Past Awardees - Research

Pilot Project Awards

The Institute of Integration for Medicine & Science is pleased to announce the following recipients of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Pilot Projects for 2019.

2019 IIMS/CTSA Program

Name	Institute	Title
Yidong Bai, PhD		The role of Hispanic specific mitochondrial haplogroups on HCC in Mexican Americans
Jeffery Boychuk, PhD		Metabolic disorders interfere with behavioral and cellular stroke recovery: Effects of high fat diet
Xiao-Dong Chen, MD, PhD Jean Jiang, PhD		Mesenchymal stem cells suppress tumor cell growth
Yvonne Covin, MD		Diagnostic Excellence through Patient Engagement (DICE) study
David Morilak, PhD April Risinger, PhD		Developing a rat prostate cancer model as a platform to investigate cancer therapy-induced cognitive impairment and its treatment
Naomi Sayre, PhD Miranda Orr, PhD		Investigating a role for celluar senescence in brain trauma-induced neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment
Eun Yong Shim, PhD Hai Rao, PhD		Targeting Brca1- or Brca2-Mutant Ovarian Cancers by Small Molecule-Induced Proteolysis of Rad52
Kexin Xu, PhD Matthew Hart, PhD Stanton McHardy, PhD		Development of small-molecule inhibitors of EZH2 using a new strategy
Qitao Ran, PhD James Lechleiter, PhD		Astrocyte activation by small-molecule compounds as a novel therapy for motor neuron disease
Soo Chan Lee, PhD Alexi Tumanov, MD, PhD		Interaction between intestinal fungi and bacteria in the regulation of gut permeability and inflammation

2016-2017 Pilot Project Awards

The Institute of Integration for Medicine & Science is pleased to announce the following recipients of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Pilot Projects for September 2016-August 2017.

IIMS/CTSA Program

Armen Akopian, PhD Associate Professor	Endodontics UTHSCSA	Approaches in management postoperative pain in aged individuals
Thomas Boyer, PhD Professor	Molecular Medicine UTHSCSA	Targeting uterine fibroid stem cells with precision‐based therapies
Sara Espinoza, MD, MSc Associate Professor	Medicine/Geriatrics, Gerontology & Palliative Care UTHSCSA/STVHCS	Intranasal Oxytocin for Treatment of Sarcopenic Obesity in Older Adults
Janna Lesser, PhD, RN Professor	Family & Community Health Systems UTHSCSA	Reaching an Underserved and Hard to Reach Population in a Rural County at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes
Andrew Meyer, MD, MS Assistant Professor	Pediatrics/Critical Care SAMHS/UTHSCSA	EMILIN2 genetic variation effects on platelet aggregation and thrombosis
Polly Noel, PhD Associate Professor	Family & Community Medicine UTHSCSA	Linking Older Primary Care Patients to Community‐based Resources to Improve Health & Functioning
Luke Norton, PhD Assistant Professor	Medicine/Diabetes UTHSCSA	The Regulation of Hepatic Pyruvate Metabolism by Pioglitazone
Raymond Palmer, PhD Professor	Family & Community Medicine UTHSCSA	An Exploratory Investigation of Organic Chemicals Measured in Deciduous Teeth
Luiz Penalva, PhD Associate Professor	Cellular & Structural Biology UTHSCSA	miRNA‐transcription factor networks in neurogenesis and tumorigenesis
Hai Rao, PhD Associate Professor	Molecular Medicine UTHSCSA	Overcoming VCP‐induced ALS
Shivani Ruparel, PhD Assistant Professor	Endodontics UTHSCSA	Role of BDNF in Oral Cancer Pain

IIMS/TBRI Program

Luis Giavedoni, PhD
Scientist

Virology & Immunology
TBRI

Towards a cure for AIDS in the SIV/rhesus macaque model

IIMS/MHI Program

Michael Liss, MD Assistant Professor	Urology UTHSCSA	Transitional Care of Service Members with Genitourinary Injury
Mary Jo Pugh, PhD Associate Professor	Epidemiology & Biostatistics UTHSCSA/STVHCS	Military and Veteran Caregiver Epilepsy Survey
Lora Watts, PhD Assistant Professor	Cellular & Structural Biology UTHSCSA	Could gut microbes serve as biomarkers for traumatic brain injury?

