MDA | Research Grants

MDA Research | navigation map. See bottom of screen for plain text navigation

Research Grants

ACTIVE GRANTS, 1999

ARIZONA

FUNDING PROGRAM LEGEND
(EMG) (GRG) (INT) (RF) (RG) (SG) (DG)	Earmarked Gift Genetics Research Grant Interim Grant Research Fellowship Research Grant Special Grant Research Development Grant

Phoenix - Barrow Neurological Institute

Kumaraswamy Sivakumar, M.D.
  (RG)	Neuromuscular diseases in Mongolia: Distal spinal muscular 
  atrophy and myotonic dystrophy
  $45,000.00  7/1/99 - 6/30/00  Year 2

Summary: Researchers will characterize and identify the molecular basis of an inherited motor neuron disease and study the high incidence of myotonic dystrophy identified in Mongolia.

Tempe - Arizona State University

J. Alan Rawls, Ph.D.
  (RG)  Regulation of paraxis during normal somitogenesis
  $55,000.00  7/1/99 - 6/30/00  Year 2
  $55,000.00  7/1/00 - 6/30/01  Year 3

Summary: Paraxis is a transcription factor that is essential for normal embryonic development of body building blocks called somites. The focus of the proposal is to analyze the transcription and function of paraxis.

Tucson - University of Arizona

Ronald E. Allen, Ph.D.
  (RG)	Regulation of satellite cells by hepatocyte growth 
  factor factor/scatter factor
  $61,274.00  7/1/99 - 6/30/00	Year 2
  $63,617.00  7/1/00 - 6/30/01	Year 3

Summary: Treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy will depend on the repair and growth of muscle fibers. This study is designed to assess the role of hepatocyte growth factor in regulating satellite cell activity essential to the development of muscle fibers.

Parker B. Antin, Ph.D.
  (RG)  Calpastatin regulation of muscle degeneration and necrosis
  $59,158.00  7/1/99 - 6/30/00	Year 1
  $61,348.00  7/1/00 - 6/30/01	Year 2
  $62,553.00  7/1/01 - 6/30/02	Year 3

Summary: This research will investigate whether increased levels of the calpain protease inhibitor calpastatin can reduce muscle fiber degradation observed in dystrophic muscles.

Valerie Cwik, M.D.
  (RF)	S Mouchly Small MDA Research Fellowship Award
  $32,000.00  7/1/99 - 6/30/00	Year 3
  $32,000.00  7/1/00 - 6/30/01	Year 4

Robert Erickson, M.D.
  (RG)  Mapping and cloning Athabaskan brainstem dysgenesis
  $41‚865.00	4/1/00 - 3/31/01	Year 1
  $48‚076.00	4/1/01 - 3/31/02	Year 2
  $53‚275.00	4/1/02 - 3/31/03	Year 3

Summary: Researchers plan to map and clone the gene which, when abnormal, causes a rare genetic neuromuscular disorder among Navajo and Apache children.

Darrel Goll, Ph.D.
  (RG)  Role of the calpain system in muscle degeneration
  $54,472.00  1/1/00 - 12/31/00	Year 3

Summary: This project describes studies attempting to learn how activity of the calpain proteases is regulated and how this regulation is altered in the muscular dystrophies.

Andrea Yool, Ph.D.
  (RG)   K Channel overexpression to control paralytic depolarization
  $50,000.00  1/1/00 - 12/31/00	Year 1

Summary: Prolonged activity of mutant Na channels triggers episodic muscle weakness in hyperkalemic periodic paralysis. Researchers propose to counterbalance the Na channel activity by introducing more K channels, thus enhancing a natural regulatory mechanism. The K channel gene is introduced into muscle cells by an engineered disarmed virus. This work offers hope of a new strategy for treatment for dominant ion channel disorders.

Return to MDA Research Grants