UC Davis researcher receives grant for groundbreaking arthritis research6432495

Iannis Adamopoulos, a UC Davis researcher who specializes in skeletal and immune-system diseases, continues to be selected being an Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF) Scholar and Sontag Foundation Fellow. Adamopoulos gets a grant of $75,000 to help expand his promising research on rheumatism. Among 13 ANRF scholars, he's the only awardee being recognized by the Sontag Foundation. ANRF is just one of a limited number 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 supply the next breakthrough to finally end the debilitating illness that plagued my mother for 37 a number of ended her life." Adamopoulos, a helper professor of internal medicine, found that an immune cytokine 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 loss in mice was recently confirmed in human cells. The next thing in their studies to ascertain the potential of IL-23 inhibitors as arthritis treatments. "Dr. Adamopoulos is shifting the target 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 is likely to have a profound affect on expanding therapeutic selections for those whose arthritis cannot be managed with current treatments. It really is admirable that this ANRF and Sontag Foundation have the insight to recognize his innovative work." 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. through 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 that are becoming leading researchers in rheumatic disease, autoimmunity and inflammation together with the goal of finding new treatments for 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 the ANRF-selected researcher that's studying rheumatoid arthritis. For more information on how you can make online donations visit curearthritis.org. The [http://education-solution.com/article.php?id=363339 is among the nation's leading medical schools, with regard to its research and primary-care programs. The institution offers fully accredited master's degree programs in public health insurance in informatics, and its 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. Together with as being a recognized leader in scientific research, the institution is devoted to serving under served communities and advancing rural health.