IIMS/UTSA Program

Ashok Chaturvedi, PhD Assistant Professor	Biology/STCEID UTSA	Repurposing FDA‐approved Ebselen and Auranofin as antifungals: teaching old drugs new tricks
Stan McHardy, PhD Director, CIDD	Chemistry, College of Sciences UTSA	Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel Fatty Amino Acid Hydrolase Inhibitors for Schizophrenia Pharmacotherapy

2015-2016 Pilot Project Awards

The Institute of Integration for Medicine & Science is pleased to announce the following recipients of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Pilot Projects for October 2015-September 2016.

IIMS/CTSA Program

Robert Ferrer Professor	Family & Community Medicine UTHSCSA	“Poner La Mesa: building skills for healthy eating in a vulnerable primary care population”
Veronica Galvan Assistant Professor	Physiology/ Barshop UTHSCSA	“Neurovascular tau in dementia”
Cara Gonzales Assistant Professor	Comprehensive Dentistry UTHSCSA	“Development of Novel Capsazepine Analogs to Treat Oral Cancer: A Collaborative Drug Development Program between UTHSCSA Dental School and UTSA Center for Innovative Drug Discovery”
Yves Gorin Associate Professor	Medicine/Nephrology UTHSCSA	“Dual oxidase 2 as a novel therapeutic target in diabetic kidney disease”
Dharam Kaushik Assistant Professor	Urology UTHSCSA	“Radical Cystectomy Compared with Combined Modality Treatment for Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: A Pilot Randomized Control Trial”
Ellen Kraig Professor	Cellular & Structural Biology UTHSCSA/VA	“Acarbose as a safe effective modulator of aging deficits in geriatric subjects”
Senlin Li Professor	Medicine/ Infectious Disease UTHSCSA	“Disruption of CCR5 gene in blood stem cells followed by transplantation as curative therapy for HIV ”
Marcus Restrepo Associate Professor	Medicine/Pulmonary and Critical Care UTHSCSA/VA	“Detection of Heart Scarring by Contrast MRI after a Pneumococcal Pneumonia Episode”
Donald Royall Professor	Psychiatry UTHSCSA	“A phase II clinical trial: Methylene blue in healthy aging and Alzheimer’s disease patients”
Sandeep Sagar Assistant Professor	Medicine/Cardiology UTHSCSA	“Admittance to Detect Pre-Clinical Heart Failure”
Paula Stigler Granados Assistant Professor	Management, Policy & Community Health UTSPH	“Exploring impacts on drinking water from unconventional oil and gas development in the Eagle Ford Shale”
Robert Svatek Assistant Professor	Urology UTHSCSA	“Humanized animal model platform to investigate cancer immune therapy in bladder cancer patients”

IIMS/TBRI Program

Anthony Comuzzie Scientist	Genetics TBRI	“Mechanisms of appetite control in lean individuals with a family history of obesity”
Marcel Daadi Associate Scientist/ Associate Professor	Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine TBRI	“Imaging dopaminergic grafts in marmoset model of Parkinson’s disease”
Ruth Ruprecht Scientist	Department of Virology & Immunology UTHSCSA/TBRI	“Structural analysis of a monoclonal antibody that targets a novel region on HIV-1 gp41”

IIMS/GCCRI Program

Ann Griffith Assistant Professor	Microbiology & Immunology UTHSCSA	“Novel strategies to improve T cell reconstitution after cytoablative therapy”
Sang Eun Lee Professor	Molecular Medicine UTHSCSA	“Role of SLX4IP in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia”
Yuzuru Shiio Associate Professor	Biochemistry UTHSCSA	“Cytokine addiction in Ewing sarcoma”

2014-2015 Pilot Project Awards

The Institute of Integration for Medicine & Science is pleased to announce the following recipients of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Pilot Projects for August 2014-July 2015.

