Center for Clinical and Translational Science

The Rockefeller University Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) awarded 32 pilot projects this year, of which 10 are to CCTS Clinical Scholars. A record total of 44 applications were submitted and the scientific quality was truly outstanding. Reductions in the CTSA grant award limited the number of awards and the amount per award, with a total commitment of $ 454,746. This brings the grand total of pilot project funding to $1,622,434 since this program was begun under the initial CTSA grant in 2006. These pilot project awards will continue to support clinical and translational studies being conducted at The Rockefeller University.
Pilots Projects Led by CCTS Clinical Scholars

The Rockefeller University Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) awarded 32 pilot projects this year, of which 10 are to CCTS Clinical Scholars. A record total of 44 applications were submitted and the scientific quality was truly outstanding. Reductions in the CTSA grant award limited the number of awards and the amount per award, with a total commitment of $ 454,746. This brings the grand total of pilot project funding to $1,622,434 since this program was begun under the initial CTSA grant in 2006. These pilot project awards will continue to support clinical and translational studies being conducted at The Rockefeller University.
Pilots Projects Led by CCTS Clinical Scholars

Niroshana Anandasabapathy, MD, PhD: Use Of Flt3L to Help Phenotype and Characterize Human Cross-Presenting Dendritic Cells In Vivo. This project will develop alternative approaches to vaccine design based on fundamental principles of immune memory, which include targeting vaccine antigens to specialized dendritic cell subsets.

Jennifer Belasco, MD: Evaluation of the Role Of Dendritic Cells In Psoriatic Arthritis. This project will determine whether myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are increased in peripheral blood, synovial tissue, and skin from subjects with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) as compared to synovial tissue of subjects with osteoarthritis and skin of normal controls. The project will also compare the production of dendritic cell-associated cytokines- IL12, IL10, IL6, and IFNa-present in the tissue of subjects with PsA with those inpatients with osteoarthritis and in normal controls. Analysis of the differences in gene expression patterns of dendritic cells from subjects with PsA normal controls and subjects with osteoarthritis will also be performed.

Iddo Ben-Dov, MD: Urine miRNA in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease. The aim of this project is to assess the potential of urine miRNAs as biomarkers in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. The project employs biochemical handling and computational analyses that have already been successfully applied to urine samples from healthy volunteers. A urine comparison of the miRNA profiles of twenty ADPKD patients will be made with twenty CKD control patients. The main expected result is the generation of variability statistics that will serve to guide the design of larger-scale biomarker studies.

Ana Emiliano, MD: Effects of Metabolic States on Anxiety Responses in Normal Body Weight and Obesity. In this project, patients will be presented with the threat of shock paradigm while in either a fed state or fasted state. fMRI data as well as self-reported measures and analyses of stress hormones will be made between groups to address whether the perception of stress and its markers and/or the fMRI response is altered by food restriction.: Use Of Flt3L to Help Phenotype and Characterize Human Cross-Presenting Dendritic Cells In Vivo. This project will develop alternative approaches to vaccine design based on fundamental principles of immune memory, which include targeting vaccine antigens to specialized dendritic cell subsets.

Thalia Farazi, MD, PhD: Development of Multicolor Fluorescence RNA In Situ-Hybridization Assays For Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis. This project will employ a novel mRNA multicolor direct in situ hybridization approach in analyzing breast tissues for three breast cancer diagnosis-related transcripts (ERBB2, ESR1 and PGR), as well as other potential RNA biomarkers, including non-coding RNAs.

Daniel Gareau, PhD: Development of an Automated Bedside Confocal Morphometric Video-Microscopy Pathology. The confocal microscope performs noninvasive “optical sectioning,” as an alternative to invasive physical sectioning (biopsy/histology) to achieve similar cellular resolution. Melanosomes provide strong visual contrast to the relevant lesion morphology. Computer vision with automated pattern recognition may enable pathological delineation of nevi from melanomas. The device should yield a sensitivity/specificity of 99%/99%. As an intermediate between dermoscopy and biopsy, this technology will improve early melanoma detection by surveying more lesions while reducing unnecessary biopsies.

Dana Orange, MD: Evaluating T Cell Specificity in Rheumatoid Arthritis. The role of adaptive immunity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is still hotly debated. Some argue that T cell responses in RA are not antigen-specific but rather result from nonspecific proliferation in response to aberrant cytokines produced from the cells of the innate immune system such as macrophages and neutrophils, as well as synovial fibroblasts. There are several reasons to believe specific aberrant T cell responses may indeed be involved in disease pathogenesis. This project will evaluate whether patients with RA have expanded T cell populations specific to the same antigens to which they have antibody responses.

Ana Pereira, MD: Glutamatergic Dysfunction in Cognitive Aging: Riluzole in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Normal Cognitive Aging. Cognitive aging is a major source of disability and its prevalence will increase as the population ages. The paucity of effective treatments for cognitive aging disorders makes it important to focus on developing novel therapeutics. Riluzole, a glutamate modulator agent with a good safety profile in humans, will be tested in patients with mild cognitive disorder and normal cognitive aging patients with cognitive complaints. Cognitive functional changes, along with in vivo biomarkers such as MR spectroscopy and cerebral perfusion studies will be evaluated in these patient populations.

Jeremy Segal, MD, PhD: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Aging-Related Changes In Epidermal Stem Cells and Their Impact on Skin Aging. The project will have important implications not only for stem cell biology and aging in general, but will help shed light on some of the intricacies of tissue organization and its inherently complex cellular intercommunication.

Ana Tuyama, MD: Gene and MmicroRNA Expression Profile of Hepatocytes and Hepatic Stellate Cells from Obese Patients in Defined Stages of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease (CLD) in the Western World, affecting approximately 34% of the US population. The rates of NAFLD are rising and parallel the alarming epidemics of diabetes and obesity. This project will study the gene and microRNA (miRNA) expression pattern of hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells in histologically and clinically defined stages of NAFLD in morbidly obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery. A more detailed analysis at the molecular level will help identify genes and highlight pathways that contribute to disease progression.