Grants help URI tackle diabetes, cancer

The Rhode Island Foundation has awarded University of Rhode Island (URI) professors nearly $134,000 in seed funding for six promising medical research projects. The work ranges from determining the impact of healthy diets on diabetes to investigating new ways to treat lung cancer.

The grants are designed to help early-career researchers advance projects to the point where they can compete for national funding. With this round of grants, the Foundation has awarded nearly $2.5 million since 2008.

“We are grateful that our generous donors provide the crucial source of seed funding that enables local researchers to purse promising medical advances,” said Neil D. Steinberg, the Foundation’s president and CEO. “Our hope is that their successes will bring about healthier lives as well as a healthier economy.”

Maya Vadiveloo, assistant professor of nutrition and food sciences, received $25,000 for “Correlations between Dietary Quality of Food Purchases and Diabetes Prevalence.” Diet is a major risk factor attributed to seven of the top ten leading causes of death in the United States, including chronic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

“Research has not explored the correlation between the dietary quality of household-level food purchases and the prevalence of chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity. Enhancing our ability to understand diet-disease relationships using routinely collected dietary data will enable us to develop appropriate interventions to reduce chronic disease burden in the U.S.,” said Vadiveloo.

The other URI recipients are Dr. Britny Rogala, who received $21,743 for “Identification of Extemporaneously Prepared Oral Anticancer Therapy Stabilities;” Dr. Xuerong Wen, who was awarded $12,321 for “Utilization and Adverse Perinatal Outcomes of P2Y12 Agents in Pregnant Women;” Dr. Jiyeon Kim, who received $24,911 for “Digital Electrochemistry: Ion-Selective Nanoparticles for Biomedical Analysis;” Dr. Ami Vyas, who was awarded $24,914 for “Appropriate Care and Associated Outcomes in Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer;” and Dr. Jyothi Menon, who received $25,000 for “Novel Biomimetic Inhalable Nanoparticles for Sustained Lung Cancer Drug Delivery.”

A review panel made up of scientists and physicians assisted the Foundation in reviewing the proposals.

The funding came through 20 endowments at the Foundation that help medical researchers win permanent funding from national sources. They are the Alice Newton Fund, Alice W. Bliss Memorial Fund, Anne Elizabeth Chase Fund, Charles Goss Memorial Fund, Charles V. Chapin Fellowship Fund, Colonel Lee Walton and Xenia Roberts Memorial Fund, Edythe K. and Jane E. Richmond Memorial Cancer Fund, Esther S. Phillips Fund, Eva and Boris Frankfurt Fund, Foundation for Health Fund, Frieda Dengal Fund, Gilbert J. Clappin Jr. Memorial Fund, Haire Family Fund, Herbert E. Hopkins Fund, John O. Strom, MD Memorial Fund. Marquise d'Andigne Fund, Mary A. Young Cancer Fund, Phebe Parker Fund, Richard N. and Beverly E. Carr Fund and Samuel J. and Esther Chester Medical Research Fund.

The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. Working with generous and visionary donors, the Foundation raised $38 million and awarded $43 million in grants to organizations addressing the state’s most pressing issues and needs of diverse communities in 2017. Through leadership, fundraising and grantmaking activities, often in partnership with individuals and organizations, the Foundation is helping Rhode Island reach its true potential. For more information, visit rifoundation.org.