Messages from the Executive Vice President

January 28, 2011

2010 White Coat Gala Research Funding Winners

With funds from the 2010 White Coat Gala event that were generously set aside to support basic, clinical, and health outcomes research, a request for grant applications was announced to the UConn Health Center community on September 23, 2010. The eligibility criteria for funding were: Junior faculty working under the assistance of a faculty member, M.D. or D.D.S. degree, and having some clinical responsibilities. In response to this solicitation, 19 grant applications were received by December 1, 2010. The applications were reviewed January 10, 2011 by a distinguished panel of clinical and basic researchers chaired by Dr. Cheryl Oncken.

I am pleased to announce the four UConn Health Center investigator winners of this competition who will share the $150,000 in support:

• Dr. I-Ping Chen, Department of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, “Investigating the role of FGF23 in Craniometaphyseal Dysplasia”
• Dr. Soheil Sam Dadras, Department of Dermatology and Genetics and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, “Biogenesis of ectopic microRNAs in melanoma patients with up-regulated Dicer”
• Dr. Trini Mathew, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, “ Alcohol, substance use and highly active anti-retroviral treatment (HAART) adherence and HIV disease progression in Connecticut”
• Dr. Lauren Sansing, Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, “Intracerebral Hemorrhage”

This cycle of gala funds, which honor the late Dr. Lawrence Raisz, provides support for cutting edge research among junior faculty at the UConn Health Center. I would like to thank all the investigators that applied for funding and the faculty members who assisted in the review. I anticipate that future competitions for gala funds will be available to support junior faculty research at the UConn Health Center.

Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.
Vice President for Health Affairs
Dean, UConn School of Medicine