Research News

UA Researchers to Study, Test Potential Drug Candidates for Deadly Lung Disease A $4.4 million grant from the Department of Defense will help researchers test two drug candidates for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis — a deadly disease with no cure.

UA Participating in Banner – UMC, TMC One-Day, 8-CME Training Event in Tucson

An 8.0 CME event, “The Tucson Conference,” will be hosted by Banner – University Medicine and Tucson Medical Center on Oct. 20, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., at the Tucson Marriott University Park, 880 E. Second St. Lead organizer for the event is DOM Chair Dr. Monica Kraft and multiple UA College of Medicine – Tucson faculty will be participating as instructors or panelists. See agenda topics and register today…


Third Annual Fellows Retreat to Capitalize on Medicine’s Recruiting Successes

The 2018 Department of Medicine Fellows Retreat, with more than 75 fellows and faculty expected to attend, is set for 5:30-7:30 p.m., Sept. 12, at the University of Arizona Cancer Center’s Kiewit Auditorium. Come learn about career trajectories of junior and senior faculty, opportunities in research and academic medicine, mentorship and more. You’ll hear from Drs. Irving Kron, Monica Kraft, Jil Tardiff, Tara Carr, Anita Koshy and your peers. By invitation only…


Dr. Clara Curiel-Lewandrowski Named Winner of AZBIO Researcher of the Year Award

Dr. Clara Curiel-Lewandrowski, a professor of medicine in the University of Arizona Division of Dermatology and director of the Cutaneous Oncology Program at the UA Skin Cancer Institute, has won the 2018 AZBIO Researcher of the Year Award from the Arizona Bioscience Association, the association announced on its website along with several other winners named. The award will be presented Oct. 3 to her in a ceremony at the Phoenix Convention Center…


UA Responsible Conduct of Research Workshop Schedule Announced for Fall 2018

Several free “Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Workshops” are offered this fall to all members of the University of Arizona community. They count toward RCR education required for students, postdocs, and certain junior faculty funded through the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and/or National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The UA Office for Research, Discovery & Innovation offers RCR Certificates to meet requirements set forth by these federal funding agencies. Enroll in one today…


American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant Funding for New Investigators Available Up to $120,000

Up to three grants for new investigators valued at $30,000 each are available along with a fourth at $30,000 for a new investigator “in areas of special interest.” Dr. Andrew Kraft, UA Cancer Center director and associate vice president for oncology programs at the UA Health Sciences, is the principal investigator. All applications are due by Aug 31…


Renowned Asthma Researcher, Dr. Monica Kraft Picked for Prestigious NIH Advisory Post

Dr. Monica Kraft, chair of the University of Arizona Department of Medicine, the Robert and Irene Flinn Endowed Chair of Medicine at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson and deputy director of the UA Health Sciences Asthma & Airway Disease Research Center, attends her first teleconference as an official National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council member in late August. She joins UA President Dr. Robert Robbins, also a member of the NIH/NHLBI advisory group...


BLAISER Closing Ceremony Brings Kudos for Students, Mentors Alike

Four faculty members in the University of Arizona Department of Medicine—Drs. Steve Black, Jane Mohler, Jil Tardiff and Jason Yuan—participated as mentors in the Border Latino and American Indian Summer Exposure to Research (BLAISER) Program and were recognized Aug. 7 at the closing ceremony for the class of 2018 student participants. See the video, program and photos…


National Expert on Colon Cancer Begins as Gastroenterology Chief at UA/Banner

Dr. Juanita L. Merchant, MD, PhD, a renowned physician-scientist who has made paradigm-shifting contributions to the understanding of gastric response to chronic inflammation and colon cancer, and is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, started July 2 as the new chief of the University of Arizona Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology…


UA Sarver Heart Center, Proteomics Lab Launch New Webpages

The University of Arizona Department of Medicine in July celebrates new and redesigned affiliate websites with the launch of a reformatted UA Sarver Heart Center website and new webpages for the UA Proteomics Lab. The first was released in late June—the second were completed in early May. Take a look today…


Healthy Dose Blog Focuses on Supercharging the Immune System to Fight Cancer

Most people familiar with cancer treatment know of three main options: surgery, radiation and chemotherapy—but a newer option, called immunotherapy, is creating quite a buzz across the cancer community. Drs. Daniel Persky and Emmanuel Katsanis offer a few thoughts in the latest blogpost for the UA Healthy Sciences’ Healthy Dose blog…


Drs. Langlais, Laukaitis Offer Grand Finale to Two Years of DOM Research Seminars

