CTSI Translational Pilot Studies Program awards 13 new grants for 2021-22

UB’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) has awarded 13 new grants to support innovative translational research projects in Western New York. The CTSI Translational Pilot Studies Program provides seed money to investigators to assist them in developing promising new technologies and therapeutics from the conceptual stage to clinical studies.

“The pilot studies grant awardees for 2021-22 include projects that address significant translational research questions,” says CTSI Pilot Studies Program Director Brahm Segal, chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, and professor of oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. “In addition to developing new methods and technologies, these projects will foster cross-disciplinary collaborations and mentoring relationships.”

Recipients of 2021-22 Translational Pilot Studies Program awards are:

Development of a Smartphone-Based Family Planning Intervention for African Refugee Women with Low Literacy

Principal investigator: Kafuli Agbemenu, School of Nursing.

Co-investigators: Sonya Borrero, director, Center For Women’s Health Research and Innovation, University of Pittsburgh; Gretchen Ely, School of Social Work; Helen (Hua) Wang, Department of Communication, College of Arts and Sciences; Sondra Dawes, Jericho Road Community Health Center — Priscilla Project; Francine Rwanika, Jericho Road Community Health Center — Priscilla Project.

Role of Pioglitazone Therapy in Management of Insulin Resistance Associated With Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) in Patients with Prostate Cancer

Principal investigator: Paresh Dandona, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Co-investigators: Gurkamal Chatta, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center; Husam Ghanim, Jacobs School; Manav Batra, Jacobs School; Itivrita Goyal, University of Oklahoma; Manu Raj Pandey, Roswell Park; Roberto Pili, Jacobs School.

A Pilot Placebo-Controlled Randomized Double-Blind Trial of Melatonin in Outpatients with COVID-19 Infection

Principal investigator: Margarita L. Dubocovich, Jacobs School.

Co-investigators: Jessica L. Reynolds, Jacobs School; Sanjay Sethi, Jacobs School; Gregory E. Wilding, School of Public Health and Health Professions; Alberto Monegro, Jacobs School; Rajesh Kunadharaju, Jacobs School; Daniel Zinkovsky, Jacobs School.

Examining the Feasibility of a Community Health Worker Program Embedded in Western New York Community Pharmacies to Address Social Determinants of Health

Principal investigators: David M. Jacobs, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Christopher J. Daly, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Established investigator: Ekaterina Noyes, School of Public Health and Health Professions.

Functional MRI Improves Clinical Outcome Prediction after Acute Stroke

Principal investigator: Amit Kandel, Jacobs School.

Co-investigators: Michael G. Dwyer, Jacobs School; Adnan Siddiqui, Jacobs School; Robert Zivadinov, Jacobs School

Classifying Sports-Related Concussions by Symptom Profiles

Principal investigator: Jeffrey C. Miecznikowski, School of Public Health and Health Professions.

Co-investigators: Mohammad Nadir Haider, Jacobs School; Barry Willer, Jacobs School; John J. Leddy, Jacobs School.

Integration of Cancer Survivorship into the Rural United States (ICaRUS)

Principal investigator: Ekaterina Noyes, School of Public Health and Health Professions.

Co-investigators: Gregory E. Wilding, School of Public Health and Health Professions; Kathryn Glaser, Roswell Park.

Role of NANOG in Improving Function after Peripheral Nerve Injury

Principal investigator: Kirkwood E. Personius, School of Public Health and Health Professions.

Co-investigators: Stelios Andreadis, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Susan B. Udin, Jacobs School.

Home-Based Dual-Task Exercise for Older Adults with MCI

Principal investigator: Nikhil Satchidanand, Jacobs School.

Co-investigator: Bruce Troen, Jacobs School.

A Framework for Fusing Histopathology and Genomics Features for Diabetes Diagnosis and Prognosis

Principal investigator: Pinaki Sarder, Jacobs School.

Co-investigators: John E. Tomaszewski, Jacobs School; Norma J. Nowak, Jacobs School; Rabi Yacoub, Jacobs School.

Immune Priming Strategy to Improve Delivery and Efficacy of Immunotherapeutics in Pancreatic Cancer

Principal investigator: Robert M. Straubinger, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Co-investigators: Tista Roy Chaudhuri, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Michael Feigin, Roswell Park; Scott Abrams, Roswell Park; Donald E. Mager, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

GsMTx4-D as an Exon-Skipping Gene Therapy Adjuvant in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Principal investigator: Thomas Suchyna, Jacobs School.

Co-investigators: Carrie Miceli, UCLA School of Medicine; Christopher Ward, University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Targeting Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction to Treat Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction

Principal investigator: Brian Weil, Jacobs School.

Co-investigators: B. Rita Alevriadou, Jacobs School; Thomas Suchyna, Jacobs School.

Funding for the CTSI Translational Science Pilot Studies Program is provided by the Office of the Provost, Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, and Office of the Vice President for Health Sciences; Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center; and the deans of the Jacobs School, School of Dental Medicine, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Professions, and School of Nursing.

For summaries of the research projects, visit the CTSI website.