UC Davis researcher receives grant for groundbreaking arthritis research5921982

Iannis Adamopoulos, a UC Davis researcher who specializes in skeletal and immune-system diseases, has been selected as a possible Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF) Scholar and Sontag Foundation Fellow. Adamopoulos will get a grant of $75,000 to help expand his promising research on arthritis rheumatoid. One of 13 ANRF scholars, he is the only awardee to be identified by the Sontag Foundation. ANRF is one of a small number of tax deductible charities specializing 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 ailment that plagued my mother for 37 a few years ended her lifetime." Adamopoulos, an assistant professor of internal medicine, discovered that an immune cytokine generally known as interleukin 23 (IL-23) is often a key regulator of joint inflammation and bone destruction. His finding that abnormal expression of IL-23 causes severe arthritis and bone decrease in mice was recently confirmed in human cells. The next phase in the research is to ascertain 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 from the Department of Internal Medicine at UC Davis. "This change is likely to possess a profound impact on expanding therapeutic options for those whose arthritis is not managed with current treatments. It is admirable the ANRF and Sontag Foundation have the insight to identify his innovative work." Before 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 and a D.Phil. through 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 the purpose of finding new control of debilitating, chronic diseases. The ANRF's highly competitive, NIH-level review process -- conducted by its Scientific Advisory Board -- means that only top-tier applicants and projects are funded. Each and every year, the Sontag Foundation fully funds the grant associated with an ANRF-selected researcher who's studying rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. More resources for tips on how to make online donations visit curearthritis.org. The [http://www.plus.friendite.com/blogs/598380/1188299/uc-davis-researcher-receives-gra is probably the nation's leading medical schools, renowned for its research and primary-care programs. The teachers offers fully accredited master's degree programs in public health insurance in informatics, as well as 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 being a recognized leader in scientific research, the teachers is focused on serving under served communities and advancing rural health.