In September, MBJ reported that the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) had earned a record $132.9 million in research awards in FY 2022, a $6.3 million increase from the $126.7 million it earned in FY 2021.
It was the sixth straight year the institution had seen growth in grant and contract awards, and it represented a 56% jump from the $85 million it earned in FY 2017.
But just who is responsible for the significant increase? Which faculty members earned multimillion-dollar grants and allowed UTHSC to tout record-breaking numbers?
Here’s a breakdown of some of the biggest awards earned by UTHSC researchers in FY 2022:
- Radhakrishna Rao, Ph.D., vice chair and professor in the Department of Physiology, received two national awards totaling $5 million, for separate studies involving the gut as a therapeutic target for treating disease. Rao is known internationally for his two decades of research into the structure and regulation of the intestinal epithelium — which forms the gut barrier preventing allergens, toxins, and pathogens from entering the bloodstream.
- Alex M. Dopico, M.D., Ph.D., the Van Vleet Chair of Excellence and professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Addiction Science, and Toxicology (PHAST), received $2.6 million from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The funds are being used to study cerebrovascular dysfunction that could contribute to alcohol-induced blackouts.
- A team lead by Liza Makowski, Ph.D., a professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology in the College of Medicine, received more than $5.2 million from the National Cancer Institute. The funds are being used for a study that’s expected to highlight critical gaps in knowledge around obesity-mediated cancer risk.
- Colleen Jonsson, Ph.D., a Van Vleet Endowed professor and the director of the UTHSC Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) and the Institute for the Study of Host Pathogen Systems, received $3.21 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to upgrade equipment and infrastructure in the RBL.
- Ken Ataga, Ph.D., the Plough Foundation Endowed Chair in Sickle Cell Disease, and director of the UTHSC Center for Sickle Cell Disease, received $3.2 million from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The funds are for a project expected to build artificial intelligence (AI) that can predict progression of chronic kidney disease in sickle cell patients.
- Gabor Tigyi, M.D., Ph.D., the Harriet Van Vleet Endowed Professor in the Department of Physiology, and Sue Chin Lee, Ph.D., an associate professor in the same department, received $3.16 million from the National Cancer Institute. The funds are being used to develop a drug that boosts the immune system response in cancer patients to destroy tumor cells.
- Karen Johnson, M.D., MPH, the Endowed Professor of Women’s Health, chair of Preventive Medicine, and director of the Tennessee Clinical and Translational Science Institute, received $3.2 million from the National Cancer Institute. The funds are being used to test the use of health information technology in managing obesity among disadvantaged groups.
- Alex M. Dopico, M.D., the Van Vleet Chair of Excellence, and professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Addiction Science, and Toxicology (PHAST); and Anna N. Bukiya, Ph.D., a professor in the same department, received $2.19 million from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for their investigation of the neurotoxic effects of toluene — a common chemical found in many household products.
- Wei Li, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy; and Francesca-Fang Liao, Ph.D., a professor of Pharmacology, Addiction Science, and Toxicology in the College of Medicine, received $2.16 million from the National Institute of Aging. The funds are being used to test a new way to combat the root cause of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.
- A UTHSC team led by Viktor Chizhikov, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, received $2.13 million from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The group is studying how neural cells that build a functional brain are generated during embryonic and neonatal life.
- Amber M. Smith, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics, is the lead investigator on a $2.84 million award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The award is set to support a team lead by Smith, which is developing a new computational approach to better understand flu infection.
- Siamak Yousefi, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and the Department of Genetics, Genomics, and Informatics, is the principal investigator on a $2.2 million award from the National Eye Institute. The purpose of the project is to develop AI that predicts genetic risk of glaucoma.
The record-breaking value of research awards came amid a leadership change for UTHSC, as Peter Buckley replaced Steve Schwab as chancellor on Feb. 1, 2022.
Buckley is no stranger when it comes to research, either. Before joining UTHSC, he was the dean of the School of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and EVP of medical affairs for the VCU Health System. He’s also a psychiatrist and psychiatry professor and is an expert in schizophrenia and Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
According to MBJ research, UTHSC is the second-largest research institution in the Memphis area, ahead of the University of Memphis and behind St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
