2025

Resident Research Grants

Carlos Monroig Rivera, MD
"Establishing a Pre-Clinical Model of Arthrofibrosis"

John Poche, MD
"Computational Fluid Dynamics Evaluation of Sinonasal Flow During Respiration and Nasal Irrigation Fol lowing Transnasal Endoscopic Surgery"

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2024

Resident Research Grants

Blane Edwards, MD
"Investigating the Impact of Provider Attitudes and Behaviors on the Prescription of Doxycycline as Post-Exposure Prophylaxis in New Orleans"

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2023

Resident Research Grants

Holly Breden, PhD
"Sleep Quality in Pediatric Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease"

Ishwarya Shradha Mamidi, MD
"Automated Lesion Localization and Classification of Vocal Fold Images Using Foundation Models"

Christian Nieves Rivera, MD
"The Effect of Methotrexate on Neuroinflammation Gene Expression and Associated Neurologic Sequelae 

Armand Jacques, MD
"Auril-Fit: An Efficient, Low-Cost System for Creating External Ear Prostheses for Patients Undergoing Lateral Temporal Bone Resection"

Sophia Trinh, MD
"Inflammatory and Microbial Profile of Peritoneal Fluid from Trauma Patients Following Damage Control Laparotomy" 

John Christian Lemoine, MD
"The Continuous Nasal Surgical Site Aspirator - A Device to Clear the Surgical Field During Sinus Surgery"

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2022

Resident Research Grants

Jordan Doss, MD
"The Effect of Methotrexate on Neuroinflammation Gene Expression and Associated Neurologic Sequelae"

Katelyn Robillard, MD
"Local Delivery of Adenine Base Editors Targeting the USH1C c.216G>A Mutation Responsible for Usher Syndrome Type 1C"

Angelis Vazquez-Perez, MD
"Role of Micro-RNAs in Surgical Excision of Breast Cancer" 

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2021

Resident Research Grants

Minelys M. Alicea Marrero, MD, and Zachary LeBlanc, MD
"Immunization Status and B cell Immunologic Reconstitution on Pediatric Post Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patients"

Tyler Crosby, MD, and Michael Dunham, MD
"Computational Modeling of Laryngotracheal Stenosis and Its Correlation to Pulmonary Function Data and Treatment Planning"

Amanda Glinky, MD, MS, and Dedrick Moulton, MD
"Effects of Mobile Device Use Before Bed on Sleep in Adolescents with Atable Inflammatory Bowel Disease"

Maria Español Mendez, MD, and Jovanny Zabaleta, PhD
"ldenification of MicroRNAs Upregulaled in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Murine Model: Effect in leukemogenesis, Prognosis and Progression"

Nicholas A. Taylor, MD and Alison Smith, PhD
"Transcriptional Characterization of a Chronic Pyoderma Gangrenosum Wound Pre- and Post-Treatment with Dehydrated Human Amnion/Chorion Membrane"

Eric Thomas Fincke, MD, and Casey Murphy, MD
"Interspinous Process Decompression Improves Quality of Life in Military Veterans"

Katie McQueen Amaker, MD, and Shyamal Desai, PhD
"Expression of ISG15 in Rhabdomyosarcoma and Implications for Sensitivity to Irinotecan"

Adam Haydel, MD, and Jennifer Simkin, PhD
"Identifying Lipid Mediators of Pain in Symptomatic Osteoarthritis"

Gregory Marks, MD, and Joel Jones, MD
"Design for a Minimal Impact Dual Access Faceplate and Smart Tie to Reduce the Risk of Tracheostomy Related Wound Complications"

Anh Quynh Nguyen, DO, PhD, and Suresh Alahari, PhD
"MicroRNAs as Promising Prognostic Markers in Breast Cancer"

Kelsey Doguet, MD, and Michael Dunham, MD
"A Platform For the Visual Evaluation of the Ears, Nose and Oral Cavity Via Telemedicine"

John L. Sobiesk, MD, and Adele Evans, MD
"Safe Airway Digital Application"