CTSA Program

Timothy Q. Duong Professor/MRI Division Chief	Research Imaging Institute UTHSCSA	“Effects of Methylene Blue on Cognitive and fMRI Brain Activity in Healthy Humans”
Kristina W. Whitworth Assistant Professor	UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, San Antonio Campus	“Partners for a Healthy Community and Environment (PACE)”
Timothy Anderson Scientist	Genetics Texas Biomedical Research Institute	“Population Genomic Tools for Schistosome Parasites”
David Kadosh Associate Professor	Microbiology & Immunology UTHSCSA	“Development of a Novel Antifungal Treatment for Candida Species Biofilms”
Linda J. Roman Associate Professor	Biochemistry UTHSCSA	“Nitric Oxide and Insulin Signaling in Skeletal Muscle”
Edward Y. Sako Professor, Division Chief, Adult Cardiac Surgery	Cardiothoracic Surgery UTHSCSA	“Ex vivo Studies of Tricuspid Valve Mechanics”
Qiang Shen Assistant Professor/ Research	Ophthalmology and Research Imaging Institute UTHSCSA	“Oxygen‐challenge T2*‐Weighted MRI of Acute and Chronic Ischemic Stroke”
Shweta Bansal Assistant Professor	Medicine/Nephrology UTHSCSA	“Regulation of FGF23 in CKD: Beyond Phosphate”
Anand Ramasubramanian Assistant Professor	Biomedical Engineering UTSA	“A Rapid, Low-cost Device for MRSA Identification and Drug Susceptibility”
Donna M. Lehman Associate Professor	Medicine UTHSCSA	“TCF7L2 Genetic Editing in Human Glutamatergic Neurons”

IIMS/CTRC Program

Andrew Hinck Professor	Biochemistry UTHSCSA	“Blocking Tumor-and Fibrosis Promoting Activity of TGF-beta with Novel Small Molecule Assembly Inhibitors”
Md Mizanur Rahman Assistant Professor/ Research	Medicine – Clinical Immunology UTHSCSA	“Efficacy of Combining Valproic Acid (VPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) in Treating Prostate Cancer”

IIMS/GCCRI Program

Alexander Bishop Associate Professor	Greehey CCRI UTHSCSA	“Bloom Syndrome, Chronic Stress and Cancer”
Rong Li Professor	Molecular Medicine UTHSCSA	“BRCA1 and its Cofactor in Anthracycline Cardiotoxicity Among Pediatric Cancer Survivors”
Alex Pertsemlidis Associate Professor	Greehey CCRI UTHSCSA	“Elucidating how Chromosome 21 Protects Against Neuroblastoma Occurrence”

2013-2014 Pilot Project Awards

The Institute of Integration for Medicine & Science is pleased to announce the following recipients of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Pilot Projects for 2013-2014. The IIMS/CTSA partnered with the Cancer Therapy and Research Center (CTRC), the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute (GCCRI), the Center for Biomedical Neuroscience (CBN) and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) to fund a total of 17 projects.

IIMS/CTSA Program

Reto Asmis, PhD Professor and Associate Dean	Clinical Lab Science and Biochemistry UTHSCSA	Novel dual-modality matrix metalloproteinase-2 activatable folate recepto-targeting delivery system for the in vivo imaging of vascular inflammation
Adelita Cantu, PhD, RN Assistant Professor	Community and Family Health Systems UTHSCSA	Community perceptions of the environmental issues related to the Donna Reservoir: An environmental justice CBPR pilot study
Suman Challa, BDS, MS Assistant Professor	Comprehensive Dentistry UTHSCSA	Novel use of deciduous teeth to explore early life exposure to environmental pollutants in childhood obesity
Yong-Hee Patricia Chun, DDS, MS, PhD Assistant Professor/ Research	Periodontics UTHSCSA	Prevalence of molar-incisor hypomineralization in South Texas
Eric Muir, PhD Instructor	Ophthalmology/ Research Imaging Institute UTHSCSA	Ocular vascular dysfunction and hypoxia in a mouse model of glaucoma
Jason O’Connor, PhD Assistant Professor	Pharmacology UTHSCSA	Neuroinflammatory shift in tryptophan metabolism: A novel mechanism driving cognitive impairment?

