UC Davis researcher receives grant for groundbreaking arthritis research2180014

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 expand his promising research on rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. One among 13 ANRF scholars, he could be the only awardee to become identified by the Sontag Foundation. ANRF is just one of a select few tax deductible charities that specialize in Arthritis Research.

"We are delighted to name Dr. Adamopoulos as The Sontag Foundation Fellow for 2011," said philanthropist and Sontag Foundation President Rick Sontag. "His work may give you the next breakthrough to finally end the debilitating illness that plagued my mother for 37 years and ended her life." Adamopoulos, an assistant professor of internal medicine, found out that an immune cytokine known as interleukin 23 (IL-23) can be a key regulator of joint inflammation and bone destruction. His discovering that abnormal expression of IL-23 causes severe arthritis and bone loss in mice was recently confirmed in human cells. The next step in the studies to look for 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 named significant," said Timothy Albertson, acting chair in the Department of Internal Medicine at UC Davis. "This change will probably have a very profound affect on expanding therapeutic selections for those whose arthritis can't be managed with current treatments. It's admirable that the ANRF and Sontag Foundation hold the insight to identify his innovative work." Prior to 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. through the University of Oxford, Wolfson College, where he received a scholarship for research on inflammatory arthritis. Located 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 using the purpose of finding new control of debilitating, chronic diseases. The ANRF's highly competitive, NIH-level review process -- conducted by its Scientific Advisory Board -- means 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 arthritis rheumatoid. To learn more about the best way to make online donations visit curearthritis.org. The [http://coursebooks.cs.huji.ac.il/wikis/MediaWiki/coursebooks/index.php/UC_Davis_researcher_receives_grant_for_groundbreaking_arthritis_research is probably the nation's leading medical schools, renowned for its research and primary-care programs. The teachers offers fully accredited master's degree programs in public areas health insurance in informatics, as well as combined M.D.-Ph.D. program is training generation x of physician-scientists to conduct high-impact research and translate discoveries into better clinical care. As well as being a recognized leader in scientific research, the institution is dedicated to serving under served communities and advancing rural health.