Research News
The UA-Banner All of Us℠/Precision Medicine Initiative team is looking for people to volunteer to have their photo taken to advertise the diversity of our unique Southwest population AND volunteers – or friendlies – to enroll during this “soft launch” before the national research program goes into full swing later this summer. Good news, you don’t have to be a Banner-bonded patient! Ask your family, friends and colleagues to join. Also see the latest All of Us℠ newsletter for June, out now…
Drs. Louise Hecker and Heidi Mansour won a $415,491 National Institute on Aging grant to see whether the active ingredient in an FDA-approved oral drug that inhibits relapse and progression in multiple sclerosis might be effective in treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), an advanced lung disease that affects the elderly. The two UA researchers will examine efficacy and safety of oral versus inhaled administration of new antioxidant formulations of the drug designed specifically for IPF. Their findings could lead to clinical trials…
The final DOM Research Seminar of the 2016-17 academic year will be Thursday, June 8, Room 5403, noon-1 p.m., with speakers Drs. Elizabeth Juneman, UA Division of Cardiology, and Andrew Kraft, Division of Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Juneman will speak on “Electrophysiology in Heart Failure: Pre-Clinical Assessment of Sudden Cardiac Arrest.” Dr. Kraft, director, UA Cancer Center, will talk about, “Targeted Therapy of Cancer – Have We Succeeded?”…
A Phoenix couple touring the country on behalf of sufferers of chronic kidney disease (CKD), Raymond and Analyn Scott, made a stop in Tucson earlier this month to meet with faculty and investigators within the UA Division of Nephrology and the Arizona Kidney and Vascular Research Center. Their organization, 1in9 Kidney Challenge, underscores the fact one in nine U.S. adults suffers from kidney disease. They offered a patient perspective on living with CKD and heard about the latest related UA research…
Winners of the Academic Half Day (AHD) Research Day poster competition for the University of Arizona Internal Medicine Residency Program – Tucson Campus were Drs. Jawad Bilal, Matthew Adams and See Wei Low. The three also had their work chosen for oral presentations as Clinical Vignettes during the Medicine Grand Rounds on May 17…
The UA Department of Medicine and UA Health Sciences contingent at the ATS 2017 International Conference has been sharing a few photo postcards of their activities at the annual conference of the American Thoracic Society in Washington, DC, this week—May 19-24. Click through to see what they’re up to…
Dr. Balaji Natarajan, a member of the University of Arizona Internal Medicine Residency Program – South Campus, won a research poster competition May 20 at the 2017 Arizona Annual Meeting of the American College of Cardiology hosted at the Mayo Clinic – Scottsdale Campus’ Taylor Auditorium. His research looked at NMR spectroscopy imaging in psoriasis patients of lipoproteins associated with cholesterol buildup in arteries to better evaluate the risk of cardiovascular disease…
UA geriatrician and UA Center on Aging member Dr. Monica Vandivort has won a $50,000 start-up grant from the Arizona Area Health Education Centers (AzAHEC) for a clinical research initiative entitled, “A Community Paramedicine-Primary Care Partnership in Rural Cochise County Pilot Project to Improve Health Outcomes of Seriously Ill Elders.” It involves a multidisciplinary, collaborative effort between multiple health care organizations in and around Sierra Vista, Ariz…
Dr. Archita Desai, a UA assistant professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and research associate with the UA Liver Research Institute, won a two-year, $150,000 grant from the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease Foundation to fund her project, “The Intersection of Precision Medicine and Population Health to Improve Health Equity in Liver Disease”...
With funding from the American Sleep Medicine Foundation, Dr. Sai Parthasarathy and his research team at the UAHS Center for Sleep & Circadian Sciences will investigate if delivery of therapy for insomnia is effective and more convenient for patients through telehealth visits rather than conventional in-person consultations. They look to enroll up to 85 patients in a clinical study over next few months...
Founding UA Division of Cardiology faculty member who oversaw construction of Sarver Heart Center building, to be recognized for his research contributions to defibrillation and resuscitation for cardiac arrest victims with a Doctor of Science (DSc) degree at the Georgetown University School of Medicine commencement, May 26, in Washington, DC’s DAR Constitution Hall…
A large contingent from UA Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allegy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, and UA Health Sciences Asthma and Airway Disease Research Center are set to take the stage with impactful scientific findings at the ATS 2017 International Conference in Washington, DC, May 19-24. They include faculty, researchers, fellows, residents and students from the UA College of Medicine – Tucson. Two more have won scholarships to attend…
The Cancer Prevention and Control Health Disparities Training T32 Program offers a multi-disciplinary mentored environment integrating behavioral to biological science research focused on cancer disparities and understanding and preventing cancer...
Two more physicians in training within the University of Arizona Department of Medicine—Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine fellow Joshua Dill, DO, and Internal Medicine Program Tucson Campus resident See-Wei Low, MBBS—received Bressler-Alpert Travel Awards. The awards will assist them in presenting their research at ATS 2017, the annual conference of the American Thoracic Society. A third physician, Tucson Campus resident Khushboo Goel, MD, won an ATS Abstract Scholarship to present at the conference, too…
Tech Launch Arizona—the University of Arizona office that brings inventions stemming from faculty research from the lab to the world—held its fourth annual awards event at the Jim Click Hall of Champions at McKale Center. The I-Squared Expo & Awards honors those whose work directly affects the quality of life for people in Tucson, across Arizona and worldwide through research, collaboration and technology commercialization. Drs. Steve Goldman and Bhaskar Banerjee were among those recognized…
Two faculty members from the UA Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology—Drs. Archita Desai, a Liver Research Institute research associate, and Bhaskar Banerjee, who also is a professor of optical sciences and biomedical engineering—will be presenters at the next DOM Research Seminar Series lecture on Thursday, May 11, noon-1 p.m., in the Room 5403 auditorium of the UA College of Medicine – Tucson. Save the date and post the flyer…
Save the date Wednesday, April 26, 5-7:30 p.m., for the next Southern Arizona Biomedical Research Symposia 2017, which features a Translational Research Career Panel & Reception with six panelists. Among them are three faculty of the UA Department of Medicine – Tucson: Drs. Julie Bauman, Monica Kraft and Prabir Roy-Chaudhury. Panel discussion and Q&A in Kiewit, with reception after in UA Cancer Center lobby. Register now…
We’re down to the last three (or six, if you’re counting speakers) lectures in the inaugural season for the DOM Research Seminar Series. Speaking Thursday, April 13, noon-1 p.m., are Dr. Ankit Desai on “Bench-to-Bedside Approaches Unravel Inflammatory Mechanisms Underlying Novel Cardiovascular Phenotypes in Sickle Cell Disease,” and Dr. Liz Connick on “The Role of B Cell Follicles in HIV Replication and Persistence.” Be there—COM-T Room 5403. A light lunch will be served…
With backing of Tech Launch Arizona, Tucson startup Avery Therapeutics Inc. has licensed a beating heart graft technology invented at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. Pre-clinical studies have already shown that the technology, called MyCardia™—invented by cardiologist Steve Goldman, MD, and Jordan Lancaster, PhD—improves heart function…
Two UA Division of Translational and Regenerative Medicine faculty, Drs. Ankit A. Desai and Stephen M. Black, were awarded R01 research grants valued at more than $5 million combined from the NIH’s National Heart Lung and Blood Institute to study different aspects of cardiovascular disease. Both involve genetic studies, one with respect to sickle cell anemia and sudden cardiac arrest, the other congenital heart defects and pulmonary problems related to an inability to produce nitric oxide…