Katharine Thomas, MD, and Brian Boulmay, MD
"Assessing Immune Response to a 3rd Dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine in Oncology Patients"

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2020

Resident Research Grants

Christopher Girardo, DO, and Ritu Bhalla, MD
"CDX2 in Primary and Metastatic Prostate Adenocarcinoma "

Katharine Thomas, MD, and Ramcharan Thiagarajan, MD
"Outcomes of Capecitabine and Temozolomide (CAPTEM) in Advanced Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs)"

Sara Bressler, MD, and Michael Dunham, MD
"A Microlaryngoscopy Surgical Simulator for Resecting Vocal Fold Carcinoma Incorporating Phantom Tumor Modeling and Oncologic Margin Detection "

Jourdain Artz, MD, and Gerhard Mundinger, MD
"Can tDCS Improve Proficiency in Microsurgical Training?: A Pilot Study"

Kody Bolk, MD, and Michael Dunham, MD
"A Surgical Site Evacuator for Open Airway Surgery"

Christine Settoon, MD, and Larissa Sweeny, MD
"Characterization of the Pathogenesis and Tumor Microenvironment in Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Tumors"

Ashley Kraft, MD,  and Rohan Wlavehar, MD
"Novel Transoral Approach to the Hyoid Bone - Reinventing Thyroglossal Duct Cyst Excision"

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2019

Resident Research Grants

Katrina M. Gleditsch, DO, Fern Tsien, PhD, and Andrew Hollenbach, PhD
"Intratumoral Genetic Heterogeneity in Pediatric Alveolar Rhabdomyosacrcoma"

Xinran Maria Xiang, MD, and Jeremy Toler, MD
"Pilot Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Effect of Oral Pulsed Methyfprednisorone on Seizure Frequency in Pediatric Patients with Idiopathic Intractable Convufsive Epilepsy "

Anna Kuan-Celarier, MD, and Navya Nair, MD
"Circulating HPV DNA Level as a Biomarker for Cervical Dysplasia and Cancer: Validation of an Assay"

Palak Patel, MD, and Michael Dunham, MD
"A Mobile Device for the Autonomous Diagnosis of Pediatric Skin Lesions Using a Convolutional Neural Network"

Hector De Jesus, MD, Emma Schachner, PhD, and Bradley Spieler, MD
"Three-dimensional (3D) digital anatomical modeling of the vertebrate cardiopulmonary system: clinical and evolutionary applications"

Jason Henry, MD, and Matthew Lammi, MD
"Persistent ACTH-independent Hypercortisolism as an Early Indicator of Chronic Illness"

Addy Reine, MD, and Tiffany Wesley, MD
"Diabetics Increasing Culinary Experience"

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2018

Resident Research Grants

Kari Whatley, MD and Mark Zielinski, MD.
"Robotic Pet Therapy in Adults with Dementia"

Erin Dougher, DO, and Amelia Jernigan, MD.
"Evaluation of Compliance of Research Standards and Ethics in Gynecologic Fellowships"

Sravani Avula, MD, and Danielle Gottlieb-Sen, MD.
"Nutritional Biomarkers Associated with Growth in Children with Congenital Heart Disease"

Hope Wilson, MD, and Rinku Majumder, PhD.
"A Novel Role of Anti-Protein S Antibody in Hemophilia B Adjunct Therapy"

Jessica Shields, MD, and Jason Wilson, MD. 
"Use of Transcranial magnetic Stimulation to Evaluate the Corticospinal Tract Before and After Surgical Decompression in Patients with Cervical Myelopathy"

Rawaa Almukhta, MD, and Brian Lee, MD. 
"Transcriptional Characterizations of a Chronic Pyoderma Gangrenosum Wound Pre- and Post- Treatment with Dehydrated Human Amnion/Chorion Membrane"

Tyler White, MD, and Matthew Cable, MD.
"Targeting Orphan Nuclear Receptor 4A2 (NR4A2) in Pigminted Villonodular Synovitis"

