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Dr. Charleen Chu Receives Grant from the Ellison Medical Foundation
This grant from the Ellison Medical Foundation is awarded to established scientists whose research has great potential in advancing understanding of basic aging and its impact on age-related diseases.
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty member Charleen T. Chu, M.D., Ph.D. (pictured), associate professor in pathology, Division of Neuropathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, received a 2009 Julie Martin Mid-Career Award in Aging Research for her studies on lysosomal dysfunction in brain aging and neurodegeneration. This $550,000 grant from the Ellison Medical Foundation is awarded to established scientists whose research has great potential in advancing understanding of basic aging and its impact on age-related diseases. Dr. Chus laboratory investigates mechanisms of neuronal injury relevant to Parkinsons and related diseases. In particular, her lab focuses upon oxidative regulation of neurotrophic and neurotoxic cell signaling pathways. A major focus is on delineating factors that impair the normal, adaptive responses of neurons to oxidative and environmental toxins. A second area of emphasis in Dr. Chus lab involves autophagy and the regulation of mitochondrial turnover. Oxidative mitochondrial injury has been implicated in human Parkinson's disease tissues as well as in animal models of Parkinson's disease, including her work in the mouse 6-hydroxydopamine and MPTP models. Using pharmacologic and siRNA tools, Dr. Chu and her team have found that the signaling regulation of autophagy in the context of targeted mitochondrial injury is distinct from that of nonselective starvation-induced autophagy. Although autophagy is a compensatory response to starvation, it may also play a role in type II programmed cell death. The Ellison Medical Foundation supports basic biomedical research on aging relevant to understanding lifespan development processes and age-related diseases and disabilities. The Foundation particularly wishes to stimulate new, creative research that might not be funded by traditional sources or that is often under-funded in the U.S. The Ellison Medical Foundation fosters research by means of grants-in-aid on behalf of investigators to universities and laboratories within the United States. Institutions receiving awards must be tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations or U.S. colleges or universities. Eligible U.S. institutions may enter into consortium or subcontractual agreements with other non-profit organizations, either in the U.S. or elsewhere, as necessary to the scientific goals of the project. Innovative research conducted by faculty of the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences contributes to a better understanding of the causes and origins of disease and aids in the development of more effective treatment approaches. Government and private-sector funding is critical to this process of scientific inquiry. Illustration: McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Read more University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Media Relations News Release (10/21/09) The Ellison Medical Foundation News

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The Ellison Medical Foundation News-Medical.Net (08/26/09) Dr. Charleen Chu, Department of Pathology Faculty Page Bio: Dr. Charleen Chu Tuesday - November 24, 2009 U.S. News First Patient Enrolled in TACT European Clinical Trial Salk Researchers Map the First Complete Human Epigenome Triggers Found in Cells Transition from Colitis to CancerWorld News Retinal Rescue: Cells Derived From Human Embryonic Stem Cells Reverse Retinal Degeneration Discovery of Regulatory Role of Key Molecule: Step Towards Future Gene Therapy to Control Disease Microchip That Can Detect Type and Severity of Cancer CreatedRegenerative Medicine Journal Human DNA methylomes at base resolution show widespread epigenomic differences Lhx2 specifies regional fate in Emx1 lineage of telencephalic progenitors generating cerebral cortex Aldehyde dehydrogenase expressing colon stem cells contribute to tumorigenesis in the transition from colitis to cancerPoint Of View Economic Perspective from Dr. Alan Russell BBVA Foundation International Study on Attitudes to Stem Cell Research Nanotechnology in Medicine

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