In 2016, the AST Transplantation Immunology Research Network (TIRN) facilitated the allocation of over 1.3 million dollars in research funding to investigators in transplantation. In addition to the annual career development grants that AST has awarded for over 20 years, the AST TIRN has aligned with outside organizations to offer research funding in specific areas of study.
AST TIRN/Astellas Basic Science Faculty Development Research Grant
Jason Wertheim, MD, PhD, Northwestern University
Dr. Wertheim’s research project is titled “Engineering Podocyte Microenvironments.” Through the results of his study, he hopes to “contribute to current understanding of renal physiology and function, promote advances in treatments for renal dysfunction and failure, and provide critical knowledge in moving towards the long-term goal of developing reparative ex vivo renal tissue for future patient therapies.”
AST TIRN/Astellas Basic Science Fellowship Research Grant
Ines Llaudo, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Sponsor: Peter Heeger, MD
Dr. Llaudo’s research project is titled “Role of C5aR expression on myeloid cells in allograft tolerance.” The research funding will assist Dr. Llaudo in reaching her goals of improving her knowledge in basic immunology based on the complement cascade, and learning how to perform hypothesis-driven experimentation using mouse models.
AST TIRN/Astellas Basic Science Fellowship Research Grant
Michael Mulvihill, MD, Duke University
Sponsor: Allan Kirk, MD, PhD
Dr. Mulvihill’s research project is titled “Role of Mitochondrial Injury in the Pathogenesis of Primary Graft Dysfunction following Cardiac Transplantation.” His project will “investigate the fundamental injury processes underlying primary graft dysfunction following heart transplantation and subsequent immune consequences that may contribute to graft dysfunction.”
AST TIRN/Bristol-Myers Squibb Translational Science Faculty Development Research Grant
Ana Konvalinka, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Toronto General Hospital
Dr. Konvalinka’s research project is titled “Interaction between Humoral Immune Response and Kidney Tissue Proteome in Antibody-Mediated Rejection.” Dr. Konvalinka wishes to “apply advanced proteomics analysis and systems biology approaches to the study of kidney disease to improve diagnosis, inform treatment, and assess prognosis.”
AST TIRN/Genentech Translational Science Fellowship Research Grant
Thet Su Win, MD, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Sponsor: Bohdan Pomahac, MD
Dr. Win’s research project is titled “The role of donor vs. recipient T cells in rejection of clinical face transplants.” Her efforts will focus in the growing field of vascularized composite transplantation, allowing her to combine her two passions – plastic surgery and transplant immunology.
AST TIRN/Genentech Basic Science Fellowship Research Grant
Jose Marino, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School
Sponsor: Gilles Benichou, PhD
Dr. Marino’s research project is titled “Initiation of T Cell Allorecognition by Donor-Derived Exosomes after Transplantation.” His background is unique in that he completed his medical training in a developing country, and is now able to grow his knowledge and experience at a renowned research institution. He is interested in “techniques to achieve states of tolerance that will reduce transplantation-related costs for patients and hospitals around the world.”
AST TIRN/Novartis Pharmaceuticals Clinical Science Faculty Development Research Grant
Jennifer C. Lai, MD, MBA, University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Lai’s research project is titled “A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Home-Based Structured Physical Fitness Program for Liver Transplant Candidates.” Through her research she seeks to demonstrate that “improving physical fitness will result in high-impact outcomes including reducing mortality both before and after transplant as well as improving quality of life in all liver transplant patients.”
AST TIRN/Wood MacMillan Charitable Fund Transplant Nursing Grant
Tiffany E. Kaiser, PharmD, MSCR, University of Cincinnati
Dr. Kaiser’s research project is titled “Novel Medication Adherence Monitoring Strategies Utilizing Technology.” In her study, which hopes to tackle the issue of patient non-adherence to medication regimens, she expects that “subjects receiving a technology driven, individualized, adaptive adherence intervention will demonstrate higher rates of medication adherence compared to those not receiving the intervention.”
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