UC Davis researcher receives grant for groundbreaking arthritis research6575281

Iannis Adamopoulos, a UC Davis researcher who specializes in skeletal and immune-system diseases, has become selected as an Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF) Scholar and Sontag Foundation Fellow. Adamopoulos will receive a grant of $75,000 to help his promising research on rheumatism. Certainly one of 13 ANRF scholars, he could be the only real awardee to get identified by the Sontag Foundation. ANRF is just one of a small number of tax deductible charities specializing in Arthritis Research.

"We are delighted to name Dr. Adamopoulos because the Sontag Foundation Fellow for 2011," said philanthropist and Sontag Foundation President Rick Sontag. "His work may provide the next breakthrough to finally end the debilitating illness that plagued my mother for 37 many ended her lifetime." Adamopoulos, an assistant professor of internal medicine, found that an immune cytokine generally known as interleukin 23 (IL-23) is really a key regulator of joint inflammation and bone destruction. His discovering that abnormal expression of IL-23 causes severe arthritis and bone reduction in mice was recently confirmed in human cells. The next phase in the research is to ascertain the potential of IL-23 inhibitors as arthritis treatments. "Dr. Adamopoulos is shifting the main objective of arthritis research and bone health investigations toward immune-system cells not previously acknowledged as significant," said Timothy Albertson, acting chair from the Department of Internal Medicine at UC Davis. "This change may well have a profound impact on expanding therapeutic selections for those whose arthritis can not be managed with current treatments. It really is admirable that the ANRF and Sontag Foundation hold the insight to realize his innovative work." Just before joining UC Davis this year, Adamopoulos conducted drug discovery research at Schering-Plough Biopharma in Palo Alto, Calif. He holds a B.Sc. honors degree from your University of Surrey, an M.Phil. from University College London as well as a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford, Wolfson College, where he received a scholarship for research on inflammatory arthritis. Based in Long Beach, Calif., the ANRF provides research grants to outstanding, early-career scientists who are becoming leading researchers in rheumatic disease, autoimmunity and inflammation with the goal of finding new control of debilitating, chronic diseases. The ANRF's highly competitive, NIH-level review process -- conducted by its Scientific Advisory Board -- makes sure that only top-tier applicants and projects are funded. Every year, the Sontag Foundation fully funds the grant associated with an ANRF-selected researcher that is studying rheumatoid arthritis. More resources for ways to make online donations visit curearthritis.org. The [http://lhcathomeclassic.cern.ch/sixtrack/view_profile.php?userid=297637 is among the nation's leading medical schools, with regard to its research and primary-care programs. The college offers fully accredited master's degree programs in public places health and in informatics, and it is combined M.D.-Ph.D. program is training the next generation of physician-scientists to conduct high-impact research and translate discoveries into better clinical care. Along with as a recognized leader in medical research, the institution is focused on serving under served communities and advancing rural health.