UC Davis researcher receives grant for groundbreaking arthritis research4812140

Iannis Adamopoulos, a UC Davis researcher which specializes in skeletal and immune-system diseases, has become selected being an Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF) Scholar and Sontag Foundation Fellow. Adamopoulos gets a grant of $75,000 to further his promising research on rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. One among 13 ANRF scholars, he could be the one awardee being identified by the Sontag Foundation. ANRF is one kind of a select few tax deductible charities specializing in Arthritis Research.

"We are happy to name Dr. Adamopoulos as 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 life." Adamopoulos, an assistant professor of internal medicine, discovered that an immune cytokine generally known as interleukin 23 (IL-23) is a key regulator of joint inflammation and bone destruction. His finding 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 principals are to look for 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 of the Department of Internal Medicine at UC Davis. "This change may well have a very profound affect on expanding therapeutic selections for those whose arthritis is not managed with current treatments. It's admirable that the ANRF and Sontag Foundation contain the insight to recognize 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 your University of Surrey, an M.Phil. from University College London as well as 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 are becoming leading researchers in rheumatic disease, autoimmunity and inflammation together with the objective of finding new treating of debilitating, chronic diseases. The ANRF's highly competitive, NIH-level review process -- conducted by its Scientific Advisory Board -- makes sure that only top-tier applicants and projects are funded. Annually, the Sontag Foundation fully funds the grant associated with an ANRF-selected researcher that is studying rheumatoid arthritis. For more information on tips on how to make online donations visit curearthritis.org. The [http://eterna.stanford.edu/web/player/161941/ is one of 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 it is 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 medical research, the institution is committed to serving under served communities and advancing rural health.