Valerie Cruz Flores, MD, and Ludmila Belayev, MD.
"Novel Therapy with LAU-0901, Platelet Activating Factor-Receptor Antagonist, for Experimental Glioblastoma Multiforme"

Tyler Crosby, MD, and Michael Dunham, MD.
"A Computational Model of Nasal Airway Aerodynamics and the Effects of Pathologic Abnormalities"

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2017

Resident Research Grants

Tiffany Wesley, MD, and Angela Johnson, MD.
"MyPlate Educational Intervention"

Keonho Kong, MD, and Michael Dunham, MD.
"Identification of Endoscopic Laryngeal Lesions Using Computer Vision with Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN)"

2024

Wide Intramural Research Program (WIRP)

Adrienne Katner, DEnv, MS; Lucio Miele, M.D., PhD; Edward Trapido, ScD FACE; Jovanny Zabaleta, MS, PhD; Evrim Oral, PhD, MS
"Characterizing Hazards, Exposures, Disease Mechanisms, and Health Disparities Associated withTraffic-Related Air Pollutants Along New Orleans’ Claiborne Avenue Expressway"

Hui Lyn, PhD and Qingzhao Yu, PhD
"Genetic Variations Driving HER3 Signaling Activation in Racial Disparity of TNBC"

Xiaoming Xu, PhD and Vinod Dasa, M.D.
"Novel Antimicrobial Scaffolds by Reactive Electowriting for Bone and Periodontal Tissue Engineering" 

Liz Simon Peter, PhD and Noelle Moreau, PhD
"Molecular Regulation of Skeletal Muscle Function in Children With Cerebral Palsy:  Implication for Therapeutic Targets" 

Bridge Grants

Minghao Jin, PhD
"Mechanisms and Interventions of Retinal Dystropies Linked to IRBP
Mutations"

Jennifer Cameron, PhD
The Role of Antiretroviral Therapy in Susceptibility to Oral Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection"

Carmen Canavier, PhD
Mechanisms of Ripple and Fast Gamma Synchrony in Medial Entorhinal Cortex"

Guoshun Wang, DVM/PhD
"Developing a Novel and Life-Long Therapy for Cystic Fibrosis"

Scott Edwards, PhD
"A Non-Opioid and Non-Hepatotoxic Analgesic for the Treatment of Pain in the Context of Alcohol Use Disorder"

Jason D. Gardner, PhD
"Prenatal Vape Exposure Causes Persistent Cardiac Injury and Increased Susceptibility to Cardiovascular Disease in Adult Offspring"

Clinical Research Grants

Jessica Rivera, M.D., PhD
"Bromelain Enzymatic Debridement for Point of Injury Wound Protection"

Amita Krishnan, M.D.
"Connective Tissue Disease - Interstitial Lung Disease: Role of the Microbiota"

Pinki Prasad,M.D.
Fertility Evaluation and Reminders for Treatment Induced Infertility - Leveraging EHR - A Pilot Study"

Health Disparities Grants

Kayla Phelps, M.D.
"Race and Ethnicity in the PICU: An Updated Perspective on Their Association with PICU Mortality"

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2023 

Bridge Grants

Carmen Canavier, Ph.D.  
“A Dynamic Diversity of Dopamine Neurons.”

Xiaolin Tian, Ph.D.
"ANKHD1 Upregulation As A Treatment for ALS"

Chunlai Wu, Ph.D.
"Wrd Promotes Active Zone Stability Through Dephosphorylation of Coracle"

Peruzzi Francesca, Ph.D.
"Mechanisms Underlying Compromised Monocyte Plasticity in Chronic HIV Infection"

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2022

Bridge Grants

Qinglin Yang, Ph.D.
“Probing Novel Regulatory Mechanisms of Myocardial Metabolism in Obesity.”

Sonia Gasparini, Ph.D.
"Mechanisms and Functions of Theta-Nested Gamma Oscillations in Hippocampal Area CA1"

Li Shen, M.D., Ph.D.
"Developing a Novel CRISPRI Tool to Study Function of Essential Genes in Chlamydia Trachomatis" 

Suresh Alahari, Ph.D.
"Function of Nischarin Agonists in Breast Cancer Progression"

Clinical Research Grants

Tiffany Ardoin, M.D.
"FISH (Food Insecurity and Its Sequelae on Heath) Research Project."

