Technologies Pilot Funding
New Agent Development Fund
To promote novel methodological developments, the Translational Technologies & Resources (TTR) program pooled resources with the Emory Chemical Biology Discovery Center to establish the New Agent Development Fund. The goal is to promote the discovery of small molecules targeted to disease-related proteins for the development of novel therapeutic or diagnostic reagents. This fund is designed to assist in expediting the challenging process of transitioning promising ‘proof-of-concept’ technologies to FDA approval and ‘first-in-man’ studies.
Awardees
Xiaodong Cheng, PhD (Emory University, Department of Biochemistry), Developing a new fluorescence-based assay for histone demethylation
Michelle LaPlaca, PhD (Georgia Tech, Department of Biomedical Engineering), A new high-throughput traumatic neural injury system
Ifor Williams, MD, PhD (Emory University, Department of Pathology), High throughput screening for small molecule inhibitors of CC chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6)
Xuebiao Yao, PhD (Morehouse School of Medicine, Department of Physiology), Chemical biological study of BubR1 signaling pathway in mitosis
Translational Imaging Pilot Awards
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the Translational Technologies & Resources (TTR) program received supplemental funding to advance innovation through imaging. The overarching goal of the supplement is to extend the program's depth of support for interdisciplinary work by providing key shared and common platform resources in order to remove barriers to rapid translation of promising scientific developments from animal models to human trials. More specifically, the supplement aims to advance coordination among small animal, non-human primate, and human imaging studies utilizing the resources of the Emory Center for Systems Imaging (CSI) and Yerkes National Primate Research Center (Yerkes) Imaging Program. As such, the goal of the translational imaging pilot awards is to promote translational-directed (animal to human) studies by providing pilot funds ($50,000 per award) for novel biomarker imaging research in animal models or human translation from animal models.
Awardees
Anthony W.S. Chan, DVM, PhD (Yerkes National Primate Research Center), Hui Mao, PhD (Emory University, Department of Radiology), and Xiaodong Zhang, PhD (Yerkes National Primate Research Center); Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Approach for Evaluating Therapeutic Impact of shRNA in Huntington's Disease
John N. Oshinski, PhD (Emory University, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering), Aloke Finn, MD (Emory University, Department of Medicine, Cardiology), and Hui Mao, PhD (Emory University, Department of Radiology); A dual-labeled magnetic-optical imaging probe for M2 macrophages
Leonard Howell, PhD (Yerkes National Primate Research Center), John Votaw, PhD (Emory University, Department of Radiology), and Shella Keilholz, PhD (Emory University, Department of Biomedical Engineering); Resting State and Cue-Induced Functional Brain Activity Following Cocaine Use and Extinction Therapy in Nonhuman Primates
Technology Development Seed Fund
The Translational Technologies & Resources (TTR) program collaborates with the Pilot & Collaborative Translational & Clinical Studies (PiCoTraCS) program to invest in new clinical and translational research paradigms, to encourage young faculty to develop cutting-edge science, and to become the glue that cements investigators and projects across the research consortium. TTR funds are used to support pilot projects consistant with the broad aims and objectives of both TTR and the ACTSI.
Awardees
Qiang Cai, MD, PhD (Emory University, Department of Medicine, Digestive Diseases), Intradudodenal acid infusion for facilitation of cannulation of the dorsal pancreatic duct at endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram
Baowei Fei, PhD, EngD (Emory University, Department of Radiology) and Diego Martin, MD, PhD (Emory University, Department of Radiology); Motion correction and quantitative image analysis for kidney MR imaging
Raymond Dingledine, PhD (Emory University, Pharmacology) A novel strategy for preventing progression of epilepsy
Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD (Emory University, Pediatrics) Clinical assessment of a Smartphone otoscope
Translating and Commercializing New Technology
The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, through an endowment to Georgia Tech and Emory in 2001, established a program to fund translational medical research, with an emphasis on combining engineering and clinical resources with strong external program support to advance qualified health-related projects into medical practice. To further promote the goals of both groups, the Coulter Program and the ACTSI created a joint grant program to provide support for novelmedical device, diagnostic or imaging technologies that substantially enhance the diagnosis or treatment of human disease, supported by $100,000/year commitment from the GRA and support from the Coulter Foundation.
Awardees
Allen Tannenbaum, PhD (Emory University, Department of Biomedical Engineering) and Diego Martin, MD, PhD (Emory University, Department of Radiology), The MRI Virtual Liver Biopsy - Chronic Liver Disease Fibrosis Measurement
John Oshinski, PhD (Emory University, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering) and Michael Lloyd, MD (Emory University, Department of Medicine, Cardiology), An Imaging-Based Method to Plan Cardiac Pacemaker Lead Placement