Discover

Diabetic retinopathy is a retinal microvascular disease that often causes blindness in adults who have had diabetes mellitus for 10 years or more. Estimates are that 600 million people will have some sort of diabetic retinopathy by 2040. Previously, no good animal models existed that scientists could use to study the disease, its diagnosis or potential treatments. Now, a team of researchers led by the University of Missouri has employed a mouse model exhibiting diabetic retinopathy symptoms that could lead to future translational research studies. “Diabetic retinopathy is a common retinal complication of diabetes mellitus that can be categorized in…

University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Carolyn J. Henry has named Christian Lorson as the associate dean for Research and Graduate Studies. Lorson, PhD, has served as the interim associate dean for Research and Graduate Studies since Aug. 1, 2017, when then-associate dean Henry was appointed interim dean of the CVM. After earning a bachelor of arts in biology at Colorado College in Colorado Springs in 1991, Lorson pursued graduate studies at the University of Missouri School of Medicine in the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Department. In 1997 he completed a PhD with his focus on parvovirus gene…

Each day, normal human cell tissues express a protein known as p53 that wages war against potential malignancies. However, between 30 and 40 percent of human breast cancers express a defective (mutant) form of p53 that helps cancer cells proliferate and grow. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that combining a cancer therapy, which activates mutant p53 and is currently under a clinical trial, with a second drug therapy that helps suppress tumor blood vessels found in cancer cells, can help significantly reduce the spread of breast cancer tumors while also causing cancer cell death. In a…

Susheel Bhanu Busi and Michael Fink, scholars at MU’s College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) were included in the inaugural class of the Mizzou 18, announced Feb. 27. Susheel Bhanu Busi, MS, is a doctoral candidate in MU’s Molecular Pathogenesis and Therapeutics program, a joint graduate program of the CVM’s Department of Veterinary Pathobiology and the School of Medicine’s Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. In 2016, Busi received a travel award to present his study at the Allied Genetics Conference in Orlando, Florida, about the possible relationship between gut microbiota and colon cancer. Last year, Busi won the People’s Choice…

Shawn Bender, PhD, an assistant professor in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine Department of Biomedical Sciences, was recently awarded a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 research award to continue his laboratory’s work to further understanding of the cardiovascular consequences of obesity. Bender received the five-year $2.8 million grant entitled “Mineralocorticoid receptor-dependent coronary vascular dysfunction in obesity” from the NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The study will explore the possible role of smooth muscle mineralocorticoid receptors as central contributors to obesity associated coronary microvascular dysfunction. “This grant provides the resources to continue unique, proven collaborations and to…

College Avenue separates Patrick Delafontaine, MD, and Doug Bowles, PhD, but a mutual interest in unclogging arteries brought the two together. The dean of the University of Missouri School of Medicine and the chair of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Biomedical Sciences are collaborating on research that could help prevent heart attacks. For the last 15 years, Delafontaine and his team have conducted National Institutes of Health-funded research on atherosclerosis — plaque buildup in arteries. Specifically, Delafontaine has studied the effectiveness of the protein Insulin Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) in reducing plaque in the arteries of mice. “We have…

In the United States, military veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often are prescribed therapeutic horseback riding (THR) as a complementary therapy, but little is known about how these programs affect PTSD in military veterans. Now, a University of Missouri study has determined that veterans had a significant decrease in PTSD scores just weeks after THR. Results show that therapeutic horseback riding may be a clinically effective intervention for alleviating PTSD symptoms in military veterans. “PTSD is an anxiety disorder that occurs after exposure to life-threatening events or injuries and is marked by flashbacks, avoidance, and changes in beliefs…

Elizabeth Bryda, a professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology at the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine, will receive a 2018 Outstanding St. Louis Scientists Award from the Academy of Science. The purpose of the awards, now in their 24th year, “is to focus the region’s attention upon individuals, institutions and corporations known worldwide for their scientific contributions to research, industry, and quality of life. In every category, preference is given to candidates who also have a record of excellence in communicating with the public, mentoring colleagues, or leadership in the field of science or industry.” Bryda, PhD,…

Public/private partnership to develop new device could revolutionize cardiovascular disease treatment It is common for blockages to develop in arteries that carry blood to the heart, which can lead to heart attack and other serious heart diseases. Stents are small, expandable metal mesh tubes that are inserted in blocked heart arteries during a heart catheterization procedure to improve blood flow to the heart muscle. Approximately 600,000 stent procedures are performed each year in the U.S. at a cost exceeding $12 billion. Recently, a multi-disciplinary team of engineers, biomedical scientists and cardiologists at the University of Missouri received a $1.5 million…