UMMC's new grants, awards top $30 million

The Medical Center garnered 88 new and continuing grants and awards from July-September 2019, totaling $30,100,744.

The following employees received some of the largest new and competitive renewal awards during the quarter. Dollar values are shown as annual figures for the first year of funding, unless otherwise indicated.

Dr. Celso Gomez-Sanchez, professor of pharmacology and toxicology, received a four-year, $1,275,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health for the project, “Adrenal Cell ATP1A1 Mutations and Mechanisms of Aldosterone Biosynthesis.”

Dr. David Elkin, professor of pediatrics, received a $1,060,020 grant from the Bower Foundation for the CAY Center Expansion Project.

Dr. Deborah Konkle-Parker, professor of medicine, received a $1,059,543 subcontract from the NIH and the University of Alabama-Birmingham for the project, “UAB-MISS MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study.”

Dr. Sarah Sterling, associate professor of emergency medicine, received a $1,049,475 grant from the Robert Hearin Support Foundation for the Medical Student Research Program.

Dr. Jussara do Carmo, associate professor of physiology and biophysics, received a three-year, $817,500 grant from the NIH for the project, “Long-term Consequences of Parental Obesity on Developmental Programming of Cardiorenal Diseases in Offspring.”

Dr. Jose Miguel-Hidalgo, associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior, received a two year, $426,250 grant from the NIH for the project, “Astrocytes and the Pathology of Nodes of Ranvier in Depression.”

Dr. Drazen Raucher, professor of cell and molecular biology, received a two-year, $381,970 grant from the NIH for the project, “Toward Changing Glioblastoma Outcomes: Targeted Drug Delivery of an Inhibitory Biopolymer in Conjunction with Systemic Chemotherapy.”

Dr. Jeannette Simino, assistant professor of biostatistics and data science, received a $282,496 grant from the Robert Hearin Support Foundation for the project, “Master of Science in Biostatistics and Data Science Scholarships.”

Dr. Leandro Mena, professor of medicine and professor and chair of population health science, received a $178,174 grant from the NIH for the project, “Clinical Study of a Single-use, Point-of-care Molecular Diagnostic Device for the Detection of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas Vaginalis and Chlamydia Trachomatis Utilizing Vaginally Collected Swabs,” and a S100,000 award from the Department of Health and Human Services for the project, “Capacity Building Assistance for High-impact HIV Prevention.”

Dr. Jessica Bailey, dean of the School of Health Related Professions, received a $250,000 grant from the Robert Hearin Support Foundation for the project, “Mississippi Rural Allied Health Professionals Scholarship (MRAHPSP) Program 2019.”

Dr. Patrick Bergin, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery, received a $242,880 subcontract from the Patient Center Outcomes Research Institute and the University of Maryland for the project, “A Pragmatic Randomized Trial Evaluation of Pre-operative Antiseptic Skin Solutions in Fractured Extremities.”

Dr. Robert Hester, professor of physiology and biophysics, received a $180,000 grant from the Robert Hearin Support Foundation for the project, “Sycamore: A Real-time Simulation for Continuity of Care Training,” and a $54,860 award from HC Simulation for the project, “Data Collection from the Published Literature for Validation of HumMod.”

Dr. Matthias Krenn, assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomical sciences, received a $225,000 grant from the Wings of Life Foundation for the project, “Defining the Capacity of the Lumbosacral Network for Neuromodulation in Humans with SCI.”

Dr. Robert Cox, medical director of the Poison Control Center, received a $192,066 award from the Health Resources and Services Administration for the Poison Control Stabilization and Enhancement Program.

Dr. Dani Choufani, assistant professor of neurology, received a $165,679 subcontract from the NIH and the University of Michigan for the project, “Sleep for Stroke Management and Recovery Trial (Sleep SMART) Stroke Trial.”

Dr. Ervin Fox, professor of medicine, received a $141,534 subcontract from the NIH and Boston University for the project, “RURAL: Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal Cohort study.”

Dr. Jeffrey Carron, professor of otolaryngology and communicative sciences, received $127,180 for an industry-sponsored research agreement.

Dr. Gene Bidwell, associate professor of neurology, received a $100,000 grant from the American Heart Association for the project, “A Maternally Sequestered, sFlt-1-targeted Biologic for Treatment of Preeclampsia.”

Dr. Chad Washington, associate professor and chair of neurosurgery, received $87,500 for an industry-sponsored research agreement.

Terrence Hibbert, director of the Health Innovation and Transformation Center, received a $74,627 award from the Department of Commerce and Innovate Mississippi for the EDA RIS i6 Program.

Dr. John Ruckdeschel, director of the UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute, received $55,565 for an industry-sponsored research agreement.