Dr. Karina Yazdanbakhsh, Executive Director of LFKRI has been awarded a four-year NIH/NHLBI R01 grant for a total of $1.78 million. The study entitled “Patrolling monocytes in sickle pain crisis and following transfusion” aims to examine the role of a subset of monocytes, called patrolling monocytes in sickle cell disease. Specifically, Dr. Yazdanbakhsh and her team including Dr. Yunfeng Liu and Ms Weili Bao with help from Assistant Member, Dr. Hui Zhong, will probe how these monocytes protect against vessel wall damage in sickle cell disease and examine the impact of transfusions in improving the survival and activity of this monocyte subset. This information will establish the potential for use of patrolling mo0nocytes monocytes as a therapeutic target in sickle cell disease.
In addition to the R01 grant, Dr. Yazdanbakhsh was also recently awarded a one-year American Society of Hematology (ASH) Bridge Fund grant for $150,000 on sickle cell disease complications.