October 21, 2009

Medical faculty members win $2.6 million in grants

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Fourteen faculty members at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield and Carbondale are the recipients of grants from the National Institutes of Health through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for their research projects. The grants, which total $2,606,950, are being awarded to various projects. Some of the grants are for expansion of existing projects and others are for new research efforts.

“This new funding, supporting advances in aging, hearing, infectious diseases, cancer and neurobiology, allows SIU’s research to move forward at a faster pace,” said Linda A. Toth, the medical school’s associate dean for research and faculty affairs and professor of pharmacology.

Most of the awardees are research scientists, working in Springfield and Carbondale. Several are members of the SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute (SCCI) research team. The funds are to be used for hiring personnel and purchasing supplies and equipment.

The SIU faculty members, their research projects and funding amounts are –

• Andrzej Bartke, professor and SIUC distinguished scholar of internal medicine and physiology, for his project, “Interaction of Caloric Restriction with Longevity Genes,” $60,952;

• Dr. Carol A. Bauer, professor of otolaryngology head and neck surgery, for her project, “Features of Chronic Tinnitus in Animal Model as Indicated by MEMRI and MRS,” $181,492;

• Kathleen C. M. Campbell, professor of otolaryngology head and neck surgery and member of SCCI, for her project, “Developing D-methionine as an Aminoglycoside Otoprotectant,” $274,527;

• Donald M. Caspary, professor and SIUC distinguished scholar of pharmacology, for his project, “The Glycine Receptor in a Rat Tinnitus Model: A Possible Therapeutic Target,” $45,157;

• Michael W. Collard, associate professor of physiology and member of SCCI, for his project, “Regulatory Mechanisms of DEAF-1 in Development,” $218,250;

• Julio A. Copello, assistant professor of pharmacology, for his project, “Communication Between Neighboring Ryanodine Receptor Channels in Skeletal Muscle,” $73,189;

• Edward Gershburg, assistant professor of medical microbiology, immunology and cell biology, for his project, “Definition of Structural Organization and Enzymology of the EBV Protein Kinase, $63,682;

• Ramesh Gupta, professor and chair of biochemistry and molecular biology, for his project, RNA Splicing in Archaea,” $118,059;

• William Halford, associate professor of medical microbiology, immunology and cell biology, for his project, “Development of an Effective Genital Herpes Vaccine,” $400,125;

• Jodi I. Huggenvik, associate professor of physiology and member of SCCI, for her projects, “DEAF-1 Interactions and Protein Modifications in Prostate Cells,” $218,250;

• James A. MacLean, assistant professor of physiology, for his project, “Regulation of Insulin by RHOXS Homebox Gene Supports Spermatogenesis,” $9,063;

• Laura L. Murphy, professor of physiology and member of SCCI, for her project, “Ginseng and Its Constituents in Complementary Breast Cancer Therapy,” $181,875;

• April D. Strader, assistant professor of physiology, for her project, “Understanding the Role of Bile as a Mechanism for Improved Glucose Homeostasis
Following Bariatric Surgery,” $742,541; and

• Toth, for her project, “Mechanisms of Fatigue in a Chronic Viral Disease,” $19,788.

(For more information, contact Ruth Slottag or Nancy Zimmers at the School of Medicine in Springfield, 217/545-2155.)