Pilot Grant Awards Roundup

The North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute is pleased to announce awardees of the second cycle of TraCS $5K-$50K grants for clinical and translational research projects. 23 applications were received, and 14 were chosen for funding. Awardees include investigators from UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, School of Medicine, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and Gillings School of Global Public Health, plus East Carolina U., North Carolina State U., and RTI International. These awards are comprised of NC TraCS funding matched by funds from UNC Schools, Departments, Centers and funding from partner organizations.

$2K Awards

Marilyn Allicock
Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health

Megan Lewis
Health Communication, Public Health & Environment, RTI International
Project Title: Factors Predicting Behavior Change and Weight Loss Among Couples: Implications for Translation and Dissemination of Weight Management Programs

Carey Anders
Department of Medicine, School of Medicine

C. Ryan Miller
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine
Project Title: Nanoparticle Anticancer Agents to Treat Primary and Metastatic Central Nervous System Malignancies

Katherine Birchard
Radiology, School of Medicine

Michael Knowles
Pulmonology and Critical Care, School of Medicine
Project Title: Idiopathic Bronchiectasis and Dural Ectasia: Is There a Correlation, and What are the Implications?

Katherine Birchard
Radiology, School of Medicine

Marianne Muhlebach
Pediatrics, School of Medicine
Project Title: Evaluation of CF Exacerbations with MRI: A radiation-free alternative

Delesha Carpenter
Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Eshelman School of Pharmacy

Betsy Sleath
Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Eshelman School of Pharmacy
Project Title: Testing the feasibility of using ENLaCE to enroll Latino children with asthma into a RCT using MEDUCATION to improve asthma medication device technique

Joel Farley
Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Eshelman School of Pharmacy
Project Title: A Programmatic Description of the UNC Charity Care Pharmacy Assistance Program

Michael Jarstfer
Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, Eshelman School of Pharmacy
Project Title: Telomerase Activation for the Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease

David Kaufman
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine
Project Title: Rapid Assessment of Chemotherapeutic Options for Cancer Patients

Silvia Kreda
Cystic Fibrosis and Pulmonary Diseases Research and Treatment Center, School of Medicine

Paul Fletcher
Microbiology and Immunology, East Carolina University
Project Title: Pharmacological inhibition of VAMP8 to control mucin secretion in lung diseases

Kristy Lee
Genetics, School of Medicine

Seema Garg
Ophthalmology, School of Medicine
Project Title: A Next-generation sequencing platform for genetic diagnosis and gene discovery in patients with genetically heterogenous ophthalmologic disorders

Laura Linnan
Health Behavior and Health Education, Gillings School of Global Public Health

Bryan Weiner
Health Policy and Management, Gillings School of Global Public Health
Project Title: Testing the Feasibility of Promoting Health & Jobs Among Cumberland County Residents: A Demonstration Study

Shila Nordone
Molecular Biomedical Science, NC State University

Scott Randell
Cell and Molecular Physiology, School of Medicine
Project Title: MARCKS inhibition as a novel treatment for Acute Lung Injury and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Michael J. Ramsey
Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences

John Buse
Department of Medicine, School of Medicine
Project Title: Development of Simple and Inexpensive Point-of-Care Technology for Blood Glucose Measurement

Timothy Wiltshire
Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy
Project Title: Cellular Genetics Approaches to Defining Toxicity Pathways

For information about the TraCS Pilot Funding Program, click http://tracs.unc.edu/ and choose Funding Opportunities under Resources for Researchers.