Announcements

Pfizer Announces an Independent Medical Education Grant RFP Addressing Primary Immunodeficiencies within Minority/Underserved Populations          The intent of this RFP is to support patient and provider educational programs on the awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of primary immunodeficiencies within minority/underserved populations.          Individual projects requesting up to $200,000 will be considered. The estimated total available budget related to this RFP is $400,000.          Applications due: May 25, 2021 Full information: https://cdn.pfizer.com/pfizercom/2021-04/GMG_2021-HOS-L_AddressingPrimaryImmunodeficienciesMinorityUnderservedPopulation.pdf?VersionId=K31exiQwuqa8njHLHJYpjiyiA4dgY.e

Simons Foundation – 2021 Genomics of ASD: Pathways to Genetic Therapies – RFA    Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to advance our understanding of the genetic basis of ASD and the molecular and cellular consequences of genetic risk, and to provide a foundation for the development of treatments for select genetically defined forms of the condition. Special emphasis is placed on the use of scalable methods, especially as applied to genes that are suitable targets for genetic therapies.    The annual budget is between $200,000 - $400,000 , inclusive of 20% indirect costs for a period of 2-3 years.    Informational Zoom  - May 20th    Applications due: Monday, June 7th    Full information: https://www.sfari.org/grant/2021-genomics-of-asd-pathways-to-genetic-therapies-request-for-applications/

Michelson Medical Research Foundation – Human Vaccines Project Decoding the Immune System          The Michaelson Prizes: Next Generation Grants are $150,000 research grants given annually to support promising researcher who are applying disruptive concepts and inventive processes to advance human immunology, vaccine discovery, and immunotherapy research for major global diseases.          The Michelson Prizes will be looking for research proposals in two areas: 1.       Human Immunology and Vaccine Research 2.      Climate Change and Human Immunology          Application due date: Friday, June 18th Full Information: https://michelsonprizes.smapply.org/

Foundational Funding Opportunities: https://ctsi.wakehealth.edu/-/media/WakeForest/CTSI/Files/Funding-Opportunities/NIH-Funding-Opportunities.pdf

NIH Funding Opportunities: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/WeeklyIndexMobile.cfm

Other Funding Opportunities https://ctsi.wakehealth.edu/Funding-Opportunities?utm_source=Master+Research+Rundown+%26+Funding&utm_campaign=4c33cc7ab5

Upcoming Events

Biostatistics & Data Science Seminar Date/Time:     Tuesday, May 11th (11:30 am – 12:30 pm) Presenter:       Katie Garcia, MS Title:               “Metabolic Factors Mediating the Effect of Intensive Lifestyle intervention on Fracture Risk in Diabetes Patients: The Look AHEAD Trial” Webex: https://wakehealth.webex.com/meet/npajewsk

Comparative Medicine Research Journal Club Date/Time:     Tuesday, May 11th (3:30 – 4:30 pm) Presenter:       Brendan Johnson (T32 Post Doc Fellow – Comparative Medicine) Title:     “Blood Factors Transfer Beneficial Effects of Exercise on Neurogenesis and Cognition to the Aged Brian” Science. 2020 Jul 10;369(6500):167-173.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7879650/ Webex:           https://wakehealth.webex.com/wakehealth/j.php?MTID=m5dde4bb86d40fa31b804cf52a20e14bd Meeting #: 185 394 7096 Passcode: MJy3hKNKZ72 

Recent Publications

Palmer ND, Kahali B, Kuppa A, Chen Y, Du X, Feitosa MF, Bielak LF, O’Connell JR, Musani SK, Guo X, Smith AV, Ryan KA, Eirksdottir G, Allison MA, Bowden DW, Budoff MJ, Carr JJ, Chen Y-DI, Taylor KD, Correa A, Crudup BF, Halligan B, Yang J, Kardia SLR, Launer LJ, Fu Y-P, Mosley TH, Norris JM, Terry JG, O’Donnell CJ, Rotter JI, Wagenknecht LE, Gudnason V, Province MA, Peyser PA, Speliotes EK. Allele Specific Variation at APOE Increases Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Obesity but Decreases Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and Myocardial Infarction. Hum Mol Genet. 2021 Apr 15;ddab096. [Online ahead of print] PMID: 33856023. https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddab096 

