-associated molecular pattern protein ...

For more than a decade, our work has focused on development of therapeutic interventions for viral- and bacterial-induced acute lung injury (ALI) and the more severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Significantly, we identified the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling pathway as key to the host response to influenza and secondary bacterial infection following influenza. We also identif ...

Project Summary/Abstract Approximately 500,000 people in the U.S. suffer from cutaneous lupus lesions (CLE), with a significant impact on quality of life.4 Yet, there is no cure, the treatment options are limited, and no new drug has been FDA- approved for over 50 years.84 As such, CLE represents a high unmet need for directed therapeutics. Skin lesions are caused by a complex autoimmune response ...

Summary. Sepsis results in massive loss of life and places a significant economic burden on society. There are no effective treatments available for human sepsis other than antibiotics and life support. It is increasingly clear that sepsis is a bi-phasic process comprised of 1) an early high-energy demanding hyperinflammation state that can cause inflammatory shock and 2) a low energy supply immun ...

Project Summary: Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy (ACM) is the most prevalent form of ethanol-induced heart damage. Alcohol dose-dependently induces ACM, characterized by progressive reduction in myocardial contractility and ventricular dilatation, culminating in heart failure. At the cellular level, chronic alcohol consumption results in cardiomyocyte death, cardiac inflammation, and cardiac fibrosis. Th ...

Project Summary/Abstract Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability and accounts for 4.6 million disabled people in the United States. Stroke-related costs total over $46 billion in the United States each year.1 Of the nearly 800,000 Americans who have a stroke per year, 87% experience ischemic stroke1, of which 49%-86% are attributed to either large vessel occlusions (LVO) or med ...

PROJECT SUMMARY Congenital Myasthenic Syndromes (CMS) are a group of clinically similar neuromuscular transmission disorders that differ in their underlying genetic mutation. While some phenotypical variation exists, CMS are commonly characterized by muscle weakness (myasthenia) that worsens with physical exertion. Defects in Collagen Q (ColQ), a multidomain functional protein of the Neuro Muscula ...

PROJECT SUMMARY Microinjection technologies underlie many research and clinical applications that require gene and cell delivery, including studies and emerging treatments of neurological conditions (e.g., neurodegenerative diseases, traumatic brain injury, and cancer). Unfortunately, challenges associated with the microinjection tools by which the viral vectors and cells inherent in these applica ...

Precise, customizable drug delivery remains a long-term goal, for HIV in particular, as such technologies would allow therapies tailored to a patient’s biological makeup and potentially improve adherence. Extended-release methods address part of the issue, but face limitations. A novel drug delivery system could offer better pediatric dosing, via both oral and new routes of administration. Exist ...

Lupus nephritis (LN), an immune complex-mediated glomerulonephritis, affects up to two-thirds of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Despite standard treatment protocols, progression of the most aggressive forms of LN (class III and IV) to end-stage renal failure remains high. Thus, there is a need for biomarkers of therapeutic response that would allow physicians to make better-informed t ...