BYFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 26, 2004--The Scleroderma Foundation awarded $1.45 million in new research grants to 11 recipients. This year's total funding is the Foundation's largest ever. This year's grants continue 16 years of leadership in supporting important and original research focusing on the cause and cure of scleroderma, fulfilling a vital part of the Scleroderma Foundation's three-fold mission of support, education, and research.
The Scleroderma Foundation grant program has funded nearly $10 million in research since 1989, making it by far the largest nonprofit supporter of scleroderma research, second only to the federal government. Many recipients who started their work with "seed money" from the Foundation have gone on to receive major funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Twenty-nine proposals from around the world were reviewed at the Scleroderma Foundation's Annual Research Proposal Peer Review Meeting. Scientists from the U.S., Italy, Switzerland, and Brazil sought funding. Nine recipients were awarded $150,000 over two years, and two received $50,000 for one year. Arnold Postlethwaite, M.D., Professor of Medicine, University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, recruited and chaired the panel of top scientific investigators from around the United States that participated in the peer review process.
"It has been extremely gratifying to witness the continual growth of the Research Program of the Scleroderma Foundation over the past 15 years," said Dr. Postlethwaite. "These research grant awards have been instrumental in attracting new Ph.D. and physician scientists to the area of scleroderma research and in providing critical financial support for high- risk pilot projects. Results from these studies have in many instances allowed researchers to obtain larger research grants that are helping to solve the riddle of scleroderma. The success of the Research Program has been immensely aided by the fair, unbiased, but critical review of the applications by the panel of experts comprising the Research Grant Peer Review Committee. This has helped to assure that the most promising science gets funded."
The highest-scoring research proposal received the Scleroderma Foundation's Mark Flapan Award, named for the late psychologist and scleroderma patient whose contributions to the Foundation's publications and to the literature of scleroderma paved the way to greater scientific understanding. The second-highest scoring proposal is awarded the Marta Marx Eradication of Scleroderma Award. This award is funded by a generous bequest from the Estate of Rudolph Juhl, named in honor of his sister, Marta Marx, who had scleroderma.
The following are the recipients of the 2004 research grants:
Mark Flapan Award - Asish K. Ghosh, Ph.D., University of Illinois "Repression of TGF-(beta) Signaling by PPAR-(gamma): Novel Approach to Controlling Fibrosis" This study examines how novel antidiabetic drugs induce PPAR-(gamma), a potent repressor of collagen synthesis, to develop new treatments for scleroderma. Marta Marx Eradication of Scleroderma Award - Karen M. Lyons, Ph.D., University of California "CTGF in Scleroderma" This study explores the role of Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) in scleroderma. Sergei P. Atamas, M.D., Ph.D., University of Maryland "The Role of PARC in Lung Fibrosis--From in vitro to in vivo Research" This study will examine the role of a cytokine called PARC in lung fibrosis. Edwin S. Chan, M.B., Ch.B., New York University "Purinergic Modulation of Dermal Fibrosis" This study focuses on the mechanisms by which adenosine promotes the production of collagen and therefore skin thickening. Susan Debora Croll, Ph.D., City University of New York "Inflammation Induced by Sympathetic Over-Activation: Evaluation of a Potential Animal Model for Scleroderma Features and Etiology" This study will determine if inflammation caused by sympathetic overactivation, combined with the protein brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), leads to scleroderma-like pathology.
Richard Hans Gomer, Ph.D., Rice University "Testing Serum Amyloid P as a Diagnostic and Therapeutic" This study will evaluate the effectiveness of serum amyloid P (SAP) in stopping a type of human white blood cell from becoming a fibroblast.
Robert A. Lafyatis, M.D., Boston University "Fibrillin-Binding Matrix and BMPs in Tsk Mice and Scleroderma" This study investigates the role in fibrosis of proteins fibulin-2, fibulin-5, and MAGP-2. Irina G. Luzina, M.D., Ph.D., Baltimore Research and Education Foundation "G-Protein Couples Signaling from PARC Receptor in Lung Fibroblasts" This project studies three molecules (PKC, PLC, and Ras) and their involvement in the PARC receptor, and whether blocking them prevents stimulation of collagen production. Yasuji Mori, M.D., Ph.D., University of Illinois "Modulation of Fibrotic Responses by a Novel TGF-(beta) Receptor Kinase Inhibitor in vitro and in vivo" This study is designed to enhance the understanding of how fibroblasts become and remain activated by a protein called TGF-(beta), potentially leading to the design of therapies to stop this process. Elena Tourkina, Ph.D., Medical University of South Carolina "Caveolin-1 in Scleroderma Lung Disease" This project seeks to demonstrate a connection between decreased levels of Caveolin-1 in scleroderma lung cells as a cause of scleroderma lung disease.
Xiaodong Zhou, M.D., University of Texas Heath Science Center at Houston "Regulation of SPARC and CTGF in Scleroderma Fibroblasts" This study examines the regulation of SPARC (a matricellular protein) and CTGF (a growth factor) expression in systemic sclerosis and normal fibroblasts.
For more information on the Scleroderma Foundation's research program, scleroderma in general, or any of the Foundation's services, contact Karen Young by calling 978.463.5843, x. 48, or emailing kyoung@scleroderma.org.
The Scleroderma Foundation is a 501(c)3 national nonprofit organization serving the interests of persons with scleroderma. The Foundation's 25 chapters and 150 support groups nationwide help to carry out its three-fold mission of support, education, and research. The Scleroderma Foundation is the leading nonprofit supporter of scleroderma research--allotting over $1 million each year to find the cause and cure of scleroderma. Website: www.scleroderma.org. Toll-free number: 800-722-HOPE.
Contact:
Scleroderma Foundation Karen Young, 978-463-5843, x. 48 kyoung@scleroderma.org or Makovsky, New York Kate Coyne, 212-508-9630 kcoyne@makovsky.com
Source: Scleroderma Foundation