Luis Marrero, Ph.D. and Vinod Dasa, M.D.
"Targeting Arthralgia in Knee Osteoarthritis via Non-Psychoactive Cannabinoid Mechanisms" 

Patrick Greiffenstein, M.D.
"Evaluation of a Non-CPR Resuscitation Strategy in a Porcine Model of Hemorrhagic Shock"

Michelle Korah-Sedgwick, M.D.
 "Evaluation of Localized Pulmonary Th1 Response Via Sputum Analysis in Association with Mycobacterium
Avium Complex-Pulmonary Disease"

New Project Grants

Luis Marrero, Ph.D. 
"Using the Articularis Genu to Surrogate Status of the Quadriceps Femoris While Evaluating the Paracrine Potential of Skeletal Muscle During Knee Osteoarthritis."

Health Disparities Grants

Anwei Gwan, M.D. and Tina Nguyen, M.D.
"Reproductive Experiences and Outcomes of Incarcerated Women in Louisiana"

Sarah Rimmer, Student
"Socioeconomic Predictors of Time to Surgery in Cleft Lip and Palate Patients"

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2021

Bridge Grants

Jeffrey Gidday, PhD.
"Gender-Specific Remodeling of the Retinal Proteome Within and Across Generations by Conditioning Therapeutics"

Peter Winsauer, PhD.
"Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD) as a Pharmacotherapy for Opioid Withdrawal"

XiaoChing Li, PhD. 
"RNA Methylation and the Roles of the YTHDF2 Gene In Vocal Development "

Clinical Research Grants

Michael Hagensee, MD, PhD.
"Treatment Trials for COVID-19"

Ricardo Gomez, MD.
"Early Detection and Management of Cardiovascular Complications in Youth with Diabetes"

New Project Grants

Fokhrul Hossain, PhD.
"Targeting Triple-Negative Breast Cancer with Recombinant Adeno-Associated Virus-mediated Immunotherapy"

Health Disparities Grants

Michael Okoronkwo, M.D. and Rahn Kennedy Bailey, M.D.
"Shots Against Violence: Hoops for Hope"

Bridgette Egan M.D. and Keith Van Meter, M.D.
"Increasing Naloxone Access for Patients with Opiate Use Disorder Discharged from the Hospital" 

   Nicole Zeky, M.D. and Raymond Watts, M.D.
"Impact of Food Insecurity on Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Outcomes"

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2020

Bridge Grants

Ashok Aiyar, PhD.
"Factors that modulate the deleterious effect of ammonia generation by chlamydial tryptophan synthase"

Jeffrey Gidday, PhD.
"Resilient Phenotypes: Gender-Specific Remodeling of the Retinal Proteome Within and Across Generations by Conditioning Therapeutics "

Tiffany Wills, PhD.
"Sex Specific Effects of Adolescent Alcohol Exposure on BNST Plasticity "

Matthew Whim, PhD.
"Use of NPY1 Antagonist as a New Approach to Preventing Hypoglycemia-associated Autonomic Failure"

Clinical Research Grants

Frank Lau, MD.
"A Prospective, Double-Blinded, Randomized Controlled Trial of Dehydrated Human Amniotic-Chorionic Membrane for lncisional Hernia Prophylaxis "

Diego Aviles, MD.
"Intestinal microbiota in obese children with hypertension"

COVID-19 Research Grants

Frank Smart, MD
Team Members: David Lefer, PhD, Bennett deBoisblanc, MD, David Welsh, MD, Carol Mason, MD, and Kyle Happel, MD
"Nitric Oxide Gas Inhalation in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in COVID-19 (NOSARCOVID)"

