The purpose of the Institute for Medical Research, Inc. is to facilitate and promote research and education at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. This year, the IMR grants program will include two in-house grants in the amount of $17,000 each and may include additional grants at $15,000 each. The $17,000 grants are in memory of Gerald Olson, our former DVM and Burley McCraw, a former AO for Research and their contributions to the entire research program. These grants are for a twelve month period beginning January 1st, 2009 and are eligible for one no cost extension, if requested. After payment of all study costs, any funds remaining at the end of the grant will be returned to the IMR general fund.

1. Grants will not be renewable but may be supplemented by other sources and must be conducted at the VA Medical Center. Eligibility will be based upon the same process as eligibility for VA Research funding (you must receive at least 5/8 of your salary from the VA, or your lab/research areas must be 100% geographically located at the VA, and you must be a US citizen or have a Greencard.) NO overlap of grant funding (i.e., IMR, NIH, Merit Review, etc) is permitted.

2. IMR grants are intended to promote research at the Durham VA Medical Center. Primarily they may be used to support young investigators whose career will benefit from start-up funds, however, senior investigators may submit an application in order to pursue research opportunities that are currently not funded but have a high probability of developing preliminary data that will support future funding. Investigators who have received an IMR In-House Grant within the past three (3) years are not eligible. Any variations from the original grant proposal are subject to review and approval or disapproval by the appropriate Committees and the IMR Board of Directors, prior to implementation.

3. The application narrative shall be no more than five pages in length and must follow the formatting guidelines in the Application Instructions. Any application longer than 5 pages will not be reviewed. Supplemental information, such as CV’s and letters of support from department chairmen for junior investigators, is encouraged.

4. Grants will be ranked by order of scientific quality and probability of success. A peer review committee will be appointed to conduct primary and secondary review.

5. Reporting-- An interim and a final written report is required. Please indicate the research results, any publications as a result of this research and additional funding from the results of your project. Publications must acknowledge the VAMC and IMR for their contribution to the research.

6. Final deadline for application is receipt in the IMR office, Room A2005, no later than close of business, Monday, August 11, 2008 for a start date of January 1, 2009. Please submit one unbound original copy only.

7. Application packets are available in the IMR office or on the website at www.imr.org. Questions should be directed to Lorie Moll, or Janice Grause in IMR at x5180, or Jean Brese or Cathy Ivey in the Research Office at x 6926.

Application Instructions
Narrative
Application Form




On November 1st, VA researcher, William S. Yancy Jr., MD, along with 57 other scientists from federal agencies, received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers at the White House.

The annual awards, established in 1996 by the National Science and Technology Council, recognize top scientists and engineers for their "innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology" and for their scientific leadership and community outreach.

Dr. Yancy, a physician at the Durham VA Medical Center, studies the effects of diet and exercise on obesity and its complications. A study by his group made headlines in 2004 when it showed that people on a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet lost more weight over six months than people on a low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie diet. The study was the first randomized, controlled trial of an Atkins-style approach to eating.

Yancy, was co-author on a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2005 that found 68 percent of women and 73 percent of men using VA healthcare were overweight—somewhat higher than the figures for the general population. In other work, he has explored the effects of obesity on quality of life, drawing particular attention to the prevalence and impact of bodily pain in this population.

As part of the award, Yancy will receive $125,000 over five years from VA's Office of Research and Development in support of his research.




A team at the Durham VA and Duke University Medical Center recently demonstrated two promising methods for coaxing stem cells with the hippocampus—the brain's memory and learning center—to develop into new brain cells.

The researchers, led by Ashok Shetty, PhD, published results in the October issue of the European Journal of Neuroscience showing that infusions of a growth factor called FGF-2 into the brains of middle-aged rats led to an increase in brain cells and caused existing neurons to sprout new dendrites—the tentacles through which neurons exchange messages.

"We found considerably increased neurogenesis in the hippocampus following these infusions," notes Shetty.

In other work, published in August 2007 in the journal Stem Cells, Shetty's group showed that implanting two types of brain-cell precursors into the brains of aging rats could also lead to the production of new cells responsible for learning and memory.

Shetty says there are still many scientific hurdles to clear before adopting these methods for clinical use, but they "provide proof of principle" that such approaches may be useful for increasing the addition of new neurons not only in aging brains, but after stroke, traumatic brain injury, or chronic drug-resistant epilepsy.

Dr. Shetty believes the ideal approach may be refining the way in which stem and progenitor cells are prepared and transplanted. For instance, genetically engineering the cells to produce specific neurotrophic factors may prove beneficial. On the other hand, Shetty points out, the cells in their natural state seem to already make and secrete at least a handful of known brain-nurturing proteins, and could also be delivering "multiple unknown factors" that account for part of their effect.

In any case, the VA scientist says one of the main challenges that lies ahead is learning whether the cells are "capable of relasing the beneficial neurotrophic factors on a long-term basis"—which could be critical if they are to one day form the basis of therapies to regenerate aging or injured brains.


 
IMR Grant Recipients for Calendar Year 2008


$17,000 each

Gerald Olson Award
Derrick Sauls, PhD
Modulation of prothombin levels in Type II Diabetes

Burley McCraw Award
Mark Lanasa, MD, PhD
T Cell dysfunction in B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia & monoclonal B cell lymphocytosis


$15,000 each

Leeyup Chung, PhD
Differential nicotine effect on young & adult rodent brain

Christi Ulmer, PhD
Treating co-morbid sleep difficulties in veterans with PTSD: A pilot study

Zhongguang Yang, MD, PhD
Urethral dysfunction in spinal cord injury