Faculty Awards
Dr. Shusheng Wang received an NIH grant for his study entitled The Role of Long Noncoding RNAs in Human Ocular Angiogenesis's. Dr. Wang will receive $376,250/year from 09/01/2016 through 08/31/2021. The goal of the project is to uncover the mechanism whereby long noncoding RNAs regulate ocular angiogenesis in humans using our unique ex vivo model and the cutting-edge CRISPR technology. Findings from the proposed project could be directly translated into human vascular diseases. Dr. Wang was recently published in Scientific Reports Journal. His paper was entitled "Regulation of Intraocular Pressure by MicroRNA cluster miR-143/145." In this paper they showed that two microRNAs, miR-143 and miR-145, are important regulators of intraocular pressure in mice.
Dr. Stryder Meadows was awarded a 3-year Investigator-Initiated Research Award from the Department of Defense for his study entitled "Elucidating the Role of Smad4 in Arteriovenous Malformations Associated with HHT." This grant will provide funds from September 2017 to August 2020 in the total amount of $1,785,199. This project seeks to uncover Smad4 mediated mechanisms of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) associated with the genetic disease Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT). These studies will utilize next generation sequencing techniques and a novel mouse model of HHT to identify the genes responsible for AVM formation.
Dr. Yiping Chen was awarded a 5 year NIH grant starting April 1, 2017. The total amount of the grant is $1,787,190. The title of the grant is “Molecular patterning of the hard palate during palatogenesis.” The goal of this project is reveal how the transcription factor Shox2 interacts with TALE factors to regulate osteogenesis and pattern the hard palate. The proposed studies will utilize multiple unique transgenic/knockout mouse lines, biochemistry, molecular biology, and the state-of-the art genomic approaches as well as CRISPR/Cas-9 technology to uncover key elements of chromatin regulatory network and epigenetic states of regulatory genes that are essential for hard palate development. Dr. Chen was recently published. His article was titled, "A Unique Stylopod Patterning Mechanism by Shox2 Controlled Osteogenesis"
Dr. Stryder Meadows was awarded a 3-year Scientist Development Grant (SDG) from the American Heart Association for his study entitled "Molecular Characterization of Vascular Anastomosis". This project aims to uncover the cellular events and the molecular regulators of blood vessel fusion, thereby broadening our understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying cardiovascular development. The SDG grant will provide funds from July 2016 to June 2019 in the amount of $231,000.
Dr. Shusheng Wang and his post-doctoral fellow just published an important paper describing a compound that they have patented which could have a clinical application for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. The title of their paper is “Gossypol Acetic Acid Prevents Oxidative Stress-Induced Retinal Pigment Epithelial Necrosis by Regulating the FoxO3/Sestrin2 Pathway”, published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology (Hanus, Zhang, Chen, Zhou, Jin, Liu, and Wang, Molecular and Cellular Biology 35: 1952, 2015).
Dr. YiPing Chen received the School of Science and Engineering “Outstanding Researcher Award” in 2016. Jeff Tasker had received this award previously in 2015.
Dr. Jeff Tasker received a 3-year NSF grant in the summer of 2015 for $650,000, “Neuronal‐glial interactions mediating crosstalk of homeostatic systems”.
YiPing Chen received a 5-year NIH grant in the fall of 2014 for $1.8 M. "Role of BMP and Wnt signaling in early tooth development"
In this project, the Chen lab will investigate how BMP and Wnt signaling pathways act in a synergistic way to regulate early tooth development and will also study the functional mechanism of a novel BMP signaling pathway in the developing tooth that was recently discovered by the Chen lab.
Jeff Tasker received a 5-year NIH grant in the spring of 2015 for $1.8 M, “Stress Facilitation of Fear Memory”.
In this project, Tasker’s lab will study how stress affects the formation of fear memories by stimulating endogenous cannabis production in the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala. Their studies will provide insight into how stress affects fear and anxiety and will contribute to our understanding of anxiety disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder.
