Grants
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE: NEW INNOVATORS AWARD RECIPIENT
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease New
Innovators Award provides $1.5M of support in direct costs over 5
years to new investigators undertaking highly novel, creative, and
high-impact projects.
UNCOVERING THE FUNCTIONAL ROLE OF THE SKIN MICOBIOME IN ATOPIC DERMATITIS: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the most common inflammatory skin disease and a growing global health burden, yet disease onset, severity, and response to treatment remain difficult to predict or control. This project investigates how fungi that inhabit the skin (the skin mycobiome) contribute to disease development, particularly in the head and neck subtype of AD, which is often
resistant to standard therapies. By uncovering how fungi interact with bacteria, the skin environment, and the skin cells, this work will identify new targets and strategies to improve treatment and quality of life for patients with AD.
NIH Grant
Dr. Rork has received a $300,000 NIH grant for her project titled: Down Syndrome and Psoriasis: An Investigation of Cardiometabolic Risk
This project is a novel study of psoriasis in individuals with Down syndrome (DS). Psoriasis is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk factors and cardiovascular disease in the general population; however, this association has never been explored in people with DS who are considered protected against cardiovascular disease. This study will use a population-level database to enhance our understanding of psoriasis in people with DS and explore if psoriasis could present an exception to their presumed cardiovascular disease resilience.
Dermatology Foundation Grant
Dr. Brian Simmons won a $20,000 Dermatology Foundation Grant for CRISPR diagnoses of onychomycosis.
The Foundation’s Research Grants provide financial support for research projects in dermatology and cutaneous biology that benefit the dermatology community at large.
Hitchcock Foundation Grant
Dr. Lucas and collaborators were awarded a $50,000 grant from The Hitchcock Foundation for their proposal, “In Vitro Study of Biofilms Produced by Staphylococcus Aureus Isolates in Atopic Dermatitis and How They Are Impacted by Topical Products.” Biofilm produced by bacteria may contribute to treatment failure of many cutaneous conditions. They will collect clinical isolates of atopic dermatitis-associated S. aureus and replicate their biofilm growth in the laboratory setting. They intend to sequence the genomes of these bacteria to understand key causative factors in the pathogenesis of these specific bacterial strains. They will then analyze 10 topical products with promising anti-biofilm active ingredients to determine if these products are able to disrupt biofilm and offer more effective topical therapy. The team plans to continue our research with the most promising products they identify in a clinical trial setting, with the ultimate goal of providing more effective and cost-efficient treatments for atopic dermatitis and other skin conditions.
Hitchcock Foundation Pilot Research Grant
Dr. Dylan Badin received the Hitchcock Foundation Pilot Research Grant for the amount of $35,100.
The Hitchcock Foundation funds research grants to address any of the broad areas of biomedical research, including basic, translational, clinical, and/or population-based studies.
Dr. Badin received this award for his project titled: Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study on the Prognosis of Melanoma-in-Situ and its Impact on Follow-up.
Prouty Grant
We are excited to announce that Drs. Michael Shane Chapman and Arthur Petusseau along with co-investigators, Drs. Petr Bruza, Brian Pogue, Gabrielle Duprat, Iman Salem and Joshua Levy have been awarded the “The Prouty grant in the amount of $60,000”.
The reviewers pointed out the following strengths: 1) Proposal is highly innovative and unique, 2) Highly skilled, translational and collaborative research team, 3) High potential for progression to extramural funding.
The project seeks to exploit the delayed fluorescence of protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) in tumor tissue and the ability to utilize this information to assess chronic tumor hypoxia and pressure induced transient hypoxia. The general technique, Pressure Enhanced Sensing Surgery (PRESS), was developed and patented by the collaborators from Thayer Engineering School at Dartmouth Health. The grant proposal is now seeking preliminary clinical data via this clinical dermatology- biomedical engineering collaboration.
Nonmelanoma skin cancers including basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), are the target cancers for this study. They are the most common cancers in New Hampshire and Vermont. Our electronic medical records reveal that in the last six months more than 9,000 patients received a diagnosis of BCC or SCC.
By providing a non-invasive accurate and reliable diagnostic imaging method, this research aims to directly impact the local population's health by potentially replacing the need for tissue sampling while increasing early detection rates, facilitating timely treatment, help preserving normal healthy tissue around cancer and thereby reducing the physical and psychological burden of skin cancer.
