Campbell’s Dr. Yunbo Li will be principal investigator in a project researching chemotherapy-induced chronic heart failure.
BUIES CREEK — The Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine has received notification of its first federal grant award from the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute in the amount of $300,000 (plus indirect costs). The three-year research project, led by primary investigator and faculty member Dr. Yunbo Li, will focus on the relationship between chemotherapy and chronic heart failure.
Dr. Li, professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology and assistant dean for biomedical research at Campbell University, will be joined on the project by fellow faculty researchers at Campbell University and four other universities. Co-Investigators include: Dr. Hong Zhu, associate professor of physiology; Dr. Igor Danelisen, assistant dean for faculty, chair and associate professor of cell biology and pathophysiology at Campbell University School of Medicine; Dr. Antoine Al-Achi, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences; Dr. Sarah Liu, assistant professor of pharmaceutical science, Campbell University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences; and Dr. Zhenquan Jia, assistant professor of biology at UNC Greensboro.
Consultants and collaborators include: Dr. Yoshi Tsuji, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences Environmental and Molecular Toxicology Program at N.C. State University; Dr. Ge Wang, Clark and Crossan Chair and professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Engineering; and Dr. Hara P. Misra, professor emeritus of biomedical sciences and pathobiology in the School of Education at Virginia Tech.
The grant research, entitled “Cruciferous Dithiolethiones for Chronic Heart Failure: Signaling Mechanisms,” proposes to provide not only a novel strategy for protecting against cancer chemotherapy-induced chronic heart failure, but also an effective modality for the intervention of heart failure resulting from other causes, such as myocardial ischemia. Completion of this preclinical study will lay a foundation for the subsequent clinical research to develop a cruciferous dithiolethione-based approach to the intervention of human heart failure and augmentation of the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy.
This grant application submitted from Campbell University has received overwhelming commendations from the NIH study section consisting of 36 national experts, and an overall impact score of 18. The application and review process for this grant began over 18 months ago, but patience and the excellent work of Dr. Li and his team has paid off. The grant period will begin Sept. 1 of this year and will end Aug. 31, 2017.
“This is a monumental occasion for Campbell University, the School of Medicine and the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences,” said medical school Dean John Kauffman. “Not only is this the first known NIH grant received by Campbell, but a great opportunity for intercollegiate and interprofessional collaboration. We believe this will be the first of many NIH grants to come.”