Round Two VRP Committee Members

Announcements and News


Round Two Awardees:

Investigator Names Type Title of the Project Funding
Paul Boehmer, PhD – UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Professor of Basic Medical Sciences
Savannah McMahon – UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Medical Student
P1 A Role for p53 in Herpes Simplex Virus – 1 Replication $5,000
Kurt Gustin, PhD – UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Associate Professor of Basic Medical Sciences
Haig Aintablian – UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Medical Student
P1 Regulation of the Type I Interferon Response by Nup98 $5,000
Taben Hale, PhD – UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Associate Professor of Basic Medical Sciences
Issam Awwad – UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Medical Student
P1

Exercise Preconditioning as a Means to Protect Against Doxorubicin-induced Cardiotoxicity

$5,000
Karen Taraszka Hastings, MD, PhD – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Associate Professor of Basic Medical Sciences and Immunology
Hari Menon – UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Medical Student
P1 Inducers of GILT Expression in Inflamed Nevi and Melanoma  $5,000
Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD – UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Assistant Professor of Basic Medical Sciences
Jameson Gardner, GRI – UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Research Intern
P1 Requirement for IL-36y and IL-36Ra in Vaginal Bacterial Infection and Inflammation $5,000
Jonathan Lifshitz, PhD – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Associate Professor of Child Health
Alona Sukhina – UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Medical Student
P1 Do Traumatic Brain Injuries Correlate with Subsequent Development of Endocrine Disorders in Children? $5,000
Theresa Currier Thomas, PhD – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Assistant Professor of Child Health
Sarah Ogle, DO – Banner University – Medical Center Phoenix, Resident
P1 Expression of Synaptogenic Molecules, Thrombospondin 1 & 2, and Dynamic Neuronal Morphology in Memory Circuits after Experimental Diffuse Traumatic Brain Injury $5,000
Theresa Currier Thomas, PhD – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Assistant Professor of Child Health
Joshua Beitchman – Midwestern University, Graduate Student
P1 Electrochemical assessment of behaviorally relevant circuit function at a chronic time point after TBI $5,000
Ashish Pershad, MD – Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, Director of the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship
Divya Verma, MD – Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, Research Fellow
P1 Improving the Outcomes and Survival in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Defining the Predictors of Mortality  $5,000
Dana Williams, MD – Phoenix Children's Hospital, Director of the Feeding Program
Julie Osborn, MD – Phoenix Children's Hospital, Pediatric Resident
P1 The Role of Reflux Aspiration in Lung Injury in Young Children with Dysphagia and Oral Aspiration $5,000
Joel Barkley – Maricopa Integrated Health System & UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Clinical Assistant Professor of Obsterics and Gynecology
Frederic Zenhausern, PhD, MBA – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Professor of Basic Medical Sciences and Director of Center for Applied NanoBioscience and Medicine
P2 Identification of Endometrial Cancer Specific miRNA Biomarkers in Endometrial Fluid Collected Using Saline Infusion Sonohysterography Techniques  $80,000
Amelia Gallitano, MD, PhD – UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Associate Professor of Basic Medical Sciences
Steve Chung, MD – Banner University – Medical Center Phoenix, Executive Director of Neuroscience Institute and Chair of Neurology
P2 Pilot Proposal to Develop a Rapid and Cost-Effective Diagnostic Test for Schizophrenia  $80,000
Ming Gao, PhD – Dignity Health/Barrow Neurological Institute, Research Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurobiology
Shenfeng Qiu, PhD – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Assistant Professor of Basic Medical Sciences
P2 Mechanisms of CB2R-mediated Reduction of VTA DA Neuron Excitability   $80,000
Michael Kruer, MD – UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Associate Professor of Child Health and Barrow Neurological Institute, Director of Pediatric Movement Disorders
Rita Sattler, PhD – Barrow Neurological Institute, Associate Professor of Neurobiology
P2 Probing Cytoskeletal Dynamics in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neurons from Patients with Monogenic Cerebral Palsy $80,000

Ella Nikulina, PhD – UA College of Medicine-Phoenix, Associate Professor of Basic Medical Sciences
Jie Wu, MD, PhD – Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Senior Staff Scientist and Professor of Neurology

P2

Role of VTA Glutamate Receptors in Social Stress-Induced Drug Addiction 

$80,000

Aparna Sertil, PhD – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Assistant Professor of Basic Medical Sciences
David Azorsa, PhD – Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Senior Research Scientist and UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Research Associate Professor of Child Health

P2 Targeting Activating Transcription Factor 6 Alpha. (ATF6α): A Novel Approach for the Treatment of Pediatric Osteosarcoma $80,000

Theresa Currier Thomas, PhD – UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Assistant Professor of Child Health
Steven Johnson, MD – Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, Chief of Surgery

P2 Prevention of Synaptogenesis as a Prophylactic Therapy for Post-Traumatic Morbidity $80,000

Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD – UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Assistant Professor of Basic Medical Sciences
Dana Chase, MD – Creighton University School of Medicine, Assistant Professor

P2

Characterization of the Genital Tract Microbiota in Obese and Non-Obese Type I Endometrial Cancer Patients

$80,000

Ray Woosley MD, PhD - UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Professor Emeritus
C.William Heise MD - UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Assistant Professor, Research Scientist
Robert Raschke MD - UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Clinical Associate Professor 
Steven Curry MD - UA College of Medicine –Phoenix, Professor Medical Toxicology

P3 Implementing EMR-based clinical decision support systems in a large healthcare system to improve clinical outcomes: A collaboration between Banner-University Medical Center Phoenix and the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix. $150,000