UT Health Northeast Scientists Awarded Major Research Grants

TYLER — Four scientists at UT Health Northeast have been awarded a total of $2.1 million in competitive research grants. According to a news release, they are Vijay Rao, Ph.D; Krishna Vankayalapati, Ph.D.; Sreerama Shetty, Ph.D.; and Hong-Long Ji. Ph.D. Dr. Rao, professor of biochemistry in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, recently was awarded a $1.43 million, four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The purpose of the grant is to investigate how blood-clotting is activated in diseases such as heart attack and stroke.

Dr. Vankayalapati, chair of the Department of Pulmonary Immunology and professor of icrobiology and mmunology, was awarded a $385,852, two-year NIH grant to study why people with HIV are so vulnerable to tuberculosis infection. Dr. Shetty, a professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, received a $140,000, two-year grant from the American Heart Association to continue his research into how to treat lung fibrosis, or scarring. The AHA also awarded Dr. Ji, an associate professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, a $140,000, two-year grant to investigate how fluid builds up in injured lungs.