LSU Health Shreveport receives $10.5 million grant

LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) research continues to positively impact the Shreveport/Bossier economy with new external research funding coming into the community. LSUHS has six Louisiana Board of Regents and LSU Board of Supervisors approved centers and recently received an award notice from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for funding of a third Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE).

This newest COBRE is to establish the Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes (CAIPP). This five-year grant is for $10,529,128 and has the option to renew for an additional five to 10 years.

I am honored to serve as the principal investigator for the grant as well as the director of the new center. Dr. Rona S. Scott, Dr. Matthew D. Woolard and Dr. Martin J. Sapp are the key senior faculty who will play an essential role in receiving this grant and will serve as directors of the cores within the new center. Drs. Xiaohong Lu, Ana Dragoi and Monica Cartelle Gestalunology are the key junior faculty involved in the center’s research components.

The research under the newly established CAIPP will provide a unique interactive training and research environment for investigators to receive mentorship and guidance, simultaneously increasing their competitiveness for national funding.

The goal of the CAIPP is to 1) grow, recruit and retain new talent, 2) expand existing research, 3) grow infrastructure using new equipment and experience that encourages statewide collaboration. This new COBRE is designed to harness the collective strengths of departments and schools within the state and region, advancing new insights and understanding of how the immune system functions.

These proposed studies go hand and hand with the needs of the citizens of the state of Louisiana, where diseases associated with altered immune responsiveness take a significant toll on the health of the citizens of the state, as well as add to the health-care costs within the state. By understanding the molecular and clinical basis for these diseases and the resulting immunopathologies, scientists can further focus on new and better ways to detect and treat various diseases.

Dr. Andrew D. Yurochko, professor and Carroll Feist Endowed Chair of Viral Oncology, department vice-chair of microbiology and immunology, director of the Center of Excellence for Emerging Viral Threats.