IU researchers secure $4 million for veterans' health research

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have cumulatively been awarded nearly $4 million in grant funding through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Merit Review Award and Career Development programs to support research on diabetes, skin inflammation, cancer and aging.

The Merit Review Award Program supports investigator-initiated research conducted by eligible VA investigators at either VA medical centers or approved sites. This program serves as the VA's primary method for funding basic, preclinical, and behavioral biomedical research as well as clinical research on illnesses and disorders that are significant to veterans' health.

The goal of the Merit Review Award program is to provide grant funding to applications that propose research that is scientifically exemplary and relevant to veterans' health.

Merit Review Awardees for the Spring 2024 cycle:

"Novel roles for RIP kinases in islet inflammation and beta-cell cytotoxicity in type 2 diabetes."

• Andrew T. Templin, PhD, assistant professor of medicine
• Amount: $1,124,281

"Immunomodulatory functions of insulin growth factor-like proteins in skin inflammation."

• Matthew J. Turner, MD, PhD, assistant professor of clinical dermatology and clinical microbiology and immunology
• Amount: $710,000

"Evaluating the impact of intermittent fasting in combination with checkpoint inhibitors in patients with non-small cell lung cancer."

• Shadia I. Jalal, MD, Lawrence H. Einhorn Professor of Oncology and professor of medicine
• Amount: $994,479

The Career Development Program attracts, develops, and retains talented researchers working in crucial areas to enhance the health and medical care of our nation's veterans. Awardees have gone on to lead long, successful careers as VA scientists, research administrators and center directors.

2024 Career Development Awardee:

"Using DNA repair and damage as a tool in personalizing aging and aging related diseases"

• Nawar Al Nasrallah, MD, assistant professor of medicine
• Amount: $1,138,732