UC Davis researcher receives grant for groundbreaking arthritis research1279058

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 his promising research on arthritis rheumatoid. Among 13 ANRF scholars, he could be the one awardee being identified by the Sontag Foundation. ANRF is just one of a small number of tax deductible charities specializing in Arthritis Research.

"We are delighted to name Dr. Adamopoulos since 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 ailment that plagued my mother for 37 years and ended her lifetime." Adamopoulos, an assistant professor of internal medicine, found out that an immune cytokine known as interleukin 23 (IL-23) is often a key regulator of joint inflammation and bone destruction. His discovering that abnormal expression of IL-23 causes severe arthritis and bone decrease in mice was recently confirmed in human cells. Step 2 in the principals are to discover the potential of IL-23 inhibitors as arthritis treatments. "Dr. Adamopoulos is shifting the main 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 is likely to use a profound relation to expanding therapeutic choices for those whose arthritis can't be managed with current treatments. It can be admirable the ANRF and Sontag Foundation contain the insight to realize 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 from the University of Surrey, an M.Phil. from University College London plus a D.Phil. in 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 who're becoming leading researchers in rheumatic disease, autoimmunity and inflammation with all 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. Every year, the Sontag Foundation fully funds the grant associated with an ANRF-selected researcher who's studying rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. To learn more about the best way to make online donations visit curearthritis.org. The [http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/1860383/gib_shotter.html is among the nation's leading medical schools, recognized for its research and primary-care programs. The teachers offers fully accredited master's degree programs in public 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. As well as as a recognized leader in scientific research, the school is devoted to serving under served communities and advancing rural health.