UA’s Valley Fever Center of Excellence announces $2 million in NIH funding to participate in clinical trials that may start here as soon as January…
With a focus on innovation, inventors and scientists, mentions of the UA Health Sciences were sprinkled liberally in a recent letter and blog post from UA President Ann Weaver Hart. The December 2015 blog post mentions “health” 24 times and “health sciences” seven. These include shout-outs to Cardiology’s Marvin Slepian, MD, who was just named a fellow in the National Academy of Inventors, and the Valley Fever Center for Excellence (VFCE).
VFCE Director John Galgiani, MD, just announced a nearly $2 million NIH-award for the UA College of Medicine and Banner – University Medicine to participate in clinical trials on early treatment for Valley Fever pneumonia with Fluconazole. To date, funding is over $2 million with two earlier awards, Dr. Galgiani said. He and Ken Knox, MD, chief of the UA Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, are principal investigators on the local effort expected to begin enrolling subjects next month at the earliest. 
The trials are coordinated by the Duke Human Vaccine Institute’s Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit at sites in Tucson, Phoenix and Bakersfield, Calif. Earlier news on Valley Fever vaccine efforts at the UA can be found here.
In her letter (see your inbox for Dec. 16), Dr. Hart comments on last month’s Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) meeting and presentations by UA Health Sciences Senior Vice President Joe GN “Skip” Garcia, MD, on progress in the Never Settle plan at UAHS and a panel with UA and Banner Health leaders on the UA’s academic affiliation with Banner and the Academic Management Council created to help guide the clinical partnership and ensure UA physicians have input into management of their clinical work, research and teaching.
She also encourages everyone to read her monthly insert, “The Path to the Patient: Moving Medical Discoveries from the Lab to Reality,” The two-page report spotlights UAHS efforts to prevent blindness in the elderly, drug-free options for chronic pain suffers and TechLaunch Arizona’s partnership with Cancer Prevention Pharmaceuticals Inc. on NCI-funded clinical trials for a two-drug combo to attack and prevent colon cancer.
Have a happy holiday break and stay safe! See you next year… 2016, that is.
ALSO SEE:
"Broader Dates for Valley Fever Awareness Week Underscore Significant Research into Tools to Fight This Respiratory Disease" | Posted: Oct. 17, 2015