Professors, postdocs receive funds for cancer research, other projects

From the beginning of January to the end of April 2020, researchers at Penn State College of Medicine received 172 awards totaling nearly $30 million to support their studies. Projects receiving funding include investigations into the development of diagnostics and treatment strategies for conditions ranging from autism spectrum disorder to various types of cancer.

Zachary Bitzer, PhD

Identification of free radical induced biomarkers of exposure to electronic cigarette aerosols

Investigator: Zachary Bitzer, PhD, postdoctoral scholar, Department of Public Health Sciences

Grant amount: $120,513

Awarded by: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Goal: Electronic cigarette use is on the rise, particularly among youth.

This award will allow Bitzer to study the free radicals produced by e-cigarettes and identify their specific structures and potential for harm in rodent models.

A better understanding of the structures of these free radicals and their possible effects could inform regulatory strategies designed to reduce harm from exposure to e-cigarettes.

Modulating p53 transcriptional activity to reduce melanoma brain metastasis

Investigator: Saketh Dinavahi, PhD, postdoctoral scholar, Department of Pharmacology

Grant amount: $100,000

Awarded by: Melanoma Research Foundation

Goal: The five-year survival rate for melanoma that has spread to the brain is only 5 percent.

This project will determine whether targeting a specific cellular pathway can encourage melanoma cells to die, thereby reducing the incidence of melanomas that spread to the brain.

Guangwei Du, MD, PhD

Multimodal MR imaging of the midbrain for early Parkinson’s progression

Investigator: Guangwei Du, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology

Grant amount: $744,230

Awarded by: Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

Goal: This project will use magnetic resonance imaging to measure changes in the midbrain related to early Parkinson’s disease (PD).

The study aims to provide a set of imaging biomarkers that can track early PD progression.

The imaging biomarkers may be used in trials testing drugs to slow or stop PD progression.

Karam El-Bayoumy, PhD

Chemoprevention by black raspberry of oral cancer induced by tobacco carcinogens: translational studies

Investigator: Karam El-Bayoumy, PhD, distinguished professor of biochemistry and molecular biology

Grant amount: $344,294 ($1,526,891 anticipated through January 2025)

Awarded by: National Cancer Institute

Goal: Tobacco products contain a variety of cancer-causing substances.

El-Bayoumy demonstrated that freeze-dried black raspberry powder reduced carcinogen-induced DNA damage that leads to genetic mutation and cancer in the oral cavity of mice.

With these funds, he will investigate the cellular mechanisms that cause this protective effect and to translate his basic research findings into the clinic.

The results could be useful in developing strategies to prevent cancer formation in addicted smokers who are unable to quit as well as non- or former-smokers who are exposed to environmental carcinogens.

ZFAND6 regulation of innate antiviral immunity

Investigator: Edward Harhaj, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology

Grant amount: $237,480 ($435,380 anticipated through February 2022)

Awarded by: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Goal: Disease-causing strains of the influenza A virus (IAV) can cause heightened inflammatory reactions, which can result in poor disease outcomes, including death.

This project will investigate the role of a gene that is involved in antiviral signaling pathways and how it may reduce lung inflammation after IAV infection.

The study may shed new light on mechanisms that control virus-triggered inflammation.

Nadine Hempel, PhD

Regulation of mitochondrial redox homeostasis and signaling in metastatic ovarian cancer

Investigator: Nadine Hempel, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology

Grant amount: $393,897 ($1,924,350 anticipated through March 2025)

Awarded by: National Cancer Institute

Goal: For successful metastasis, or cancer spread, to occur in ovarian cancer, tumor cells must adapt to survive when spreading.

This project will focus on new signaling pathways within cells that regulate cell survival adaptations during ovarian cancer metastasis and will determine if these can be exploited to therapeutically target metastatic ovarian cancer.

Fracture fixation biomechanics simulator with adaptive virtual coaching

Investigators: Gregory Lewis, PhD, assistant professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation, and J. Spence Reid, MD, professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation

Grant amount: $342,045 ($1,249,210 anticipated through January 2024)

Awarded by: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

Goal: This project seeks to develop and test a new interactive simulation software for training orthopedic surgeons.

Gregory Lewis, MS, PhD

J. Spence Reid, MD

The software enables a surgeon to make changes to patient variables and fracture fixation plan, and immediately visualize how these changes affect clinically important 3D biomechanics.

