Rare Diseases Research Funded by $220,000 in Grants from CABRI

Ann Arbor, MI, March 12, 2020 --(PR.com)-- In its ongoing commitment to funding research for new treatments for rare diseases, Cayman Biomedical Research Institute (CABRI) has announced its principle investigator and undergraduate awardees for the 2020 academic year. “We are excited to support these scientists actively researching treatments for often poorly funded diseases,” said Stephen Barrett, Director on the board of CABRI and Vice President of Research, Development, and Production at Cayman. “Selecting from the list of applications has left us hopeful for making a meaningful impact on new therapeutic developments.”

2020 Principal Investigators

$75,000 - Dr. Sven-Erik Dahlén, Karolinska Institute, to target prostaglandin D2 biosynthesis in the treatment of mast cell activation disorders (e.g., mastocytosis, asthma, allergic reactions)

$60,000 - Dr. Michael Holinstat, University of Michigan, to assess the 12-lipoxygenase inhibitor development lead ML355 as a heparin alternative for regulating platelet function in an animal model of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis

$50,000 - Dr. Amanda Huber, University of Michigan, to study how mesenchymal stem cell-specific KDM6B regulates heterotopic ossification in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive (FOP)

$15,000 - Dr. David Aronoff, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, to measure Clostridium septicum alpha toxin by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in an infection model

2020 Undergraduate Grants

$5,000 - Abdelkarim Khalid, St. Olaf College, for the physiological investigation of magnetoreception in the avian retina

$4,000 - Madeline Maslyar, Boston Children’s Hospital, for the identification of small molecules that induce immunological tolerance following transplantation

$4,000 - Meghana Sankaran, University of Miami, for the optimization of dual drug delivery for pediatric brain tumors

$3,500 - Dani Maydan, University of Michigan, for promoting differentiation as a novel strategy for the treatment of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma

$3,500 - Ellen Lauinger, University of Michigan, to examine the effect of impaired cardiac energetics on mTORC1 in heart failure

CABRI is actively seeking to fund more research proposals. Research grant applications may be submitted at any time during the year by uploading proposals through an online form. Any principal investigators at academic research institutions who have a plan to extend the clinical or pre-clinical development of CABRI’s mission are encouraged to apply. Application submissions for undergraduate grant students seeking experience in laboratories that study rare diseases will be open in the fall.

About CABRI
Cayman Biomedical Research Institute (CABRI) is a nonprofit organization which supports research on the rare illnesses and orphan diseases that are often neglected by the corporate pharmaceutical industry and actively pursues new developments that will treat these diseases. To support this endeavor, we offer research grants to specific principal investigators at academic research institutions who have a plan to extend the clinical or pre-clinical development for these diseases as well as undergraduate grants to assist students to obtain experience in laboratories while performing research that aligns with CABRI’s mission. CABRI also provides scholarships to college-bound students who have lost a parent to SNUC (sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma).

About Cayman Chemical
Cayman Chemical Company helps make research possible by supplying scientists worldwide with biochemical tools used to understand cancer, neurochemistry, oxidative injury, endocrinology, atherosclerosis, and other human health challenges. Our scientists are experts in the synthesis, purification, and characterization of biochemicals ranging from small drug-like heterocycles to complex biolipids, fatty acids, and many others for use as research reagents and qualified standards. We are also highly skilled in all aspects of assay and antibody development, protein expression, crystallization, and structure determination. In addition, we offer a wide range of analytical services using LC-MS/MS, HPLC, GC, and many other techniques. Cayman performs generic drug development and production in both Ann Arbor, Michigan and Neratovice, Czech Republic.