This past August, 2016, The National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided two separate grants supporting peripheral neuropathy research last month. This is excellent news as it demonstrates recognition of the need for funding in this area.
MDI Biological Laboratory Conducting Peripheral Neuropathy Research
The MDI Biological Laboratory has announced that it has received a grant of $456,500 over two years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to support research conducted by assistant professor Sandra Rieger, Ph.D., on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. The grant will allow Rieger to focus her research on the molecular mechanisms underlying peripheral neuropathy induced by paclitaxel, a common chemotherapy agent. She believes the mechanisms leading to paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy may also underlie other types of sensory neuropathies, such as those caused by diabetes or treatment with antibiotics. Her lab has identified two drug candidates with the potential to prevent or reverse the effects of sensory nerve degeneration in zebrafish. The grant funding will be used in part to assess the efficacy of the drug candidates in mammalian models.
Dr. Rieger recently attended the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy’s 2016 International Research Symposium in Chicago.
JAX Resource for Research of Peripheral Neuropathy
The second grant will provide four years of funding, totaling $1,219,140, to The Jackson Laboratory to develop mouse models for inherited peripheral neuropathies and neurodegenerative diseases including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). Link to our website The new grant establishes the JAX Resource for Research of Peripheral Neuropathy to accelerate the creation, distribution and use of high-priority mouse models for CMT research. Burgess, JAX Mouse Repository Director Cathleen Lutz, Ph.D., and Research Scientist Kevin Seburn, Ph.D., are the principal investigators of the grant.
For more information on MDI Biological Laboratory’s grant click here.
For more information on the grant for Jax Resource for Research of Peripheral Neuropathy click here.