Highly Innovative Awards

“Human-Computer Interface for Power Wheelchair Control” 
Principal Investigator: Sanjay S. Joshi, PhD (Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering)
Co-Principal Investigator: Anthony Wexler, PhD (Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering)

“Pre-IND Studies of Novel K+ Channel Activators for Epilepsy Therapy”
Principal Investigator: Heike Wulff, PhD (Pharmacology)
Co-Principal Investigator: Michael A. Rogawski, MD, PhD (Neurology); Holly Zhao, MD, PhD (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation)

New Approaches to Neurodevelopmental Disorders

“Epigenetic Therapy for Rett Syndrome” 
Principal Investigator:  David J. Segal, PhD (Pharmacology)
Co-Principal Investigator: Janine M. LaSalle, PhD (Medical Microbiology and Immunology)

“Gene Expression Phenotyping of Parents of Children with Autism”
Principal Investigator:  Frank R. Sharp, MD (Neurology)
Co-Principal Investigator:  Paul Ashwood, PhD (Medical Microbiology and Immunology)

Mini-Biorepositories from Clinical Research Projects

“DNA Biorepository from Multigenerational Families with Nonsyndromic Craniosynostosis”
Principal Investigator:  Simeon Boyd, MD, PhD (Pediatrics)

“Creation of a Novel Biopsy Tool and Protocol for the Construction of Prostate Cancer Human Tissue Microarrays"
Principal Investigator: Regina Gandour-Edwards, MD (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)

“Room Temperature Storage of Serum and Plasma for Clinical Assays”
Principal Investigator:  Joshua W. Miller, PhD (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)

Animal Model Validation

"Animal Models of Vascular Volume Regulation"
Principal Investigator Fitz-Roy Curry, Ph.D., Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology, School of Medicine, teamed with: co-investigator Roger Adamson, Ph.D.; Michael P. Kinsky, M.D. and George Kramer, Ph.D., University of Texas-Galveston; and trainee Yueh-Chen Lin, D.V.M., M.S.

"Characterization of Feline Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma as an Animal Model for Refractory Human Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma"
Principal Investigator Ellen E. Sparger, D.V.M., Ph.D., Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, teamed with: co-investigators Katherine Skorupski, D.V.M., Frank Verstraete, D.V.M, and Brian Murphy, D.V.M., Ph.D.; Darren Cox, M.D., University of California, San Francisco; and trainees Farina Mustaffa Kamal and Boaz Arzi D.V.M. 

"The Voltage-Gated Kv1.3 Channel in Psoriatic Disease: A Novel Therapeutic Target"
Principal Investigators Heike Wulff, Ph.D. and Siba Raychaudhiri, M.D., Departments of Pharmacology and Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, teamed with: trainees Can Muzaffer Sungur and Yi-Je Chen, D.V.M., Ph.D.

CTSC Partnership with Children’s Miracle Network

“Combined Department of Pediatrics and CTSC Pediatric Clinical Research Coordinator”
Principal Investigators: Alex Kon, MD and Ruth McDonald, MD (Department of Pediatrics)

“Feasibility of Networked Mental Health Services in Rural Schools”
Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Miller, MD, PhD (Department of Pediatrics)

“Promoting Community Engagement in Health Research” 
Principal Investigator: Richard Pan, MD (Department of Pediatrics)
Co-Principal Investigators: Elizabeth Miller, MD, PhD (Department of Pediatrics); Daphne Tom Quist (Sacramento ENRICHES)

CTSC Planning Grants

Inflammation

“A Multidisciplinary Translational Research Program on Novel Mechanisms of Inflammation, Metabolic Aberrations, and HIV Persistence During Therapy”
Principal Investigator: Satya Dandekar, PhD (Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology)
Co-Principal Investigators: Andreas Baumler, PhD (Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology); Richard Pollard, MD (Department of Internal Medicine); Dallas Hyde, PhD (Anatomy, Physiology, Cell Biology and Primate Center)

“Inflammation and Crosstalk During Injury/Repair in Lung and Skin”
Principal Investigator: Fu-Tong Liu, MD (Department of Dermatology)
Co-Principal Investigators: Dallas Hyde, PhD (Anatomy, Physiology, Cell Biology and Primate Center); Scott Simon, PhD (Department of Biomedical Engineering)

New Technologies

“Clinical Application of a Novel Non-invasive Heat Pulse Probe Technology to Measure Total Body Water Content” 
Principal Investigators: Keith Lau, MD (Department of Pediatrics); Jans Hopmans, PhD (Soil Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Science)

