The Louisiana State University Biomedical Collaborative Research Program (LBCRP) recently awarded two LSU School of Veterinary Medicine research groups $50,000 each for their respective projects. Both grant periods begin in November and are for one year. Masami Yoshimura, BSc, MSc, DSc, associate professor in the department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, and Guoshun Wang, DVM, MS, Ph.D., associate professor of Microbiology, Immunology, Genetics and Medicine at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, were awarded funding for their research entitled, “Role of type 7 adenylyl cyclase in Innate Immunity.” Drs. Yoshimura and Wang’s research aims to interrogate how loss-of-function of type 7 adenylyl cyclase (AC7) in innate immune cells, such as macrophages and neutrophils, undermines their immune capacities. They plan to employ conditional AC7 knockout mice that lack expression of AC7 in cells of myeloid lineage. They will also examine the immune functions of macrophages and neutrophils in vitro and in vivo, according to the university. Completion of the proposed research will verify the role of AC7 in innate immune defense. Jennifer Sones, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACT, assistant professor of theriogenology in the department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, and Leanne Redman, MS, Ph.D., associate professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, were awarded funding for their research entitled, “The role of maternal adipose tissue in the preeclamptic-like BPH/5 mouse.” Drs. Sones and Redman’s research will investigate maternal obesity, especially reproductive white adipose tissue (WAT), in BPH/5 preeclamptic-like mice before and during pregnancy. They plan to test the hypothesis that increased WAT in BPH/5 mice contributes to placental inflammation and adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with preeclampsia. The goal for the LSU Biomedical Collaborative Research Program is to promote interdisciplinary and other team approaches to biomedical research. To be considered for funding, applicants were required to be on a tenure-track, research or clinical faculty position at either LSU, Pennington Biomedical Research Center or the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, include two Primary Investigators (PI) and each PI had to hold a position at a different campus.