Nicolas Bazan, MD
Team members: Jorgelina Calandria, PhD, Surjyadipta Bhattacharjee, PhD, Marie-Audrey Kautzmann, PhD, Khanh V. Do, PhD, Aram Asatryan, MD, William Gordon, PhD, Bok Kyoo Jun, PhD, and Thang Pham, PhD
"Disruption of the Tetraspanin Membrane Lipidome, ACE2 and Proteases to Block COVID-19 Entrance Into Human Pneumocytes in Primary Culture"

Augusto Ochoa, MD
Team Members: John Cole, MD. and Matthew Dean, PhD
"Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells and Arginine Depletion during COVID-19 Infection - Mechanisms and Clinical Outcome Implications"

Rinku Majumder, PhD, Pratyadipta Rudra, PhD, Judd Shellito, MD, and Sabyasachi Chatterjee, PhD
"A Retrospective Study to Determine the Levels of Protein S, a Physiological Anticoagulant in COVID-19 Patients"

Shyamal Desai, PhD
"ISGylation Blood Test for Diagnosing Asymptomatic and Symptomatic COVID-19 Patients"

Judd Shellito, MD, David Welsh, MD, Alistair Ramsay, PhD, Christopher Taylor, PhD, Robert Siggins, PhD, Meng Luo, PhD, and Min Gu, PhD
"The Gut Microbiome and SARS-CoV-2 Infection"

Jennifer Cameron, PhD, and Timothy Foster, PhD
"Aloxistatin as a Pan-Coronavirus Therapeutic Agent"

Michael Hagensee, MD, PhD, Jennifer Cameron, PhD, Alistair Ramsay, PhD, and Hui-Yi  Lin, PhD
"Utilizing Quantitative COVID-19 Serological Testing to Determine Current Immune status and Predict Future Protection"

New Project Grants

Emma Schachner, PhD,  and Brandon Hedrick, PhD
"Evolution of Structure and Function in the Archosaurian Respiratory System"

Juan Gao, MD,
"Identification of a New Drug to Treat Polycystic Kidney"

Brandon Hedrick, PhD, and Emma Schachner, PhD
"The Evolution of Limb Architecture in Bats as a Result of Ecology and Body Mass"

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2019

Bridge Grants

Charles Nichols, PhD."
Combining Mammalian and Drosophila Systems to Study Depression"

Siqiong June Liu, PhD.
"Psychological Stress Reduces Endocannabinoid tone: Mechanisms and Possible Treatments"

Sharmila Shankar, PhD
"Significance of Engrailed 2 in Pancreatic Carcinogenesis"

Eric Lazartiques, PhD.
"Neuronal ADAM17 is a Hub for Sympatho-excitation and Neuro-inflammation"

Clinical Research Grants

Matthew Lammi, MD.
"Transpulmonary Endothelial Microparticles in Systematic Sclerosis-Associated Pulmonary Hypertension"

Moises Arriaga, MD, MBA, FACS and Jennifer Lentz, PhD.
"Assessment of Balance and Vestibular Function in USH1 C Patients"

Deidre Devier, PhD, and Michael Charlet, MD.
"Psychosocial support via telemedicine in the ALS multidisciplinary clinic"

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2018 

Bridge Grants

Michael Lan, PhD.
"Discovering Adenosine Kinase Inhibitor Targets in Human Neuroblastoma"

Eric Lazartigues, PhD.
"Neuronal ADAM17 is a Hub for Sympatho-excitation and Neuro-inflammation"

Sharmilla Shankar, PhD.
"Significance of Engrailed 2 in Pancreatic Carcinogenesis"

Minghao Jin, PhD.
"RPE apical proteins that regulate the visual cycle"

Clinical Research Grants

Brian Barkemayer, MD, and Sunyoung Kim, PhD.
“Molecular Diagnostic Tools for Necrotizing Enterocolitis”

Frank Lau, MD, and Martin Ronis, PhD.
“Bisphenol A Generates Obesity through a Novel Mechanism: Mature Adipocyte Hypertrophy”

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2017

Bridge Grants

Chu Chen, PhD.
"Endocannabinoid Metabolism and Synaptic Function"

 Si-Qiong June Liu, PhD.
“Psychological Stress Reduces Endocannabinoid tone: Mechanisms and Possible Treatments"

