Award Data

Project Summary Currently, opioid-use disorders are mitigated by replacing illicit opioids with prescription opioids, like methadone and buprenorphine. While this may work for some patients, few patients successfully reach opioid-abstinence. Thus, new agents targeting opioid-use disorders via non- opioid approaches are overdue. One-way opioids induce such tolerance and dependence is through a seco ...

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is comprised mainly of Crohn’s Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC), and is characterized by a chronic non-resolving inflammatory response in the intestinal mucosa. Although the exact etiology is unknown, dysbiosis, genetic, environmental, and immunologic factors are all thought to play roles in this multifactorial disease. There are no cures, and in most cas ...

Project Summary/Abstract: This proposal seeks to test the hypothesis that endurance exercise stimulates the release of circulating factors that improve mitochondrial fitness. CyteGen’s goal is to identify these endogenous factors and engineer them to treat diseases in which mitochondrial dysfunction is central. These diseases include neurodegenerative and other diseases associated with aging, as ...

ABSTRACT Pharmacogenetics (PGx) represents a component of precision medicine that enables individualized determina- tion of drug response. The benefits of PGx include reduced cost and risk of adverse drug reactions (SADRs), as well as improved drug efficacy. While there is a large number of PGx genes currently tested, Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is of tremendous diagnostic value, as up to 25% of ...

Project Summary/Abstract Stroke is a leading cause of serious long term disability. Annual incidence is approximately 800,000 in the US, and 17,000,000 worldwide. Only 10% of stroke survivors return to full normal function and activity. Over 7.2 million people in the US have survived a stroke, but continue to live with its debilitating effects. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of strokes are ischemic (d ...

SummaryTREX1, the major cytosolic exonuclease, plays an important role in preventing aberrant immune responses to self-DNA in normal cells. However, multiple lines of evidence indicate that TREX1 dampens the intrinsic immune response to tumors by preventing activation of the DNA-sensing cGAS/STING pathway in tumor cells, which is required for activation of T cells and cross presentation of tumor a ...

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs), such aPD-1 agents (nivolumab, and pembrolizumab), are the current standard of care treatment for the frontline management of advanced melanoma and other solid tumors. However, ~70% of patients with approved FDA indications do not respond. Importantly, once patients progress, there are limited treatment options. Primary and acquired resi ...

Project SummaryImmune checkpoint inhibitor (ICIs) immunotherapies can result in robust and durable disease control in many advanced malignancies, and their use is transforming cancer care. Despite the growing adoption, however, ICIs are effective in andlt;30% of patients and can cause significant immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in up to ~60% of treated patients. Early determination of which ...

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. According to American Cancer Society statistics, about 1.76 million new patients are expected to be diagnosed with cancer and about 600,000 people are expected to die due to cancer in the United States in 2019. Approximately 6-10% of the total cancer patients are diagnosed with stage IV/metastatic cancer, ...

Summary/Abstract Problem of painful inflammatory diseases: Persistent or inappropriate inflammation underlies a broad range of painful diseases including musculoskeletal conditions, wounds and burns. Much of the inflammation and pain associated with these diseases is due to the release of mediators from leukocytes at the site of injury. Current treatments are often inadequate due to limited effica ...