CTRC/IIMS Program

Yidong Bai, PhD Associate Professor	Cellular and Structural Biology UTHSCSA	The effect of mitochondrial deficiency caused by a colorectal cancer associated complex I ND5 mutation on metastasis
Bradley Pollock, MPH, PhD Professor and Chair	Epidemiology and Biostatistics UTHSCSA	Assessment of risk factors of hepatocellular cardinoma in the SABOR population
Manjeet Rao, PhD Assistant Professor	Cellular and Structural Biology GCCRI	Improving the efficacy of chemotherapy drugs in treating drug-resistant breast cancers

GCCRI/IIMS Program

Liqin Du, PhD Instructor/Research	Cellular and Structural Biology GCCRI	A high-content functional screen to identify long-coding RNAs controlling neuroblastoma cell differentiation
Helen Parsons, PhD Assistant Professor	Epidemiology and Biostatistics UTHSCSA	Epidemiology of MRI-confirmed cardiac late effects in anthracycline-exposed survivors of childhood cancer
Yuzuru Shiio, MD, PhD Assistant Professor	Biochemistry GCCRI	Fli-1-EWS: A dark horse in Ewing sarcoma

UTSA/IIMS Program

Stanton McHardy, PhD
Director, Associate Professor
(Co-PI, Rong Li, PhD, Professor, Molecular Medicine)

Center for Innovations in Drug Development, Research, Chemistry

UTSA

Discovery of novel inhibitors on oncoprotein EYA2 in breast and ovarian cancers

Jiahua Ruan, PhD
Assistant Professor
(Co-PI, Tim Hui-Ming Huang, PhD, Professor, Molecular Medicine)

Computer Science

UTSA

Network-based integrative analysis of epigenetic changes in cancer genomes

2012-2013 Pilot Project Awards

The Institute of Integration for Medicine & Science is pleased to announce the following recipients of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Pilot Projects for August 2012-July 2013. The IIMS/CTSA partnered with the Cancer Therapy and Research Center (CTRC) and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) to fund a total of 13 projects.

IIMS Program

Veronica Galvan, PhD	Physiology	Preservation of vascular integrity in Alzheimer’s disease by rapamycin
Marie-Claire Gauduin, PhD	TBRI/Virology and Immunology	Development of a novel HIV vaccine approach using chimeric SIV/varicella virus
Jonathan Gelfond, MD, PhD	Epidemiology and Biostatistics	Building an Electronic Data Analysis Record System
Dean L Kellogg, MD, PhD	Physiology	Pilot study to assess whether rapamycin will improve immunity in octogenarians
Xin-Yun Lu, MD, PhD	Pharmacology	Alterations in leptin receptor signaling in major depression
Raymond F Palmer, PhD	Family and Community Medicine	Distribution of exogenous chemicals in deciduous dentin and enamel
Qiang Shen, PhD	Research Imaging Institute	Probe focal ischemic tissue viability and functional recovery by using multimodal MRI

UTSA/IIMS Program

Janakiram Seshu, PhD (Co-PI: Brian Wickes, PhD, Microbiology)	UTSA/Biology	Validation of genotype-specific detection of the agent of Lyme disease
Floyd Wormley, PhD (Co-PI: Thomas Patterson, MD, Medicine/Infectious Disease)	UTSA/Microbiology and Immunology	Vaccine Potential of Recombinant Cryptococcus neoformans Heat Shock Protein 90 Against Experimental Pulmonary Cryptococcus

