Tufts Medicine researchers received more than $14 million in new federal research funding on a single day this September, with four major NIH awards supporting work across several areas of medicine.
Announced Sept. 17, the awards recognize research led by faculty in Ophthalmology, Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Woman, Mother + Baby Research Institute. The projects explore new approaches to understanding and treating eye injuries, preventing and treating uterine cancer and understanding how medications used during pregnancy may affect mothers and their children.
The four awards include two R01 grants to Jia Yin, MD, PhD, MPH, Director of Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgery Service and Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine; a U01 grant to Jason Wright, MD, Obstetrician- and Gynecologist-in-Chief, Tufts Medical Center, and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Louis E. Phaneuf Research and Teaching Professor of Gynecology, Tufts University School of Medicine; and an R01 grant to Perrie O'Tierney-Ginn, PhD, Executive Director of the Woman, Mother + Baby Research Institute and Research Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University.
Advancing research in eye injury and corneal disease
Dr. Yin received two awards from the NIH National Eye Institute.
Her first R01, The Impact of Hypoxia on Mustard Vesicant-Induced Eye Injury, received $1.5 million. The research examines how tissue oxygen levels contribute to eye injury caused by mustard vesicants and whether localized oxygen therapy could improve healing. While the work has implications for battlefield medicine, it may also advance understanding of how the cornea responds to severe injury.
Dr. Yin's second R01, Mechanisms of Neuroregulation of Corneal Angiogenesis, received approximately $3.2 million. The project examines the relationship among the nervous, vascular and immune systems in the cornea and how they regulate blood vessel growth. Abnormal blood vessel growth can contribute to vision-threatening corneal disease. Understanding the mechanisms behind this process could help identify new approaches to treatment.
Together, the awards support research into the biology of the cornea and new ways to prevent and treat vision-threatening injury and disease.
Modeling the future of uterine cancer care
Dr. Wright received a five-year, approximately $6 million U01 award from the National Cancer Institute for Comparative Modeling of Uterine Cancer.
Uterine cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer in the United States, and rates have been increasing. Wright's research will use comparative natural history models to better understand these trends and evaluate approaches to prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment. By comparing models and examining how different strategies could affect uterine cancer outcomes, the team hopes to generate evidence to inform future approaches to prevention and care.
Understanding how pregnancy medications may affect children's health
Dr. O'Tierney-Ginn received a $3.3 million R01 award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Her project, Impact of In Utero Metformin Exposure on Offspring Growth and Metabolic Outcomes, will examine how exposure to metformin during pregnancy may affect placental function, infant growth and metabolism.
Metformin is used to manage diabetes during pregnancy. Studying how it may influence the placenta and developing child could provide new insight into the relationship between maternal treatment and long-term health outcomes. The research reflects the broader focus of the Woman, Mother + Baby Research Institute on improving health for women, mothers and their children.
Supporting research with impact
The awards also build on a broader period of growth for Tufts Medicine research. Dr. Yin's team is establishing a Department of Defense subcontract with Mass General Brigham, with another Department of Defense grant transfer underway. Dr. Wright's U01 launches a major collaborative effort focused on uterine cancer modeling and prevention, bringing together researchers from Tufts Medicine, Duke University, Columbia University and Mount Sinai, as well as John Wong, MD, Chief, Clinical Decision Making and Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine.
Together, the four awards highlight the breadth of research underway across Tufts Medicine, from the biology of the cornea to cancer prevention and maternal and infant health.
From advancing new treatments to understanding the causes of disease, research at Tufts Medicine is helping shape the future of care. Learn more about our researchers, clinical trials and research programs.
