UC Davis researcher receives grant for groundbreaking arthritis research7031535

Iannis Adamopoulos, a UC Davis researcher who specializes in skeletal and immune-system diseases, may be selected as a possible Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF) Scholar and Sontag Foundation Fellow. Adamopoulos gets a grant of $75,000 to help expand his promising research on rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. One of 13 ANRF scholars, he's the only real awardee to be identified by the Sontag Foundation. ANRF is just one of a select few tax deductible charities focusing on 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 ailment that plagued my mother for 37 a few years ended her lifetime." Adamopoulos, a helper professor of internal medicine, found 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. The next phase in the research is to determine 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 with the Department of Internal Medicine at UC Davis. "This change probably will have a very profound influence on expanding therapeutic options for those whose arthritis is not managed with current treatments. It really is admirable the ANRF and Sontag Foundation hold the insight to recognize his innovative work." Before 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 from the University of Surrey, an M.Phil. from University College London plus 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 that are becoming leading researchers in rheumatic disease, autoimmunity and inflammation together with the goal of finding new treating debilitating, chronic diseases. The ANRF's highly competitive, NIH-level review process -- conducted by its Scientific Advisory Board -- helps to ensure that only top-tier applicants and projects are funded. Every year, the Sontag Foundation fully funds the grant of your ANRF-selected researcher that is studying rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. For more information on ways to make online donations visit curearthritis.org. The [https://modules.apache.org/modules.lua?id=15558 is one of the nation's leading medical schools, renowned for its research and primary-care programs. The college offers fully accredited master's degree programs in public places health and in informatics, and its 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. Together with like a recognized leader in scientific research, the school is committed to serving under served communities and advancing rural health.