In the spring of 2022, the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI) announced, through its Pilot Projects Program, two funding opportunities to support clinical and translational pilot studies including the Open Competition and Jumpstart Grant funding opportunities.
Among the two funding categories, 11 pilot research projects aligning with issues relevant to health and health care disparities in West Virginia and Appalachia were selected to receive support.
Through the Jumpstart Grant funding mechanism where investigators can request up to $10,000 for a maximum period of six months, four research studies were selected including:
- “Retrospective study on NEDD9 to achieve PCR in Her-2+ breast cancer patients,” led by Maria Hafez, M.D., assistant professor in WVU’s Department of Medicine.
- “Identification of human glyphosate transporters using a yeast reporter system,” led by Jennifer Gallagher, Ph.D., associate professor in WVU’s Department of Biology.
- “Time Intervals from Screening to Treatment Initiation among Patients with Lung Cancer,” led by Sabina Nduaguba, Ph.D., assistant professor in WVU’s Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy.
- “Evaluating barriers and attitudes toward weight loss and physical activity in endometrial cancer patients in West Virginia,” led by Kristy Ward, M.D., associate professor in WVU’s Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The Open competition is another funding opportunity that supports innovative research that addresses healthcare needs in West Virginia. The Open competition allows research investigators to request up to $50,000 in funding that must be utilized over a period of 12 to 24 months. Six investigators were selected to receive funding for their respective projects including:
- Chris Risher, Ph.D., assistant professor in Marshall University’s Department of Biomedical Sciences whose project is titled “Disruptions in Tripartite Synaptic Development Following Prenatal Opioid Exposure.”
- Swarup Mitra, Ph.D., assistant professor in Marshall University’s Department of Biomedical Sciences who is leading the research project “Role of perineuronal nets in influencing perinatal buprenorphine exposed offspring behaviors.”
- Jinju Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor in Marshall University’s Department of Biomedical Sciences whose project is titled “Pro-inflammatory role of diabetic perivascular adipose tissue exosomes in vascular endothelium.”
- Abdullah Al-Mamun, Ph.D., assistant professor in WVU’s Department of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy who is the principal investigator for the project “Development of an artificial intelligence-enabled surveillance tool to investigate the polysubstance use patterns among the fatal drug overdoses in West Virginia.”
- Justin Kupec, M.D., associate professor in WVU’s Department of Medicine whose research project is titled “Role of cytochrome b5 reductase 1 (Cytb5R1) and duodenal cytochrome b (Dcytb) on oxidative stress in ulcerative colitis human colon.”
- Scott Levick, Ph.D., associate professor in WVU’s Department of Physiology and Pharmacology who is the principal investigator for the research project “Replacement Substance P as a Therapy for Diabetic Cardiac Fibrosis.”
“It is exciting to see these new research projects get started at West Virginia University and Marshall University, as they are addressing significant health issues in West Virginia, including cancer, addiction and cardiovascular diseases,” said Dr. Gary O. Rankin, associate director of the WVCTSI and co-director of the Pilot Projects Program.
For information on current funding opportunities, visit the WVCTSI funding page.
WVCTSI Background
WVCTSI is funded by an IDeA Clinical and Translational grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U54GM104942) to support the mission of building clinical and translational research infrastructure and capacity to impact health disparities in West Virginia.