The UW–Madison Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) has given 13 pilot awards to investigators at UW and the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute (MCRI). The awards will allow researchers to conduct small-scale studies over the course of 12 months that may prove fruitful for further, large-scale investigation. Each of the three categories of pilot award—Marshfield-UW Collaborative Research; Novel Methods in Translational Science; and Translational Basic and Clinical Research—have mechanisms to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration or sharing of findings.
The awards will provide funding to 24 principal investigators and co-principal investigators. An additional 23 research collaborators are involved across the various projects, representing institutions including Cleveland State University, the Mayo Clinic, and UW–Madison.
Funding for the pilot awards was provided by grant 1UL1TR002373 from the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Marshfield-UW Collaborative Research award receives additional support from the Marshfield Clinic Health System Foundation’s research programs.
Two projects received Marshfield Clinic Research Institute and UW–Madison Collaborative Awards, which build upon the research interests and infrastructure across the two partner institutions that comprise ICTR. These projects are led by co-principal investigators: one from MCRI and one from UW–Madison. This award particularly focuses on projects that address rural health crises with an emphasis on reducing the burden of disease, promoting health equity, and addressing longstanding regional health disparities. The awardees are:
- Scott Hebbring, PhD, genetics research scientist at MCRI; and Qiongshi Lu, PhD, assistant professor of biostatistics and medical informatics at the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, for “Decomposing Direct and Social Genetic Effects on Health Outcomes in a Rural Wisconsin Population.” They will collaborate with UW researchers Jason Fletcher, PhD, professor of applied economics and population health sciences; and Yuchang Wu, PhD, postdoctoral researcher in statistical genetics, as well as MCRI research staff Robert Streen and Brooke Delgoffe, MSc. They will receive additional funding from MCRI.
- Maria Sundaram, PhD, associate research scientist at MCRI; and Thomas Friedrich, PhD, professor of pathobiological sciences at the UW–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, for “Optimizing Wastewater-Based Surveillance Resources for Community-Level Respiratory Virus Decision-Making.” They will collaborate with UW researchers Shelby O’Connor, PhD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine; David O’Connor, PhD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine; and Jon Temte, MD, PhD, associate dean for public health and community engagement, as well as Martin Shafer, PhD, at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene. They will receive additional funding from MCRI.
Download the list of MCRI-UW Collaborative Awards to learn more about the projects.
Two UW–Madison projects received Novel Methods in Translational Science pilot awards, which support innovative processes and methods to advance translational research across the research spectrum. The projects will develop generalizable methods that will have application to other translational projects or programs. The awardees are:
- Bryan Gannon, PhD, scientist in the College of Agriculture and Life Science, for “Novel Vitamin A2 Dilution Method for Determining Total Body Vitamin A Status.” He will collaborate with Nathan Welham, PhD, professor of surgery; Sherry Tanumihardjo, PhD, professor of nutritional sciences; and Chris Davis, nutritional research scientist.
- Srivatsan Raman, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry, bacteriology, and biological engineering, for “Engineering Phages for Precision Microbiome Editing.” He will collaborate with College of Agriculture and Life Science researcher Phil Huss.
Read more about the Novel Methods projects on the ICTR website.
Nine UW–Madison projects received Translational Basic and Clinical Research awards, which require a collaboration between at least two principal investigators from different scientific disciplines. These awards support projects that define and develop novel clinical interventions, incorporate translational aspects of research into an investigator-initiated project, or harness novel technologies in support of interdisciplinary collaboration. The awardees are:
- Christian Capitini, MD, associate professor of pediatrics; and Sandro Mecozzi, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical sciences, for “Polarizing Cytotoxic NK Cells for Treatment of Metastatic Osteosarcoma of the Lung.” They will collaborate with Jacques Galipeau, MD, professor of hematology, and receive additional funding from the UW Carbone Cancer Center.
- Barak Blum, PhD, associate professor of cell and regenerative biology; and Valentina Lo Sardo, PhD, assistant professor of cell and regenerative biology, for “A Human iPSC Disease Modelling Platform for Down Syndrome-related Diabetes.” They will collaborate with Anita Bhattacharyya, PhD, assistant professor of cell and regenerative biology.
- Junsu Kang, PhD, assistant professor of cell and regenerative biology; Ahmed Mahmoud, PhD, assistant professor of cell and regenerative biology, for “Dissecting the Role of Il11 on Heart Regeneration.” They will receive additional funding from the UW–Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center.
- Zachary Morris, MD, PhD, associate professor of human oncology; and Mahua Dey, MD, assistant professor of neurological surgery, for “Targeted Radionuclide Therapy for Treatment of Leptomeningeal Disease.” They will collaborate with Department of Human Oncology Scientist II Paul Clark and receive additional funding from the UW Carbone Cancer Center.
- Kaylan Nadiminti, MBBS, assistant professor of hematology and oncology; Jing Zhang, PhD, professor of oncology, for “Role of Tumor Microenvironment in the Progression of Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia with NRAS and ASXL1 Mutations.” They will receive additional funding from the UW Carbone Cancer Center and collaborate with Huy Dinh, PhD, assistant professor of biostatistics and medical informatics; Yubin Feng of the School of Medicine and Public Health; and Mrinal Patnaik, MBBS, who practices hematology, internal medicine, and oncology at the Mayo Clinic.
- Amy Schulz, PhD, associate director of the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin; Freya Mowat, PhD, assistant professor of veterinary surgical sciences, for “Heavy Metal Toxicants, Microbiome, and Pet Ownership: A Pilot Study.” They will collaborate with Ajay Sethi, PhD, professor of population health sciences; and Noah Stafford, MS, data analyst at the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin.
- Andrea Spiker, MD, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery; and Connie Chamberlain, PhD, Scientist III at the Murphy Group Bioinspired Materials Laboratory, for “Identifying Biomarkers for Patient-Specific Treatment of Hip Osteoarthritis.” They will collaborate with Ray Vanderby, PhD, professor of biomedical engineering, orthopedics and rehabilitation; and Peng Jiang, assistant professor of biological, geological and environmental sciences at Cleveland State University.
- Garret Suen, PhD, professor of bacteriology; and Ajay Sethi, PhD, professor of population health sciences, for “Relating Socioeconomic Status and the Built Environment to Health Outcomes through the Human Gut Microbiome.”
- Shuang (George) Zhao, MD; assistant professor of human oncology; and Yanlong Zhu, PhD, assistant professor in the Ge Laboratory for cell and regenerative biology, for “Development and Pilot Validation of a High Sensitive MRM-based Assay for PSMA Detection in Metastatic Prostate Cancer.” They will collaborate with ICTR Executive Director Allan Brasier, MD.
Read more about the Translational Basic and Clinical Research projects on the ICTR website.