Five translational research projects have received the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women's Health Center Executive Advisory Board-CTSI Awards for their contributions to women's health research or research where exploration of sex and gender-based differences is relevant.
These yearly awards go to research seeking to understand human sex differences in health and disease and medical issues and diseases unique to women, as well as to develop and test clinical interventions for women. Awardees receive up to $30,000 for these one-year pilot awards. All investigators at UCLA CTSI institutions are eligible.
Here are the 2015 awardees:
Hilary Coller, PhD
Associate Professor, Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology and Biological Chemistry
UCLA
"Is switching from long to short form RECK an important contributor to breast cancer progression and metastasis for triple negative breast cancer?"
Sandra Orsulic, PhD
Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Cedars Sinai Medical Center
"Molecular events associated with ovarian aging that lead to the development of ovarian cancer"
Kirsten Tillisch, MD
Associate Professor, Medicine (Digestive Diseases)
UCLA
"Sex differences in gut microbiota in IBS"
Kathrin Plath, PhD
Professor, Biological Chemistry
UCLA
and
Anna Sahakyan
3rd Year Graduate Student
UCLA
"Improving the epigenetic stability of female human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells for their safe use in downstream applications"
Edythe London, PhD
Professor, Psychiatry and Molecular and Medical Pharmacology
UCLA
and
Nicole Petersen, PhD
Postdoctoral Student
Department of Psychiatry (Molecular Imaging)
UCLA
"Gender differences in behavioral and neural response to reduced nicotine cigarettes in young smokers"
More information:
A list of prior awarded projects is available at the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women's Health Center Website.
Image caption: Clockwise from left: Hilary Coller, PhD (UCLA); Sandra Orsulic, PhD (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center); Kirsten Tillisch, MD (UCLA); Kathrin Plath, PhD (UCLA); Anna Sahakyan (UCLA); Edythe London, PhD (UCLA); Nicole Petersen, PhD (UCLA)
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