Announcements
Have you heard? DOM Research Ride new episode
Episode 7 of the Research Ride Podcast is now available! In this episode, Ride Leader, Charlie Searles, MD is joined by Ignacio (Inaki) Sanz, MD, (Rheumatology), a world-renowned expert in the biology of autoimmune
diseases, specifically systemic lupus erythematosus. Dr. Sanz discusses the diverse manifestations of this disease and his research focused on understanding why the immune systems of lupus patients attack their own tissues. He also shares his insights into how to build a robust research program, as well as his memories of competing in the Olympic Games.
Save the date! The17th annual DOM Research Day will be taking place on Thursday, November 7 in the Emory Student Center. This event brings together researchers from all ten divisions across the department and provides an opportunity to share exciting new findings, facilitate scientific exchange, and identify potential new collaborations.
Important Upcoming Dates:
- Abstract submissions open | July–August
- Registration open | August–September
Keep an eye on your inbox for upcoming emails with more information.
CDMRP has recently released FY24 Funding Announcements
The CDMRP (located within the Department of Defense (DOD)) implements and manages funding for biomedical research programs directed by Congress and provides support for additional DOD medical research program areas. CDMRP recently released funding announcements in the areas of breast, lung, and ovarian cancer, epilepsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, autism, Alzheimer's, and spinal cord injury.
Inaugural Emory Digestive Disease Initiative (EDDI)
Shanthi V. Sitaraman Symposium
Congratulations to the Division of Digestive Diseases on a successful inaugural Emory Digestive Disease Initiative (EDDI) Shanthi V. Sitaraman Symposium—a celebration of GI research and the multi-institution network within the Digestive Diseases community! Gwendalyn J. Randolph, PhD, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, presented an inspiring keynote address on lymphatics and chronic inflammatory disease.
Upcoming Events
Emory SCORE Women’s Health Research Lecture Series: Preeclampsia: Can we reduce morbidity and mortality?
Wednesday, April 17 | noon–1 p.m. | Register
Ravi Thadhani, MD, MPH (Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, Executive Director of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, and Vice Chair of Emory Healthcare Board of Directors)
Tips from the Other Side of the Peer-Review Process to Help Get Your Scientific Manuscript Published
Thursday, April 18 and April 25 | noon–1 p.m. | R. Randall Rollins Building Rm 5001 and Zoom | Register
This two-part presentation by Bruce G. Weniger MD, MPH, adjunct associate professor at Rollins School of Public Health, provides tips, examples, and anecdotes from the past experience of a journal editor (Elsevier’s Vaccine) to ease the burden and overcome the skepticism of busy, volunteer peer reviewers who must use both conscious criteria and subjective, often unconscious intuition to judge the worthiness for publication of your work using only the manuscript and revision cover letters provided them.
Thursdays at 3 p.m. (T@3) Research Webinar Series: Insights From a Seed Grant Recipient and Exploring Collaboration Through the Arpa-H Customer Experience Hub
Thursday, April 18 | 3 p.m. | Zoom | Register
Speakers: Romil Saxena (Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine) and Kimberly Eck (Sr. Associate Vice President for Research)
FAALI lecture series: Communicating Your Science to the Public
Friday, April 19 | noon–1 p.m. | Zoom | Register
In a world rife with misinformation and disinformation, the voice of scientists has never been more important. In this lecture, we will explore various platforms, review resources, and discuss best practices for effective science communication.
Dean’s Distinguished Faculty Lecture and Award: Sepsis – The Continuum From Definition To Mechanistic Insights to Bedside Care to Implementation Science (And Back Again)
Friday, April 19 | 5:30–7 p.m. | James B. Williams Medical Education Building, Room 110 | Register
The Dean's Distinguished Faculty Lecture and Award is among the most prestigious and celebratory honors the School of Medicine can bestow on a faculty member. The 2024 recipient is Craig Coopersmith, MD, (Surgery).
