Department of Medicine

Projects and Funding Support

Master
Content

Sandeep Agarwal, M.D., Ph.D.

Eli Lilly and Co: Validation of novel ixekizumab impacted signaling pathways through meta-analysis of transcriptomic datasets.
The major goal is to use microarray expression profiling to determine the role of IL-17 in psoriasis.

Kalpana Bhairavarasu, M.D.

PCORI (Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute): Implementing Decision Aid for Lupus - IDEAL STRATEGY
Multi-center quality improvement trial in collaboration with the University of Alabama to implement an individualized decision aid model with lupus kidney disease to learn about their illness and therapeutic options.

David Corry, M.D.

NIH R01: Fungal Pathogenesis of Moderate to Severe Asthma 
Major goal is to define the mechanisms by which fungi lead to asthma-like disease combining mouse and human studies.

NIH R01: Mechanism and Function of Let-7, a Novel Modulator of Th17-dependent Emphysema
The major goal is to define the mechanism by which let-7 microRNAs regulate Th17 responses in smoking and carbon black-dependent emphysema.

NIH R01 Supplement: Fungal Pathogenesis of Chronic Brain Disease
Major goal is to define the mechanism by which the yeast Candida albicans crosses the blood brain barrier to enter the brain to produces Alzheimer’s Disease-like pathology and develop an anti-candida vaccine that prevents brain invasion.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VAORD): Molecular and Cellular Dissection of miRNAs in Controlling Allergic Airway Inflammation in Mice
The major goal is to dissect microRNA (miRNA)-dependent inflammatory pathways in dendritic cells (DCs) and CD4+ T cells that modulate murine allergic airway disease.

NIH R01 Supplement: Pathogenesis of Polymicrobial Cerebritis-related Dementia
The major goal is to understand how the yeast Candida albicans travels from the gut to the brain to induce Alzheimer’s-like disease.

NIH R01 Supplement: IMPACC-MEDVAMC – COVID-19 Study
The major goal is to understand how the yeast Candida albicans travels from the gut to the brain to induce Alzheimer’s

Grace Hsiao-Wei Lo, M.D., M.S.

NIH/NIAMS R21: A Pilot Randomized, Controlled Trial of Hand Osteoarthritis
The major goal is to propose a randomized, controlled clinical trial evaluating whether hand traction will treat symptoms and structural progression in hand osteoarthritis.

Rashmi Maganti, M.D.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals: A Randomized, Double-blind Placebo Controlled Multicenter Phase 2 Dose-ranging Study to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of Multiple VAY736 Doses Administered Subcutaneously in Patients with Moderate to Severe Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome
This trial is closed and we are looking to recruit patients with primary Sjogren’s for phase 3 extension looking at long-term safety of a drug that has shown some efficacy in an earlier study to help symptoms of Sjogren’s.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals: Clinical trial CFZ533B2201/Ianumumab-Multicenter: A 48-week Four-arm Double-blind Study for Two Cohorts of Primary Sjogren’s Syndrome
The major goal is evaluating a new immunomodulatory agent for efficacy in two groups of patients—one set with mostly dryness in eyes and mouth and the other set with organ involvement. Treatment for primary Sjogren’s syndrome is currently limited at this time to symptomatic therapy. The role of immunosuppression to help disease progression is not clearly defined and newer immune targets are being evaluated.

Antony Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Gillson-Longenbaugh Foundation: Role of Let-7 microRNA in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
The major goal of this study is to characterize a novel genetic risk factor for emphysema and enable targeted prevention efforts for at-risk individuals in the population.

NIH R01 Supplement: Role of Let-7 as Genetic Modifier of Alzheimer’s Disease
The goal of this project is to determine if let-7 can alter Alzheimer’s disease severity elicited in the murine model Tg 5xFAD.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VAORD): Molecular and Cellular Dissection of miRNAs in Controlling Allergic Airway Inflammation in Mice
The major goal is to dissect microRNA (miRNA)-dependent inflammatory pathways in dendritic cells (DCs) and CD4+ T cells that modulate murine allergic airway disease.

NIH R01: Mechanism and Function of Let-7, a Novel Modulator of Th17-dependent Emphysema
The major goal is to define the mechanism by which let-7 microRNAs regulate Th17 responses in smoking and carbon black-dependent emphysema.

Sanjiv Sur, M.D.

NIH R01: Role of Cytosolic DNA-multiprotein Interactome in Allergic Airway Inflammation
The major goal is to test the central hypothesis that allergic humans and mice develop an allergosome in the cytoplasm of the airway mucosa and lungs that stimulates allergic airway inflammation.

Department of Defense (DOD): Role of Cytosolic DNA Sensor in Allergic Airway Inflammation
The major goal is to test the hypothesis that allergic mice and humans develop [remove line break] a DNA-protein complex in the airway epithelium that provides a stable efficient signaling platform to generate IRF3 and stimulate AIR.

NIH R01 Supplement: Allergic Lung Inflammation-induced Oxidated DNA Damage in the Brain as a Risk Factor for Alzheimer’s Disease
The major goal is to evaluate lung inflammation

Tiphanie Vogel, M.D., Ph.D.

NIH U01: BCM Clinical Site for an Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN)
The major goal is to provide answers to patients with mysterious conditions that have eluded diagnosis and to advance medical knowledge about rare and common diseases.

Rheumatology Research Foundation Medical Student Preceptorship: Crossing the BRIDGE: Transfer & Outcomes (Vogel)
The major goal is to support quality improvement efforts in rheumatology transition medicine.

CHEST Foundation: COPA Syndrome-associated Mutations in Lung Transplant Recipients for Pulmonary Fibrosis 
The major goals of this project are to screen the DNA from explants of patients who had lung transplants for pulmonary fibrosis, looking for mutations in COPA to diagnose COPA syndrome.

Li-Yuan Yu-Lee, Ph.D.

NIH R01: Endothelial-to-osteoblast Conversion in Prostate Cancer Bone Metastasis
The major goals are to: Determine the mechanisms underlying endothelial cell-to-osteoblast (EC-OSB) transition. Identify EC-OSB hybrid cell secreted factors (EC-OSB factors) that promote PCa progression. Develop strategies that target EC-OSB hybrid cells to improve therapy outcomes for PCa bone metastasis. Determine whether EC-OSB transition occurs in normal bone and the fraction of EC-OSB hybrid cells in tumor-induced bone.

Cancer Prevention and Research Institute [remove line break] of Texas (CPRIT): Regulation of Dormancy of Metastatic Prostate Cancer Cells by Bone Microenvironment
The goals are to determine the effects of RARg agonists on EC-to-OSB conversion, on inhibiting osteoblastic bone lesions in animal models, in combination with bone targeting therapies on PCa tumor growth in vivo, and mechanism of RARg agonist inhibition of EC-to-OSB transition.