“Novel Approach for Identifying Craniosynostosis-Related Collagen Production by Osteoblastic Precursor Cells” 
Principal Investigator: Kent Leach, PhD (Department of Biomedical Engineering)
Co-Principal Investigators: Laura Marcu, PhD (Department of Biomedical Engineering); Simeon Boyd, MD, PhD (Department of Pediatrics); Alice Tarantal, PhD (Departments of Pediatrics and Cell Biology and Human Anatomy and Primate Center)

“Multimodal Imaging Catheter for Diagnosis of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases” 
Principal Investigator: Laura Marcu, PhD (Department of Biomedical Engineering); Jason Rogers, MD (Division of Cardiovascular Medicine)
Co-Principal Investigators: Jeffrey Southard, MD (Division of Cardiovascular Medicine), Ramez Saroufeem, PhD (Pathology), Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu, PhD (CBST)

“The Development of an Automated System for the Classification of fMRI Activation Patterns as a Diagnostic Tool for the Early Detection of Schizophrenia”
Principal Investigators: Jong H. Yoon, MD (Psychiatry, School of Medicine); Danh Nguyen, PhD (Division of Biostatistics, Public Health Sciences)

“Bridging the Causeway” – CTSC Partnership with the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research

“Migrant Agricultural Workers’ Mental Health Needs and Barriers to Care: A Pilot Study” 
Principal Investigator: Natalia Deeb-Sossa, PhD (Department of Sociology)
Co-Principal Investigators: Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola MD, PhD (Center for Reducing Health Disparities); Cristiana Giordano, PhD (McGill University); Neil Hollander, MSc, MPA (High School Teacher)

“What Should Doctors Say When Giving Prescriptions? The Use of Persuasive Strategies in Medical Recommendations”
Principal Investigator: Bo Feng, PhD (Department of Communication)
Co-Principal Investigators: Robert Bell, PhD (Department of Communication); Richard Kravitz, MD (Department of Internal Medicine); Tony Jerant, MD (Department of Family and Community Medicine)

“Social Attachment Disturbance is Associated with Childhood Adversity and Emotion-Based Cognitive Control Dysfunction in Mothers at Risk for Parental Dysfunction” 
Principal Investigators: Michael Minzenberg MD (Department of Psychiatry); Jon G. Caldwell, DO (Department of Psychiatry)
Co-Principal Investigators: Ross Thompson, PhD (Department of Psychiatry); Marie Krug BS (Neuroscience Graduate Group); Dee Dee Gilliam, MSN, RN (Public Health)

“Designing Sustainable Educational Materials for Community-based Programs” 
Principal Investigator: Ben Rich JD, PhD (Internal Medicine)
Co-Principal Investigators: Svetlana Popova, MD (Obstetrics and Gynecology); Roman Romaso (Slavic Assistance Center of Sacramento)

“Validation of a Parent Exit Interview Survey to Assess Physician Counseling on Diet and Physical Activity during Pediatric Well Child Visits”
Principal Investigator: Ulfat Shaikh, MD (Department of Pediatrics)
Co-Principal Investigators: Robert Bell, PhD (Departments of Communication and Public Health Sciences); Patrick Romano, MD, MPH (Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics)

“Validating Methods for Assessing Vitamin D Status in Different Ancestry Groups” 
Principal Investigator: Sheri Zidenberg-Cherr, PhD (Department of Nutrition)
Co-Principal Investigators: Charles B. Stephensen, PhD (Western Human Nutrition Research Center); Laura Marie Hall (Nutritional Biology Graduate Group)

Practice-Based Intervention Research in Mental Health

"Networked Behavioral Health Services in Rural Schools: A Community – Academic Partnership in Plumas County"
Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Miller, MD, PhD (Department of Pediatrics)
Co-Principal Investigators: Roger S. Akins and Jonathan Kusel (Sierra Institute for Community and Environment)

"Parent Engagement and Education to Enhance ADHD Treatment Utilization: A Community Workshop Intervention"
Principal Investigator: Julie Schweitzer, PhD (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science)
Co-Principal Investigators: J. Faye Dixon, PhD and Shelton Yip

"Understanding and Improving Diet and Exercise Practice in Group Homes Serving People with Severe Mental Illness"
Principal Investigator: Glen L. Xiong, MD (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences)
Co-Principal Investigators: Robert M. McCarron, DO (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences); Linda Ziegahn, PhD (Center for Reducing Health Dispartities); Diana Cassady, DrPH; Barlow J. Schuyler, MPH

