Round Four VRP Committee Members


Announcements and News:


Round Four Awardees:

Investigator Names Type Title of the Project Funding

Ella Nikulina, PhD – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Associate Professor, Department of Basic Medical Sciences
Megan Rudolph, MS – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Research Intern, Department of Basic Medical Sciences

P1

Elucidating the Neuronal Circuitry Underlying Social Stress-Induced Psychostimulant Sensitivity

$10,000
Jerome Lacombe, PhD – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Research Assistant Professor, Center for Applied NanoBioscience and Medicine
Ashlee Harris, PhD – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, PhD Student, Center for Applied NanoBioscience and Medicine
P1

Exploration of Plant-Based Scaffolds to Generate Engineered Skin Substitutes

$10,000
Karen Hastings, MD, PhD – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Associate Professor, Department of Basic Medical Sciences
Jesse Washnock-Schmid – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, MS Student, Department of Basic Medical Sciences
P1

The Role of MHC-II in Melanoma on Regulating the Anti-Tumor Immune Response

$10,000
Rachel Rowe, PhD – Assistant Professor, Translational Neurotrauma Research Program, Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital, and the UA College of Medicine –  Phoenix, Department of Child Health
J. Bryce Ortiz, PhD – Postdoctoral Fellow, Translational Neurotrauma Research Program, Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital, and the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Department of Child Health
P1

Integrated Analyses of the Bidirectional Relationship between the Growth Hormone Axis and Sleep Following Juvenile TBI

$10,000

Shalini Sharma, PhD  UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Assistant Professor, Department of Basic Medical Sciences
William Martelly – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Graduate Student Intern, Department of Basic Medical Sciences

P1

Understanding Functions of the Myelodysplastic Syndrome Associated Splicing Factor SF3A1

$10,000

Theresa Thomas, PhD – Assistant Professor, Translational Neurotrauma Research Program, Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital, and the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Department of Child Health​
Gokul Krishna, PhD  Postdoctoral Research Associate I, Translational Neurotrauma Research Program, Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital, and the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Department of Child Health

P1

Late-Onset Traumatic Brain Injury-Induced Anxiety-Like Behavior is Mediated through Changes in Gut Microbiota

$10,000

Dong Wang, MD, PhD  UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Gregory Turner, PhD – Dignity Health, Program Manager, Preclinical Imaging, Keller Center for Imaging Innovation at Barrow Neurological Institute

P2

The Novel Role and Underlying Mechanism of Corin in Modulating Cardiomyocyte Survival after Ischemic Injury in Heart

$50,000
Taben Mary Hale, PhD – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Associate Professor, Department of Basic Medical Sciences
Richard Frye, MD, PhD – Phoenix Children's Hospital, Professor, Department of Child Health
P2

Protecting cardiac and skeletal muscle against pediatric cancer chemotherapy: Understanding and unlocking new pathways

$50,000
Varina Boerwinkle, MD – Phoenix Children's Hospital, Associate Professor of Neurology
Francisco Ponce, MD – Barrow Neurological Institute, Dignity Health
Associate Professor of Neurosurgery
P2

Cerebral Palsy Interventions Elucidated by Resting State Functional MRI

$50,000