UC Davis researcher receives grant for groundbreaking arthritis research8437493

Iannis Adamopoulos, a UC Davis researcher who specializes in skeletal and immune-system diseases, has been selected as an Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF) Scholar and Sontag Foundation Fellow. Adamopoulos get a grant of $75,000 to help his promising research on rheumatoid arthritis. Certainly one of 13 ANRF scholars, he is the one awardee to become recognized by the Sontag Foundation. ANRF is one of a small number of tax deductible charities that specialize in Arthritis Research.

"We are happy to name Dr. Adamopoulos because 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 years and 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 reduction in mice was recently confirmed in human cells. Step 2 in the principals are to look for 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 named significant," said Timothy Albertson, acting chair in the Department of Internal Medicine at UC Davis. "This change is likely to have a very profound impact on expanding therapeutic choices for those whose arthritis cannot be managed with current treatments. It really is admirable that this ANRF and Sontag Foundation have the insight to acknowledge his innovative work." Prior to joining UC Davis really, 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. 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 all the purpose 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. Each year, the Sontag Foundation fully funds the grant of the ANRF-selected researcher that is studying arthritis rheumatoid. More resources for ways to make online donations visit curearthritis.org. The [http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/1860383/gib_shotter.html is probably the nation's leading medical schools, recognized for 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. As well as as being a recognized leader in medical research, the institution is devoted to serving under served communities and advancing rural health.