A virtual coach will be developed to guide the surgeon.

Guodong Liu, PhD

Identify early markers of autism spectrum disorder based on patterns of medical symptoms and health care service

Investigator: Guodong Liu, PhD, associate professor of public health sciences

Grant amount: $229,950 ($421,575 anticipated through December 2021)

Awarded by: National Institute of Mental Health

Goal: The study will use two large, national databases containing information about patterns of health care service use to identify comorbid, or simultaneously occurring, medical conditions and health care service use associated with a subsequent autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis.

The goal is to use the findings to aid in the development of a medical insurance claims-based ASD surveillance system.

The tool could be used to monitor a population and flag high-risk children for further evaluations, shortening the time it takes to get affected children into care and significantly improving their functional and educational outcomes.

Gavin Robertson, PhD

Targeting aldehyde dehydrogenase for cancer prevention

Investigator: Gavin Robertson, PhD, professor of pharmacology and dermatology

Grant amount: $641,281 ($1,515,539 anticipated through March 2025)

Awarded by: National Cancer Institute

Goal: Cancer cells often develop resistance to treatment, stymying results.

The project will determine how inhibiting a protein called aldehyde dehydrogenase in cancer stem cells can most effectively prevent recurrent, resistant cancer development.

It will also study how changing the immune cells in tumors can make current immunotherapies more effective.

Zachary Simmons, MD

Respiratory health management in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis through telemonitoring and nurse health coaching

Investigator: Zachary Simmons, MD, professor of neurology and humanities

Grant amount: $197,302

Awarded by: The ALS Association

Goal: Simmons will use Penn State Health’s On-Demand platform to assess whether telehealth visits can lead to improved respiratory quality of life and decreased respiratory complications for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The research team will evaluate whether monthly, at-home guided pulmonary function testing and coaching from a nurse on self-management of respiratory health are suitable telehealth tools to achieve these goals.

Matthew Taylor, MD

Targeting metastasis suppressor 1 regulation as a novel therapy for the prevention of metastasis in lung adenocarcinoma

Investigator: Matthew Taylor, MD, assistant professor of surgery

Grant amount: $80,000

Awarded by: Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education

Goal: Metastasis is responsible for over 90% of deaths in patients diagnosed with lung cancer.

This research project will investigate processes at the cellular level that contribute to metastatic progression of lung cancer.

Knowledge gained through this study will increase understanding of how lung cancer progresses and potentially provide new targeted treatment for patients with lung cancer.

Guy Townsend, PhD

High-throughput surveillance of gut mucosal polysaccharides

Investigator: Guy Townsend, PhD, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology

Grant amount: $237,480 ($435,380 anticipated through January 2022)

Awarded by: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Goal: This project will investigate how intestinal diseases like colorectal cancers and inflammatory bowel disease promote changes in the trillions of bacteria inhabiting our gastrointestinal tracts that play critical roles in human health and development.

Many diseases are associated with changes in the complex sugars produced by the intestines that simultaneously compartmentalize and feed these bacteria.

The investigator’s goal is to understand how changes in these sugars and the bacteria that feed on them may signal the onset of intestinal disease.

Mohamed Trebak, PhD

Ca2+ signaling networks in health and disease

Investigator: Mohamed Trebak, PhD, professor of cellular and molecular physiology

Grant amount: $944,709 ($6,315,205 anticipated through January 2027)

Awarded by: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Goal: Cells in the body use calcium signaling for essential functions.

For the next seven years, Trebak will work to understand the molecular mechanisms that control calcium signaling in healthy and diseased cells.

A better understanding of these processes may lead to the development of new drugs that can prevent and cure cardiovascular and metabolic diseases like heart failure and obesity.

Xiang Zhan, PhD

Novel statistical methods for controlled variable selection of microbiome data

Investigator: Xiang Zhan, PhD, assistant professor of public health sciences

Grant amount: $186,615 ($412,329 anticipated through February 2022)

Awarded by: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Goal: Microbiomes, or communities of trillions of microorganisms within and outside of the human body, play an important role in human health.

Zhan proposes to develop proper and efficient statistical methods that help researchers understand the complex relationships among microbiomes, metabolites, environmental factors and related disease outcomes.

Other awards

• See grant highlights from previous months here.
• See details on grants awarded to the College of Medicine from 2017 to present here.

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