Two presentations June 14 by the University of Arizona Department of Medicine Drs. Paul Langlais and Christina Laukaitis capped the 2017-18 academic year lectures for the DOM Research Seminar Series with a focus on insulin proteomics and hypermobility syndrome. The seminars will be rolled into Medicine Grand Rounds in 2018-19. This caps 32 speakers and 20 seminars since series began in Fall 2016. See links to photo galleries and archived video…


Retiring Dr. Yeager Passes Baton to Dr. Chalasani as UA Hem-Onc Fellowship Director

Dr. Pavani Chalasani is the new director of the University of Arizona Hematology and Medical Oncology Fellowship Training Program in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the UA Department of Medicine and UA Cancer Center. As of May 1, she replaces Dr. Andrew Yeager, who has been named a professor emeritus and will continue to give lectures and lead a fellows boot camp. His official retirement is June 29…


Infectious Diseases Fellow Seeks Citizen Help in Kissing Bug, Chagas Disease Study

For Dr. Norm Beatty, a UA Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program member and principal investigator on a study, “Prevalence of Chagas disease among high-risk individuals in Arizona,” it’s all about kissing bugs. May through July is their most active period of the year and he’s working to enlist citizen input to collect bugs and screen people potentially infected by bites. In addition, he’ll present on his preliminary results June 8 at the Infectious Diseases 2018 Research Careers Meeting in Bethesda, Md. See the video and a photo gallery from a recent KVOA4 TV interview…


Final Seminar of Academic Year Pairs Duo in Genetic Pathways for Precision Medicine

Two researchers with cross-disciplinary roots, Drs. Christina Laukaitis and Paul Langlais, return to the lineup for the next UA Department of Medicine Research Seminar on Thursday, June 16. They’ll offer an in-depth discussion on the genetics and proteomics of solutions under development at the University of Arizona Health Sciences for a joint hypermobility disorder known as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and microtubule-associated proteins' impact on insulin control in diabetics…


Drs. Breathett, Ramos Pen ‘Healthy Dose’ Blogposts on Medical Bias, Precision Medicine

Two articles posted as blogposts to “The Healthy Dose” blog by the University of Arizona Health Sciences tackle tough issues over medical bias with minority patients and the nationwide launch May 6 of the All of Us℠ Research Program—at a moment when the Arizona cohort leads the nation in recruitment and received confirmation that the state’s largest award from the National Institutes of Health just got bigger. Authors include Drs. Khadijah Breathett and Ken Ramos…


Resident, Fellow Poster Winners Announced for Tucson Campus Research Academic Half Day

Congratulations to the 2018 Research Academic Half Day poster winners for the University of Arizona Internal Medicine Residency Program – Tucson Campus— Drs. Darien Reed, Phan Saligrama and Ryan Buckley. They present clinical vignettes at the May 16 Medicine Grand Rounds. See the photo gallery and which fellows won. More than 50 posters were on display for the April 26 event…


New DOM Research Seminar Speaker for May 10 to Talk about Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

The UA Department of Medicine Research Seminar set for Thursday, May 10, has been combined with the Winter Series Lung Conference lecture with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Dr. Paul Noble now scheduled to speak on “Fundamentals of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)—Navigating the Patient Journey.” Drs. Christina Laukaitis’ and Paul Langlais’ addresses have been pushed to June 14…


Drs. Vanderpool, Knox Among 14 to Win ABRC Grant Awards Worth Total of Over $5.92 Million

The UA Department of Medicine’s Dr. Rebecca Vanderpool, research investigator, Division of Translational and Regenerative Medicine, and Dr. Ken Knox, former pulmonary chief, were recently awarded three-year grants from the Arizona Biomedical Research Commission—among 14 given to the University of Arizona. Her study involves a molecular link in development of right ventricular heart failure in pulmonary hypertension patients. His involves “tissue bioengineering” of a spinach leaf to serve as a model to study lung inflammation. See their co-investigators and funded research list…   


Reducing the Risk of Transplant Rejection Focus of Nephrology Guest Speaker, April 20

The University of Cincinnati transplantation director Dr. E. Steve Woodle will speak on “Innovative Approaches for Prevention and Treatment of Rejection: The Cincinnati Experience” in a special guest lecture hosted by the University of Arizona Division of Nephrology on Friday, April 20, 12-1 p.m., UAHS Room 8403. In addition, Dr. Rita R. Alloway, University of Cincinnati director of transplant clinical research, will give an industry-sponsored talk April 19, 6:30 p.m., at Tavalino's Restaurant on "A Unique Tacrolimus Treatment Option." RSVP now…


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