CIAG Symposium: Bridging Immunity to Genomic Advances for a Healthier Tomorrow
Tuesday, April 23 | 9 a.m.–2 p.m. | HSRB I | Register
Research Network Coffee Hour: Harnessing the Data Revolution
Tuesday, April 23 | 3–4 p.m. | Woodruff Library, Suite 216 | Register
Would you like to learn more about the research your colleagues are engaged in? Looking to develop new research partnerships with Emory faculty? Join us to discuss research ideas around one of the National Science Foundation’s 10 Big Ideas—Harnessing the Data Revolution.
2024 Annual Resident Research Day
Tuesday, April 23 | noon–1 p.m. (keynote and oral presentations); 4–6 p.m. (poster presentations) | in-person and Zoom
This annual event showcases IM residents' research achievements and will include a keynote entitled, "From Antiquity to Big Data: A Vital History of Body Temperature" by Siva Bhavani, MD, (Pulmonary), as well as oral presentations from our resident abstract winners.
Health Services Research Center Seminar Series
Wednesday, April 24 | noon – 1 p.m. | SOM 170A or Zoom | Register
Speaker: Dio Kavalieratos, PhD (Associate Professor & Director of Research and Quality
Division of Palliative Medicine, Dept. of Family and Preventive Medicine, Emory University) for an enlightening talk entitled, "(Re)defining the Role of Palliative Care in Serious Chronic Illness."
Do you have an upcoming event or educational opportunity?
Highlighted Resource
Did you know? The School of Medicine IT has negotiated discounted rates for group software licenses available to Department of Medicine research teams.
Funding & Award Opportunities
A searchable External Funding Opportunities Database has been compiled from FOAs in this weekly newsletter, including archived COVID FOAs.
Emory credentials are required to view.
Interventions to Reduce Chronic Inflammation and Inflammation-Related Morbidity in People Living with HIV/AIDS
Opens: Wednesday, June 5; Closes: Thursday, November 14
The purpose of this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) is to evaluate and elucidate interventions to prevent, reduce, and/or reverse chronic systemic inflammation and inflammation-related comorbidities and complications in people living with HIV/AIDS (PWH).
Pilot Studies of Biological, Behavioral and Social Mechanisms Contributing to HIV Pathogenesis Within the Mission of NIDDK (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Deadline: Tuesday, May 7; Friday, September 6; January 7, 2025
The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to invite applications for innovative basic and translational pilot research projects within the mission of NIDDK that are aligned with NIH HIV/AIDS research priorities.
Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID) Network Coordination Center (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Deadlines: 30 days prior (LOI); Thursday, June 21 (Full application)
The purpose of this FOA is to expand knowledge on re-emerging and emerging infectious diseases (re/EIDs) around the globe where outbreaks are most likely to occur while developing expertise, capacity, and readiness to address outbreak-related research.
Adaptation of Diabetes Control Technologies for Older Adults with T1D (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
Deadlines: Monday, June 17 (LOI); Wednesday, July 17 (Full application)
The purpose of this FOA is to foster development and testing of technologies adaptable to aging-related changes in older adults (aged 65 years or older) with T1D to improve diabetes management and quality of life.
Pilot Projects Enhancing Utility and Usage of Common Fund Data Sets (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Deadline: Thursday, June 27
The purpose of this FOA is to announce the availability of funding to demonstrate and enhance the utility of selected Common Fund data sets, including generating hypotheses and catalyzing discoveries.
Strategies for Controlled Release of HIV Vaccines (SCORE-H) (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Deadlines: 30 days prior (LOI); Tuesday, July 30 (Full application)
The purpose of this FOA is to support product-focused research to advance controlled-release vaccine strategies to improve immune responses for HIV prevention, treatment, and cure and develop simplified or single-shot vaccination formulations.
Center of Excellence for Systems Modeling of Infection and Immunity across Biological Scales (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Deadlines: 30 days prior (LOI); Tuesday, July 30 (Full application)
The purpose of this FOA is to support the establishment of one (1) Center of Excellence (CoE) to coordinate the research community of infectious and immune-mediated disease (IID) computational modelers and advance IID modeling research across biological scales.
Would you like assistance reviewing your grant proposal? DOM researchers can request grant writing and editing services from Janet Gross, PhD, on projects including resubmissions, career development awards, and multicenter grants. These services are offered through a cost-sharing effort between the department and the researcher’s division and must be approved by both.
