UC Davis researcher receives grant for groundbreaking arthritis research9415871

Iannis Adamopoulos, a UC Davis researcher who specializes in skeletal and immune-system diseases, continues to be selected as an Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF) Scholar and Sontag Foundation Fellow. Adamopoulos gets a grant of $75,000 to increase his promising research on rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. Certainly one of 13 ANRF scholars, he or she is the one awardee to be identified by the Sontag Foundation. ANRF is one kind of a limited number tax deductible charities that specialize in Arthritis Research.

"We are happy to name Dr. Adamopoulos as The Sontag Foundation Fellow for 2011," said philanthropist and Sontag Foundation President Rick Sontag. "His work may supply the next breakthrough to finally end the debilitating illness that plagued my mother for 37 a few years ended her lifetime." Adamopoulos, an assistant professor of internal medicine, discovered that an immune cytokine known as interleukin 23 (IL-23) can be a key regulator of joint inflammation and bone destruction. His finding that abnormal expression of IL-23 causes severe arthritis and bone decrease of mice was recently confirmed in human cells. Step 2 as part of his principals are to discover the potential of IL-23 inhibitors as arthritis treatments. "Dr. Adamopoulos is shifting the focus of arthritis research and bone health investigations toward immune-system cells not previously acknowledged as significant," said Timothy Albertson, acting chair in the Department of Internal Medicine at UC Davis. "This change may well possess a profound affect on expanding therapeutic alternatives for those whose arthritis can't be managed with current treatments. It can be admirable how the ANRF and Sontag Foundation contain the insight to identify his innovative work." Prior to joining UC Davis this season, Adamopoulos conducted drug discovery research at Schering-Plough Biopharma in Palo Alto, Calif. He holds a B.Sc. honors degree through the University of Surrey, an M.Phil. from University College London plus a D.Phil. from 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 that are becoming leading researchers in rheumatic disease, autoimmunity and inflammation with the objective of finding new treating of debilitating, chronic diseases. The ANRF's highly competitive, NIH-level review process -- conducted by its Scientific Advisory Board -- ensures that only top-tier applicants and projects are funded. Annually, the Sontag Foundation fully funds the grant of an ANRF-selected researcher who's studying rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. For additional info on ways to make online donations visit curearthritis.org. The [http://www.mkowapi.co.ke/pg/photos/album/129236 is amongst the nation's leading medical schools, renowned for its research and primary-care programs. The school offers fully accredited master's degree programs in public health insurance 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. In addition to like a recognized leader in medical research, the school is committed to serving under served communities and advancing rural health.