VCOM 2023 Annual Report

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20 YEARS OF SERVING THE MISSION

VCOM Funded Seed Grants Through 6/30/22 Auburn Campus Darren Beck, PhD • REAP: Targeted Drug Delivery of a Novel Selective Liver Receptor Agonist for Preventing Liver Fibrosis. Danielle McCullough, PhD serves as a Co-PI on this project as do faculty from AU Engineering and AU Pharmacy. • VCOM & AUCVM One Health Program: Regulation of Luteinizing Hormone to Prevent Cognitive Decline of Reproductive Senescence and Alzheimer’s Disease – Year 2. Dr. Beck serves as Co-PI with a collaborator at AUCVM. Danielle McCullough, PhD • REAP: Targeted Drug Delivery of a Novel Selective Liver Receptor Agonist for Preventing Liver Fibrosis. Program: Regulatory Interactions of Adipocytes and B Lymphocytes. Dr. Brewer serves as Co-PI in partnership with his collaborators at AUCVM and AU School of Pharmacy. Kenny Brock, DVM, PhD • VCOM AUBE (matching funds from Auburn University Samuel Ginn College of Engineering): Rapid Detection of Urinary Tract Infections Using Magnetostrictive Particle Biosensor Technology. Dr. Brock serves as Co-PI with Kari Dugger, PhD in partnership with their collaborator at AU Engineering. Darren Beck, PhD serves as a Co PI along woth Dr. McCullough on this project as do faculty from AU Engineering and AU Pharmacy. Joseph Brewer, PhD • VCOM & AUCVM One Health

Detection of Urinary Tract Infections Using Magnetostrictive Particle Biosensor Technology. Dr. Brock serves as Co-PI with Kari Dugger, PhD in partnership with their collaborator at AU Engineering. Joseph Edison, DO • REAP: Exploration of objective diagnosis of myofascial pain syndrome of the low back and development of a home intervention program. Dr. Edison is Co-Pi with his collaborator

at AU School of Nursing. Faculty from AU College of Education and AU Engineering serve as investigators.

Annie Kirby, PhD • REAP: An interdisciplinary culinary medicine elective to enhance personal health,

At VCOM, the college professors are not only educators, but mentors and researchers as well. The environment at VCOM can be best described as collaborative teaching, i.e., several faculty members engaging in a teaching lesson together. Collaboration brings together doctors of different specialties with different perspectives. Collaborative teaching was the best way to improve my educational experience; it made me dig deeper, turn inside-out and think about things from a new perspective. Arben Santo, MD DISCIPLINE CHAIR FOR PATHOLOGY AND HISTOLOGY VCOM-Virginia Faculty Since 2002

knowledge, and confidence with counseling on nutrition.Dr. Kirby serves as Co-PI with a colleague from AU Nursing. Katie Wolter, MD; Heidi VanderVelde, DO; Gary Mount, PharmD and faculty from AU Nursing and School of Education are investigators on this project.

Carolinas Campus

Stephan Brown, MD, PhD • VCOM & VMCVM One Health Program: Deciphering Complex Regulatory Mechanisms Targeting Noncanonical NF-kB Signaling During Colorectal Cancer. Dr. Brown serves as Co-PI in partnership with Jon Hagar, PhD and a collaborator at VMCVM. Patrick Fisher, PhD • REAP: Effects of plant based AdipoR1 agonists on Insulin-independent Glucose Regulation in Human Skeletal Muscle and Liver Cells. • REAP: Local and systemic inflammatory response in open abdomen surgeries using vacuum assisted closure with or without continuous irrigation direct peritoneal resuscitation. Dr Fisher serves as Co PI along with Luciana Schwab, PhD, Jon Hagar, PhD and a collaborator from Spartanburg Regional Health System.

Kari Dugger, PhD • VCOM AUBE (matching funds from

Auburn University Samuel Ginn College of Engineering): Rapid

RESEARCH 159