UC Davis researcher receives grant for groundbreaking arthritis research5324939

Iannis Adamopoulos, a UC Davis researcher who specializes in skeletal and immune-system diseases, may be selected just as one Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF) Scholar and Sontag Foundation Fellow. Adamopoulos will get a grant of $75,000 to further his promising research on arthritis rheumatoid. Among 13 ANRF scholars, he's the only real awardee to become recognized by the Sontag Foundation. ANRF is one of a limited number tax deductible charities specializing in 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 give you the next breakthrough to finally end the debilitating illness that plagued my mother for 37 years and ended her life." Adamopoulos, a helper professor of internal medicine, found that an immune cytokine generally 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 thing as part of his scientific studies are to discover 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 acknowledged as significant," said Timothy Albertson, acting chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at UC Davis. "This change is likely to possess a profound relation to expanding therapeutic options for those whose arthritis cannot be managed with current treatments. It can be admirable the ANRF and Sontag Foundation hold the insight to recognize 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 in the University of Surrey, an M.Phil. from University College London as well as a D.Phil. from your University of Oxford, Wolfson College, where he received a scholarship for research on inflammatory arthritis. Situated in Long Beach, Calif., the ANRF provides research grants to outstanding, early-career scientists who're becoming leading researchers in rheumatic disease, autoimmunity and inflammation together with the goal of finding new control 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. Each year, the Sontag Foundation fully funds the grant associated with an ANRF-selected researcher who's studying rheumatism. For more information on how you can make online donations visit curearthritis.org. The [http://www.kingofarticle.com/article.php?id=86247 is among the nation's leading medical schools, with regard to its research and primary-care programs. The teachers offers fully accredited master's degree programs in public places 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 being a recognized leader in scientific research, the college is focused on serving under served communities and advancing rural health.