UC Davis researcher receives grant for groundbreaking arthritis research3569715

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 get a grant of $75,000 to increase his promising research on arthritis rheumatoid. Among 13 ANRF scholars, he is the only real awardee to get recognized by the Sontag Foundation. ANRF is among 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 give you the next breakthrough to finally end the debilitating illness that plagued my mother for 37 years and ended her lifetime." Adamopoulos, a helper professor of internal medicine, discovered that an immune cytokine called 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 phase in their research is 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 recognized as significant," said Timothy Albertson, acting chair in the Department of Internal Medicine at UC Davis. "This change probably will use a profound relation to expanding therapeutic options for those whose arthritis is not managed with current treatments. It really is admirable how the ANRF and Sontag Foundation possess the insight to recognize his innovative work." Prior to joining UC Davis in 2010, 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 plus a D.Phil. from your 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 purpose of finding new treating 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. Every year, the Sontag Foundation fully funds the grant of the ANRF-selected researcher who's studying rheumatism. For more information on the best way to make online donations visit curearthritis.org. The [http://disqus.com/MeganBono/ is amongst 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 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. Along with as a recognized leader in medical research, the teachers is devoted to serving under served communities and advancing rural health.