Medical school receives $200K grant from N.C. Biotechnology Center

Dr. Yunbo Li
BUIES CREEK — Campbell University’s Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine has been awarded a $200,000 Institutional Development Grant (IDG) from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center for the proposal entitled “EMXPlus EPR Free Radical Research Facility.”
The EMXplus Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectrometer purchased with this grant will be used to investigate the presence of free radical species in relation to their role as mediators of inflammatory/oxidative stress-associated with human disease processes. Inflammatory and oxidative stress have been determined to be two of the major underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of various human diseases including cardiovascular disorders, cancer, respiratory diseases, diabetes, neurodegeneration and chronic pain disorders.
Dr. Yunbo Li submitted the application for this funding because of the positive impact it will have on research for all of the health sciences at Campbell. He is professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology, assistant dean for biomedical research of Campbell’s medical school and an adjunct professor of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences.
Investigators include faculty from the medical school and the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, as well as collaborators from other institutions. “This is another excellent example of the interprofessional collaborative efforts we are involved in here at Campbell,” Li said.
Investigators from Campbell’s medical school are Dr. Oleg Alekseev, associate professor of anatomy; Dr. Igo Danelisen, assistant dean for faculty, chair and associate professor of cell biology and pathophysiology; Dr. William Morris, professor and co-chair of osteopathic manipulative medicine; and Dr. Hong Zhu, associate professor of physiology.
Investigators from the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences are Dr. A. Al-Achi, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences; Dr. Sarah Liu, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences; and Dr. Doug Powell, assistant professor of health professional studies.
Consultants and collaborators from other universities are Dr. Alice Haddy and Dr. Zhenquan Jia of UNC-Greensboro; Dr. Hara P. Misra of Virginia Tech; and Dr. Periannan Kuppusamy, professor of radiology and medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
“This new EPR system will add exciting new capabilities to research at Campbell University including direct detection of free radicals and paramagnetic species in biomedical research,” Kuppusamy said. “As someone who worked with Dr. Li on his first EPR measurements more than 25 years ago at Johns Hopkins University, I am very proud that he will have a dedicated system for research at Campbell.”
Additional support leading to the success of the grant application was provided by Dr. Emanuel Diliberto, chair of pharmaceutical sciences at Campbell; Dr. Daniel Shin, director of pharmaceutical sciences programs at Campbell; and Paul Johnson, technical expert at Campbell’s Pharmaceutical Education and Research Center.