SIDD awarded pilot funding to four innovative research projects

The Sealy Institute for Drug Discovery (SIDD) has awarded pilot funding to four innovative research projects at UTMB. The awards were made possible through a generous gift from the Elkins Foundation and will enable researchers to explore the feasibility of a new technology or approach or to acquire preliminary data for the next phase of discovery and development. 

  • Discovery of small molecules targeting Lassa virus RNA polymerase through DNA encoded chemical library - Cheng Huang, PhD., Department of Pathology  

  • Chemokine decoys as therapeutics for inflammatory diseases – Krishna Rajarathnam, PhD., Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 

  • Amoxapine modulates neuro-immune signaling to clear bacterial infections - Ashok Chopra, PhD., Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Sara Dann, PhD., Department of Internal Medicine; Xiang Fang, PhD., Department of Neurology  

  • Developing a mechanomedicine for treating arterial thrombosis - Yunfeng Chen, PhD., Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology