Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania recently received $3.7 million in life science research funding to study nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and work to personalize these drugs’ use on certain patients to minimize adverse effects. The organization within the NIH providing the life science research funding is the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The NIH RePORTER provides more background information on the study:
“Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are consumed by tens of millions worldwide. Although they relieve pain and inflammation, we understand poorly their mechanism of action. They also cause serious gastrointestinal and cardiovascular adverse effects and are thought to have caused thousands of deaths. Despite enrolling more than 100,000 patients in randomized trials, we still do not know the NSAID of choice for patients with arthritis and heart disease or if NSAIDs differ in clinical efficacy. Here we propose a paradigm shifting, strategic approach to harvest benefit and manage risk by personalizing therapy with NSAIDs.”
According to the school’s website, the University of Pennsylvania has over $700 million in annual R&D expenditures, making it one of the best funded schools in the country. The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs project leader, Dr. Garret Fitzgerald, has two areas of interest in his research: prostanoid biology and the role of peripheral molecular clocks in cardiovascular biology, metabolism and aging. The team of researchers receiving this latest $3.7 million in life science funding describes their ultimate goal further:
“Data from studies from yeast, mammalian cells, zebrafish, mice and humans will be integrated to develop signaling networks that reflect perturbation by model NSAIDs and that generate hypotheses ultimately addressed by prospective, randomized trials in humans. Our hope is that these iteratively refined models, progressively informed by human data, will lead to algorithms of incremental value to clinicians in the prediction of efficacy and adverse effects.”
University of Pennsylvania
In addition to receiving this most recent life science funding grant that will support the University of Pennsylvania study, the University of Pennsylvania receives additional life science research funding from the NIH and NSF. In 2012, the University of Pennsylvania received $457.5 million from the NIH. A full list of departments receiving NIH funding at the University of Pennsylvania organized by department name, number of awards received and total funding awarded, is available at the NIH website. In addition to the NIH giving the University of Pennsylvania life science funding, the NSF also awarded the university $32 million in life science research funding in 2012.
If you are a lab supplier and you would like to meet researchers who receive life science funding at the University of Pennsylvania, Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. invites you to attend our University of Pennsylvania life science events. Our Philadelphia BioResearch Product Faire™ Event will be held on the University of Pennsylvania campus on May 14th, 2014.
Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. is a full-service science research marketing and events-planning company that organizes life science events at top research institutions nationwide. If you are interested in marketing your lab products at other universities with available life science research funding, we encourage you to view our 2014 calendar of life science events. For more life science funding information on the University of Pennsylvania, or to learn more about our Philadelphia BioResearch Product Faire™ Event, click on the button below.