Congratulatory Corner
Henry Blumberg (PI) and Russell Kempker (multi-PI) (Infectious Diseases) received funding from NIH/Fogarty International Center for a project entitled, “Ethiopia-Emory TB research training program."
Jeffrey Collins (Infectious Diseases) received funding from NIAID for a project entitled, “Multiomics characterization of microbiome and Immunometabolic REmodeling in tuberculosis stress hyperglycemia.”
Chandan Devireddy (Cardiology) received funding from Procyrion, Inc. for a project entitled, “Diuretics alone vs aortic endovascular device for acute heart failure (DRAIN-HF) CSP001."
William Randolph Hunt (Pulmonary) received funding from Seattle Children's Hospital d/b/a Seattle Children's Research Institute/ Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for a project entitled, “Standardizing Treatments for Pulmonary Exacerbations: A platform for evaluating treatment decisions to improve outcomes (STOP360).”
Arezou Khosroshahi (Rheumatology) received funding from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation for a project entitled, “A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter phase 3 study to evaluate efficacy, safety, and tolerability of ianalumab on top of standard-of-care therapy in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SIRIUS-SLE 2).”
Have you or a colleague recently received an award or grant funding?
Recent Notable Publications
Charmayne Dunlop-Thomas, Sam Lim, and Cristina Drenkard (Rheumatology)
Plantinga LC, Bowling CB, Hoge C, Dunlop-Thomas C, Pearce BD, Lim SS, Drenkard C. Physical performance in a diverse, population-based cohort of individuals with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2024 Apr;76(4):517-525. Read more
Tracey Henry and Francois Rollin (General Internal Medicine)
Henry TL, Rollin FG, Olakunle OE. How to create a diversity, equity, and inclusion curriculum: More than checking a box. Ann Fam Med. 2024 Mar-Apr;22(2):154-160. Read more
Imran Iftikhar and Hussein Rabah (Pulmonary)
Iftikhar IH, AlShimemeri S, Rabah H, Rao ST, BaHammam AS. Alpha-synuclein pathology in isolated rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder: a meta-analysis. J Sleep Res. 2024 Apr 8:e14204. Read more
Modele Ogunniyi (Cardiology)
Breathett K, Lewsey S, Brownell NK, Enright K, Evangelista LS, Ibrahim NE, et al; American Heart Association Heart Failure and Transplantation Committee of the Council on Clinical Cardiology; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health; and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research. Implementation science to achieve equity in heart failure care: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2024 Apr 3. Read more
Are you properly citing the DOM in your publications? Emory Department of Medicine places a strong emphasis on its broad and innovative research programs. Publications are an integral part of the research. To track departmental impact, we must cite affiliations correctly. Please use the following template in all publications. Example: Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine (replace with your division)
Spotlighted Researcher
Peijian He, PhD
Assistant Professor – Digestive Diseases
What is your professional background?
I received my PhD in reproductive physiology and studied sodium ion transport for my postdoctoral training. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor studying the molecular basis in the crosstalk between iron metabolism and metabolic diseases.
Which division do you work in, and who is your mentor?
I work in the Division of Digestive Disease, and Shanthi Srinivasan, MD, is my mentor.
Briefly describe your research. Why is it important?
My research focuses on understanding the physiological and pathological roles of iron. Iron is vital for life and plays an essential role in cellular metabolism. Both iron deficiency and iron overload are detrimental to the homeostasis of organisms. We study how the systemic and cellular iron metabolism are regulated in pathological conditions, and in turn how the altered iron homeostasis promotes the development and progression of liver diseases and diabetes. My research is important because perturbed iron homeostasis causes mitochondrial dysfunction, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and oxidative stress, and is detrimental to cell viability.
What do you like most about Emory?
The supportive and collaborative research environment is what I like most.
What is your favorite movie or TV show?
I like all types of action movies.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
In my free time, I like to play basketball and ping-pong if I still have the energy to spend. If I am already tired, I sit to re-energize by enjoying coffee and music.
What is a fun fact about you?
I am a big fan of classical music, but I can’t play any instruments.
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