Sittadjody S, Criswell T, Jackson JD, Atala A, Yoo JJ. Regenerative Medicine Approaches in Bioengineering Female Reproductive Tissues. Reprod Sci. 2021 Apr 20. [Online ahead of print] PMID: 33877644. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-021-00548-9 

Su J, *Song Q, Qasem S, O’Neill S, Lee J, Furdui CM, Pasche B, Metheny-Barlow L, Masters AH, Lo H-W, Xing F, Watabe K, Miller LD, Tatter SB, Laxton AW, Whitlow CT, Chan MD, Soike MH, Ruiz J. Multi-Omics Analysis of Brain Metastasis Outcomes Following Craniotomy. Front Oncol. 2021 Apr 6;10:615472. PMCID: PMC8056216. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc8056216/ 

Bancks MP, Bertoni AG, Carnethon M, Chen H, Cotch MF, Gujral UP, Herrington D, Kanaya AM, Szklo M, Vaidya D, Kandula NR. Association of Diabetes Subgroups with Race/Ethnicity, Risk Factor Burden and Complications: the MASALA and MESA Studies. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Apr 23;106(5):e2106-e2115. PMID: 33502458. https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgaa962 

*Frye BM, Craft S, Latimer CS, Keene CD, Montine TJ, Register TC, *Orr ME, Kavanagh K, Macauley SL, Shively CA. Aging-related Alzheimer’s disease-like neuropathology and functional decline in captive vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). Am J Primatol. 2021 Apr 5;e23260. PMID: 33818801. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23260 

CPM Faculty Member Highlights

Dr. Ortega is a co-investigator in the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)-sponsored AsthmaNet, Severe Asthma Research Program (SARP1-3), Precision Interventions for Severe and/or Exacerbation Prone Asthma (PrecISE) Network, the Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS), and the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Consortium for whole-genome sequencing. He leads rare variant and ancestry-based genetic studies aimed at addressing inter-ethnic differences in the response to commonly used asthma therapies (pharmacogenetics) and disease severity. His study of rare genetic variants within the beta2-adrenergic receptor gene was the first demonstrating major rare variant pharmacogenetics effects in individuals with asthma from different ethnic groups. He performed the first longitudinal, ancestry-based genetic study of asthma exacerbations in NHLBI-sponsored Asthma Clinical Research Network trial cohorts which demonstrated an association between African ancestry and exacerbations in African Americans. He also demonstrated that a genetic risk score (GRS) for COPD mediates its effects through alterations in lung structure based on CT scan measures in a general population (MESA) and SPIROMICS and that the GRS and its effects vary between ethnic groups from different ancestral backgrounds. His landmark SPIROMICS study of the gene encoding α1-antrypsin leveraged deep DNA sequencing, comprehensive clinical and CT scan phenotypes, and serum α1-antrypsin concentration QTL analyses to demonstrate that this locus can no longer be considered a rare cause of respiratory disease in at-risk smokers.

Dr. Ortega led the pharmacogenetics section of the American Thoracic Society (ATS)/NHLBI Workshop for Addressing Health Equality in the United States from 2015 to 2017 (Celedon, et al. Ann Am Thorac Soc 2017) and has participated in the ATS/ERS International Guidelines on Definition, Evaluation and Treatment of Severe Asthma. He is currently the genetics lead for the ATS Workshop on addressing race in lung function predictions. He has authored multiple editorials reviews, and book chapters outlining the significance of key genomic studies and the importance of inclusion and ancestral diversity targeted at both general clinical and scientific audiences. He was elected and currently serves as the chair of the ATS Section on Genetics and Genomics, the largest international, society-based respiratory genomics interest group with over 1,000 members and he co-convenes the asthma work group for the NHLBI TOPMed Consortium. His current and future genetic studies as well as his national leadership role will emphasize integrative approaches in diverse populations to facilitate the development of precision omics approaches for all people with airways disease.