Scott Edwards, PhD.
"Central Neuropharmacological Mechanisms of Pain and Alcohol Dependence"

Minghao Jin, PhD.
"RPE Apical Proteins that Regulate the Visual Cycle"

New Project Grants

Suresh Alahari, PhD.
"Preparation of CRISPR-Cas9 Conditional Nischarin Knockout Mice to Study the Role of Nischarin in Breast Cancer"

Clinical Research Grants

Raegan Gupta, MD, and Christopher Taylor, PhD. 
"The NICU Microbiome and Gastrointestinal Bacterial Colonization in the Hospitalized Premature Infant: Effect of Antibiotics" 

Danielle Gottlieb Sen, MD.
"The CHILDHeart Registry: Building an Understanding of Congenital Heart Disease in Louisiana"

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2016

Bridge Grants

Francesca Peruzzi, PhD.
"Role of DYRKIA/SG3S Axis in HIV-Tat Mediated Neurotoxicity"

Jason Middleton, PhD.
"Cellular and Circuit Mechanisms Underlying Top-Down Frontal Cortex Modulation of the Auditory Cortex"

Ashok Aiyar, PhD.
"Consequences of Vaginal Microbiota on IFNy-mediated Clearance of Chlamydia"

Judd Shellito, MD.
"Host Defense Against HIV Related Pulmonary Infections"

Clinical Research Grants

Irene Stafford, MD, Stacey Holman, MD, Joseph Hagan, ScD, and Chris McGowin, PhD.
"Mycoplasma genitalium Infection and Inflammation-Associated Perinatal and Neonatal Morbidity"

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2015

Bridge Grants

Donna Neumann, PhD.
“CTCF-mediated HSV-1 gene expression during latency and reactivation.”

Ben Kelly, PhD.
“Investigating the virulence-associated function of a molecular scaffold protein in Leishmania”

Jeffrey Erickson, PhD.
"Activity-regulated, Ca2+-dependent neuronal glutamine transport"

Li Shen, PhD.
"Molecular elucidation of Chlamydia trachomatis development and virulence program"

Chunlai Wu, PhD.
"The role of Mask/ANKHD1 in mitochondrial quality control and Parkinson's disease"

Sonia Gasparini, PhD. 
"Differential frequency selectivity of proximal and distal dendrites in hippocampal CA1 neurons.” 

New Project Grants

Zhiqiang Qin, PhD.
“Role of HERV-K Transactivation in the Pathogenesis and Tumorigenesis of an Oncogenic Herpesvirus”

Sonia Gasparini, PhD.
"Differential frequency selectivity of proximal and distal dendrites in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons"

Clinical Research Grants

Hugo St. Hilaire, MD, Charles Dupin, MD, Frank Lau, MD, Oren Tessler, MD, Radbeh Torabi, MD, Cruz Velasco-Gonzalez, PhD, Peter Krause, MD, Olivia Lee, MD, Ahmed Ibrahim, MD, and Angela (Yu-Wen) Chiu, PhD. 
 "Limb Salvage Through Tissue Engineering: A Novel Treatment Modality Using Decellularized Human Amniotic Chorionic Membrane"

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2014

Bridge Grants

Andrew Hollenbach, PhD.
"Mechanism of regulation for the oncogenic PAX3-FOXO1 in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma"

Matthew Whim, PhD.
"Control of ketogenesis by epinephrine secretion from the adrenal medulla"

Houhui Xia, PhD.
"Molecular studies of inhibitor-2 in its positive regulation of protein phosphatase-1"

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2013

Bridge Grants

 Eric Lazartigues, PhD.
"ACE2 internalization and degradation contributes to the development and maintenance of neurogenic hypertension"

Xiao Ching Li, PhD.
"Roles of miRNA in regulating FOXP2 expression and vocal learning in zebra finches"

New Project Grants

Zhiqiang Qin, PhD.
"Targeting of amino acid transporter xCT for the treatment of HIV-associated lymphoma"