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From left to right are: Dr. Jacky Hayles, longtime co-worker, daughter Sarah Nurse, Dr. James Maller, key collaborator, daughter Emily Nurse, Sir Paul Nurse, and former postdoctoral fellows Dr. Chris Norbury, Dr. Kathy Gould, Dr. Pierre Thuriaux, and Dr. Sergio Moreno.
Fourteen investigators were awarded Vanderbilt-funded Intramural Discovery Grants for a two-year period starting this month. A total of $440,575 was awarded to the recipients, who were chosen from a field of 44 applicants.
The program consists of two different types of funding mechanisms intended to stimulate the development of new ideas. Faculty members are eligible for two categories of support: Interdisciplinary or Equipment Grants and Pilot/Feasibility Studies.
The next round of applications will be accepted in fall 2002. Grants awarded from the fall 2001 competition are:
Interdisciplinary Grants
• Ronald Emeson, Ph.D., Joel G. Hardman Professor of Pharmacology, “RNA Editing and Obesity.”
• David I. Greenstein, Ph.D., assistant professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, “A Trans-Institutional Biolistic Transformation Apparatus.”
• Dr. David W. Haas, associate professor of Medicine, director of AIDS Clinical Trials Center, “Variability in Drug Efflux Activity in Lymphocytes from HIV-Positive Adults.”
• Dr. Chuanming Hoa, assistant professor of Medicine, “The Role and Therapeutic Targeting of COX-2 in Polycystic Kidney Diseases.”
• Shawn E. Levy, Ph.D., research assistant professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, director of DNA Microarray Shared Resource, “Protein and Gene Expression Analysis of Colon Cancer.”
• Michael P. McDonald, Ph.D., assistant professor of Pharmacology, “Substrate Deprivation to Reduce Amyloid Plaque Formation.”
• Dr. Nancy J. Olsen, professor of Medicine, “Gene Expression in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.”
• Dr. Kurt P. Spindler, associate professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation and medical director of Sports Medicine Center, “Molecular Investigation Successful Scar Formation in vivo for Healing (MCL) versus Non-Healing (ACL) Ligaments.”
• Danny G. Winder, Ph.D., assistant professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, “In Vitro Analysis of Hippocampal Regulation of Accumbens Synaptic Plasticity.”
Equipment Grant
• David I. Greenstein, Ph.D., assistant professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, “A Trans-Institutional Biolistic Transformation Apparatus.”
Pilot/Feasibility Grants
• Dr. James E. Crowe Jr., instructor of Pediatrics, “Human Metapneumovirus Infection.”
• Justin Grindley, Ph.D., research instructor of Pediatrics, “Fibroblast Growth Factor 10: Function and Regulation in Gastrointestinal Development.”
• Tsutomu Kume, Ph.D., research associate of Medicine, “The Role of Foxc1 and Foxc2 in Arterial-Venous Cell Fate Determination.”
• Dr. Robert F. Labadie, assistant professor of Otolaryngology, “Image-Guided Otologic Surgery.”
•Ambra Pozzi, Ph.D., assistant professor of Medicine, “Role of Integrin Alpha 1 Beta 1 in Kidney Development.”