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Upstate Medical University among nine SUNY campuses to share $900,000 funding

Upstate Medical University among nine SUNY campuses to share $900,000 funding

SYRACUSE, N.Y.-- Upstate Medical University is among nine SUNY campuses to share $900,000 in funding for biomedical research projects supported by the State University of New York Health Network of Excellence. The announcement was made this week by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Funding will be awarded to six projects, three in which Upstate is involved. The projects engage students and faculty and their partners in the private sector to research causes, treatments, and cures for diseases and brain disorders.

“This investment in SUNY campuses will continue New York’s rich tradition of leading medical advancement for the global community,” said the governor. “The funding will provide scientists the infrastructure and talent that they need in order to continue conducting world-class research in the state, and establishes yet another opportunity for colleges and universities to bolster upstate New York’s growing medical economy. It is important to recognize the need for new and advanced treatments to illnesses like Alzheimer’s Disease and Tuberculosis, and supporting these research projects is another step toward meeting that demand.”

“State support for research through sources such as the New York Health Network Initiative are critically important for enhancing Upstate’s research mission and stimulating new collaborations and projects designed to improve the health of New Yorkers,” said David C. Amberg, PhD, interim vice president for research and research integrity officer for Upstate Medical University. “Given the health challenges of an aging population, it is particularly forward thinking that Dr. Brangman, [a member of the Upstate faculty] an internationally recognized physician/scientist in the area of gerontology, will help to lead two of the projects on aging and neural pathologies associated with aging.”

Each of the six projects will receive approximately $150,000.

Upstate is participating in the following projects:

- SUNY Network Aging Partnership (SNAP): Investigating Frailty and Enhancing Lifespan Across the Health Spectrum. Upstate investigator: Sharon Brangman, MD, who also serves as the project’s principal investigator. The project will establish the SUNY Network Aging Partnership (SNAP) to coordinate collaborative research across SUNY’s four medical universities to facilitate competition for scientific funding, accelerate publication of research projects, and recruit and mentor trainees. The Partnership will investigate frailty and ways to enhance lifespan across the health spectrum. In addition to Upstate, project participants include the University at Buffalo, Downstate Medical Center and Stony Brook University.

- Planning Grant to produce a road map to the creation of the SUNY-wide centralized “big data” repository (CIDR) of SUNY electronic health record data. Upstate investigators: Christopher Morley, PhD, John Epling. MD. This project will position SUNY as a leader in healthcare big data research through the development of a Clinical Integrated Data Repository (CIDR) of electronic health record data generated by all SUNY entities that provide clinical care. In addition to Upstate, project participants include the University at Albany, University at Buffalo, Cornell University and Downstate Medical Center.

- Development of Hand-held Biosensors for Rapid Diagnosis and Study of Neural Disease and Neurtoxins. Upstate investigator: Sharon Brangman, MD. The project will create a rapid and highly sensitive hand-held biosensor platform to advance clinical health care and accelerate diagnosis and detection of human neural pathologies including stroke, Alzheimer’s Disease, and traumatic brain injury. In addition to Upstate, the following campuses are participating in the project: University at Buffalo, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, Cornell University and SUNY Cortland.

Funded projects from other campuses:

- 3D Printing Tissues and Organoids for Personalized Organ Transplantation. Developing a new 3D printing technology for custom manufacturing of soft tissues used in organ transplantation. Participating in the project are: University at Albany, Binghamton University, Cornell University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

- Exploration of Lipid Transport Proteins as Drug Targets for the Treatment of Tuberculosis. This project identifies novel drug targets and inhibitors to eradicate Tuberculosis (TB), which kills approximately 1.2 million people each year. Participating in the project are: University at Buffalo, Downstate Medical Center and Stony Brook University.

- Drug Discovery and Development of Novel Antibiotics Against Gram-positive Pathogens, Discovering and developing new drugs and antibiotics to combat Gram-positive pathogens or bacteria that cause serious infection or disease. Project participants: University at Albany, University at Buffalo, Albany Molecular Research.

SUNY Health is one of five SUNY Networks of Excellence established within the last year to increase research collaborations and spur commercialization activities between SUNY and industry partners in core research areas. The others are SUNY 4E (Energy, Environment, Education, Economics), SUNY Brain, and SUNY Materials and Advanced Manufacturing, and SUNY Arts and Humanities.

Caption: Sharon Brangman, MD, of Upstate Medical University and an internationally recognized physician/scientist in the area of gerontology, will be helping to lead two of the projects on aging and neural pathologies associated with aging.

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