Three research teams earn $200,000 funding from President’s Research Excellence Program
Three interdisciplinary Ohio State research teams have been awarded $200,000 each in Catalyst grants through the President’s Research Excellence (PRE) program in the most recent cycle.
Catalyst grants of up to $200,000 help position Ohio State for leadership in key areas of research. The grants fund large, cross- and interdisciplinary teams pursuing large-scale, high-impact research that addresses emerging or existing challenges of national and international societal importance and generates long-term, sustained, and significant impact.
Ohio State has invested nearly $5.9 million in 67 teams of Ohio State investigators through the PRE program since its inception in 2021.
Spring 2024 Catalyst Grant Recipients
Non-viral gene therapy in naturally occurring pre-clinical dog models of back pain
- Topic area: cell and gene therapeutics; genomics
- Lead PI: Devina Purmessur Walter (College of Engineering)
- Co-investigators: Nina Rogers (College of Veterinary Medicine); Elizabeth Yu (College of Medicine)
- Project description: This project will rigorously interrogate the safety and efficacy of novel non-viral gene delivery-based strategies to program degenerate disc cells back to their original healthy state using clinically relevant in vitro and in vivo canine animal models of discogenic back pain.
Combined therapeutics for combatting antibiotic-resistant bacteria (CTCARB)
- Topic area: cancer science and engineering, immunology and therapeutics
- Lead PI: Daniel Wozniak (College of Medicine)
- Co-investigators: Brian Ahmer (College of Medicine); Mark Mitton-Fry (College of Pharmacy)
- Project description: Antibiotic resistance is a public health crisis. To meet this global challenge, the team will leverage and advance existing technologies to create a cross-disciplinary program composed of three research teams. The infectious agents targeted by these teams inflict disease on millions of people worldwide.
Platform for the synthesis of ribonucleotide analogs for incorporation into RNA for cancer chemotherapy and cancer mRNA vaccines
- Topic area: cancer science and engineering, immunology and therapeutics
- Lead PI: Peixuan Guo (College of Pharmacy)
- Co-investigators: James Fuchs (College of Pharmacy); Wayne Miles and Raphael Pollock (College of Medicine); Karin Musier-Forsyth (College of Arts and Sciences)
- Project description: This project provides an interdisciplinary approach to develop and produce nucleoside analogs into 1) phosphoramidites for the chemical synthesis of RNA nanoparticles for cancer treatment and 2) nucleoside triphosphate analogs for t cancer mRNA vaccine development.