Blood pressure, proteins and precision health: Three research projects funded by the Wright Center
The Wright Center has awarded three VCU researchers grants from its Endowment Fund for health sciences research.
The awards support preliminary studies that enable researchers to develop hypotheses, collect preliminary data and establish methods necessary for successful external funding.
Lana Sargent, Ph.D., RN, CRNP, assistant professor in the VCU School of Nursing’s Department of Adult Health and Nursing Systems, was awarded for her project: “The association of ambulatory blood pressure phenotypes with cognition in community-dwelling older adults: A pilot study.” Collaborators include Dave Dixon, Pharm.D., and Elvin Price, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
Weihua Qiu, Ph.D., research assistant professor in the VCU School of Pharmacy’s Department of Medicinal Chemistry, was awarded for her project: “Active mechanism of mycobacterial membrane protein large 3 and its inhibition by SQ109.” Qiu’s co-principal investigator is Youzhong Guo, Ph.D.
And Youssef Roman, Pharm.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the VCU School of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science, was awarded for his project: “Cardiometabolic genomics and pharmacogenomics investigations in Filipino Americans: Steps towards precision health.” Roman will work with a community partner, the Filipino American Association of Central Virginia.
Wright Center Endowment Fund grants are awarded four times a year – three of those times to individual investigators and small groups of investigators. VCU faculty from both the MCV and Monroe Park campuses are encouraged to apply.
Congrats to Sargent, Qiu and Roman!
The next deadline for the grant is May 1, for a multi-school project funded at up to $130,000.