CTRC/IIMS Program

William P Clarke, PhD	Pharmacology	In vivo and ex vivo models of peripheral neuropathy induced by microtubule targeting anticancer drugs.
Rita Ghosh, PhD	Urology	Hormone-induced reactive species in prostate cancer
Susan L Mooberry, PhD	Pharmacology	Clinical development of new microtubule stabilizers
Patricia Renee Yew, PhD	Molecular Medicine	Targeting aggressive prostate cancer through the Rb-MCM7-TGFβ1 axis

2011 Pilot Project Awards

The Institute of Integration for Medicine & Science is pleased to announce the following recipients of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Pilot Projects for June 2011-April 2012. The IIMS/CTSA partnered with the Cancer Therapy and Research Center (CTRC) and the School of Medicine to fund a total of 16 projects.

IIMS Program

Name	Department	Project Title
Nedal Arar, MD	Medicine / Nephrology	Genomic-based Research Applications for Community Engagement (GRACE).
Tim Duong, PhD	Ophthalmology	Predicting acute ischemic tissue fate in a clinically relevant non-human primate stroke model.
Franco Folli, MD, PhD	Medicine / Diabetes	Impact of Mechanical Unloading, Nutrition, and Neuro-hormonal Mediators on Bone Metabolism after Bariatric Surgery.
Peter Fox, MD	Research Imaging Inst.	Neural and genetic correlates of executive function.
Georgianna Gould	Physiology	Neuropharmacological impacts and non-invasive markers of high-dose acetaminophen exposures.
Michael Henry	Endodontics	Role of the OLAM System in Inflamed Human Tissue.
Scott Johnson	CT Surgery	Efficacy of Inhaled Nanoparticle Tacrolimus in Preventing Rejection in a Rodent Lung Transplant Model.
Claude Jourdan-LeSaux	Medicine / Cardiology	Evaluation of inhaled tacrolimus as a potential therapeutic compound in pulmonary fibrosis.
Amrita Kamat	Medicine/ Geriatrics	Effects of poor maternal diet on regulation of hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha and diabetes.
Roman Kuranov	Ophthalmology	Layer Specific Functional Optical Imaging of Diabetic Retinopathy.

CTRC/IIMS Program

Name	Department	Project Title
Rong Li, PhD	Molecular Medicine	Regulation of ERbeta-Specific Functions in Breast Cancer
Sunil Sudarshan, MD	Urology	A novel oncometabolite in renal cancer
Robert Svatek, MD	Urology	Combined intravesical chemo- and immunotherapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer
Bin Zhang, MD, PhD	Medicine / Hematology-Oncology	A novel cell labeling of T lymphocytes allows in vivo cellular imaging of anti-tumor T cell homing to the tumor by MRI

School of Medicine Program

Name	Department	Project Title
Patricia Dahia, MD, PhD (Co-PI: I-Tien Yeh, MD Pathology)	Medicine / Hematology-Oncology	Gene discovery in cancer using next generation technology
Charles Leach, MD (Co-PI: Ellen Kraig, PhD C&SB)	Pediatrics / Infectious Diseases	Association of Distinct Microbiomes with Cardiovascular Disease in a Mexican-American Cohort
Senlin Li, MD (Co-PI: Suzette Tardif, PhD, C&SB and Barshop)	Medicine/ Infectious Diseases	Preclinical study of a neuroprotective therapy for Parkinson’s disease in non-human primate

2010 Pilot Project Awards

Recipients of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Pilot Projects for June 2010-April 2011.