“3D Molecular, Functional, and Anatomic Imaging of Response in Rheumatoid Arthritis”
Principal Investigator: Ramsey Badawi (Department of Radiology)
Co-Principal Investigators: Stanley Naguwa, MD (Department of Rheumatology); John Hunter, MD (Department of Radiology); Mark Mansour, MD (Department of Rheumatology); John Boone, PhD (Department of Radiology); Michael Buonocore, MD, PhD (Department of Radiology); David Shelton, MD (Department of Radiology)

“Detection of Novel Biomarkers of Asthma and COPD in Exhaled Breath” 
Principal Investigator: Cristina E. Davis, PhD (Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering)
Co-Principal Investigator: Nicholas Kenyon, MD (Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine)

“Clinical Evaluation of a Fluorescence Lifetime Based Technique for Demarcation of Head and Neck Tumors: An Intraoperative Study in Patients” 
Principal Investigator: Laura Marcu, PhD (Department of Biomedical Engineering)
Co-Principal Investigators: D. Gregory Farwell, MD, FACS (Department of Otolaryngology); Danny Enepekides, MD, FRCS(C) (Department of Otolaryngology)

“HPV Vaccine: Educational Tools to Reduce Disparities” 
Principal Investigator: Joy Melnikow, MD, MPH (Department of Family and Community Medicine)
Co-Principal Investigator: Debora Paterniti, PhD (Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Department of Internal Medicine)

“Replacing the Schilling Test: In Vivo Assessment of Vitamin B12 Absorption Using 14C-B12”
Principal Investigator: Joshua W. Miller, PhD (Department of Medical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
Co-Principal Investigators: Ralph Green, MD, PhD (Department of Medical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine); Kyung-Seon Lee, PhD (Department of Medical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine); Bruce Buchholz, PhD (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories)

“The Impact of Human Milk Oligosaccharides and Probiotics on the Growth and Intestinal Microflora of Premature Infants” 
Principal Investigator: Mark Underwood, MD (Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology)
Co-Principal Investigators: Charles Bevins, MD, PhD (Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology); David Mills, PhD (Department of Viticulture and Enology); Carlito Lebrilla, PhD (Department of Chemistry)

“Cultural Adaptation of Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) for the Hmong Community” 
Principal Investigator: Anthony Urquiza, PhD (CAARE Diagnostic and Treatment Center, Department of Pediatrics)
Co-Principal Investigators: Katherine Elliot, PhD, MPH (Community Health); Josh Breslau, PhD (Department of Internal Medicine); Elizabeth Miller, MD, PhD (Department of Pediatrics)

CTSC Partnership with Alzheimer’s Disease Center

“Novel Hippocampal Morphometrics for Quantification of AD Structural Correlates”
Principal Investigator: Owen Carmichael, PhD (Department of Neurology)

CTSC Partnership with Cancer Center

Focus on cancer and inflammation 

“Interplay Between Inflammation and Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Reactivation” 
Principal Investigator: Yoshiro Izumiya, DVM, PhD (Cancer Center, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine); Hsing-Jien Kung, PhD (Cancer Center, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine)

“Serum Biomarkers for Early Detection of H. pylori-associated Gastric Cancer” 
Principal Investigator: Jay V. Solnick, MD, PhD (Center for Comparative Medicine, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology)
Co-Principal Investigators: Francisco Javier Torres Lopez, MD (Director of Infectious Diseases Research, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social), Paul Luciw, PhD (Center for Comparative Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine), Carlito Labrilla, PhD (Department of Chemistry)

“Role of microRNAs in Inflammation and Hepatocellular Carcinoma” 
Principal Investigator: Senthil K. Venugopal, PhD (Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology);
Co-Principal Investigators: Arutselvan Natarajan (Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology); Mark A. Zern, MD (Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology)

Press Release

The CTSC awarded seven pilot grants to faculty members conducting a variety of innovative research projects ranging from a new imaging procedure for intraoperative identification of tumors to understanding HPV vaccine disparities in lower socioeconomic communities.  Details can be found at the URL below.

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/newsroom/releases/archives/research/2007/ctsc_grants5-2007.html

Press Release

In 2006, the CTSC awarded six pilot studies to Investigators with studies that range from asthmas to hepatitis and lymphoma to mental health.  Information regarding these studies awarded can be found at the URL below. 

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/newsroom/releases/archives/research/2006/ctsc_pilot10-2006.html