Name	Department	Project Title
James H. Jorgensen Ph.D.	Pathology	Development of Improved Diagnostic Methods for Detection of Multi-Drug-Resistant Bacteria that Produce Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases, Carbapenamases or Plasmid-Mediated AmpC Enzymes
Pawel A. Osmulski Ph.D.	Molecular Medicine	Creating and screening novel, rapamycin-based anti-cancer compounds
Vikhyat Bebarta MD	Emergency Medicine, Div of Medical Toxicology	Cobinamide – evaluation of a new cyanide antidote in a critically ill swine model of acute cyanide toxicity
Timothy Q, Duong Ph.D.	Research Imaging Institute	Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Human Retina
Anand K. Ramasubramanian Ph.D.	Biomedical Engineering	CaBChip: A high-throughput screen for antifungal drug discovery
Anne-Marie Langevin MD	Pediatrics	Translational genomics studies of dysregulated miRNAs in osteosarcoma
M. Danet Lapiz-Bluhm BSN, Ph.D.	Chronic Nursing Care	Alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and cognitive functioning in combat and civilian trauma PTSD
Barbara Saatkamp Taylor MD MS Epi	Medicine	Epigenetic predictors of immune response to antiretroviral therapy for HIV
Luzhe Sun Ph.D.	Cellular & Structural Biology	Preclinical Investigation of the Role of Hedgehog Pathway in Androgen-Independent Prostate Cancer with a Hedgehog Inhibitor
Peter W. Nathanielsz MD Ph.D. ScD	Obstetrics and Gynecology	A nonhuman primate model of teenage pregnancy
Adelita Gonzales Cantu Ph.D. RN	Chronic Nursing Care	Internet Use in Providing Enhancement and Sustainability of a Community-Based Health and Wellness Promotion Program in a Mexican American Population

2009 ARRA funded Pilot Projects

Thanks to ARRA funding, the Institute of Integration for Medicine & Science was able to fund the following recipients of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Pilot Projects for 2009-2010.


Name	Department	Project Title
Dahia, Patricia MD PhD	Medicine/Hematology	Molecular studies of a novel tumor suppressor gene
Villar, Cristina DDS MS PhD	Periodontics	Regulation of oral epithelial cell endocytic and apoptotic pathways by Candida albicans
Feldman, Marc MD	Medicine/Biomedical Engineering	Admittance for heart failure detection
Burge, Sandra PhD	Family & Community Medicine	Changes in opioid use in patients with chronic low back pain
Fernandes, Gabriel PhD (Hazuda)	Medicine/Immunology and Rheumatology	Diet, neurotoxicity, and insulin resistance: an exploration of the potential impact of aspartame consumption on neurodegeneration and metabolic dysfunction in rodents and humans
Hazuda, Helen PhD (Fernandes)	Medicine/Clinical Epidemiology	Diet, neurotoxicity, and insulin resistance: an exploration of the potential impact of aspartame consumption on neurodegeneration and metabolic dysfunction in rodents and humans
Tardif, Suzette PhD	Cellular & Structural Biology	Development of a nonhuman primate model of age-related functional decline
Renteria, Rene PhD	Physiology	Rapamycin as a treatment for structural and functional deficits of the retina in diabetic retinopathy
Anzueto, Antonio MD	Medicine/Pulmonary Diseases	Rosuvastatin/Placebo in Influenza H1N1

2009 Pilot Project Awardees


Name	Department	Project Title
Aguiar, Ricardo C. MD, PhD	Medicine/Hematology & Medical Oncology	Therapeutic targeting of PDE4B and associated survival pathways in B-cell lymphomas
Blanco, Cynthia, MD	Pediatrics	Insulin signaling and glucose metabolism in the premature baboon model
Block, Karen, PhD	Medicine/Nephrology	Role of p22phox-mediated oxidative stress in renal carcinogenesis: Translational Applications
Frei, Christopher, PharmD, MSc	Pharmacotherapy Education & Research Center	CA-MRSA: Genetics, Resistance, and Treatment in a South Texas Practice-Based Research Network
Hinck, Andrew, PhD	Biochemistry	Inhibition of the tumor-promoting activities of TGF-β by novel structure-based inhibitors
Peng, Qi, PhD	Radiology	Novel High Resolution and High Contrast Imaging Technologies for Improved White Matter Diffusion Tensor Imaging on Human
Theresa Powell, PhD	Obstetrics & Gynecology	Omega 3 supplementation in gestational diabetes to improve the health of women and their babies

Current Awardees