Two chemists studying debilitating diseases and a population geneticist untangling early human evolution are the recipients of this year’s Incentives for Large Grant Awards from the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis.
The Incentives for Large Grant Awards program provides faculty with up to $80,000 in support over two years to pursue large grants over $1 million. The program gives faculty members resources to conduct the preliminary research work necessary for large grant proposals from funding agencies.
“The greatest advancements in our society have always been driven by bold, innovative, and foundational research,” said Estella Atekwana, dean of the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis. “As dean, I am deeply committed to investing in our faculty research as they pursue ambitious ideas that have the potential to transform science and enrich our understanding of the human experience. These funded projects represent exciting and promising directions that could shape a better future for us all.”
Xi Chen
Professor, Department of Chemistry
Liver cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of the cancer, accounting for about 90% of diagnoses. And yet, no effective treatment exists for the disease.
Chen’s funded research project, titled “Targeting HCC via inhibiting galectin-1,” aims to address this urgent need.
The research hinges around a carbohydrate-binding protein called galectin-1. A biomarker that’s increased expression is associated with liver disease, galectin-1 and its overexpression have been associated with reduced survival in HCC patients. Previous research has shown that silencing galectin-1can treat HCC in animal models, making the biomarker an attractive target for therapeutic development.
Chen and colleagues will study how galectin-1 functions both on the inside and outside of cells, and the role it plays in HCC development. The study will help advance HCC treatments and provide insights into the interplay between diet, obesity, chronic inflammation, immune dysregulation, galectin-1 and liver cancer development.
Marie Anne Heffern
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry
Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly associated with higher dementia risk. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers investigating this association found that reduced levels of oxytocin may be associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Increasingly, oxytocin is being studied in relation to cognitive functions like learning and memory.
But the biological mechanisms underlying oxytocin levels’ involvement in Alzheimer’s disease remain unclear.
In her project “Investigating the neurotherapeutic potential of metal-mediated oxytocin activity in Alzheimer’s disease,” Heffern will investigate oxytocin’s molecular mechanisms of action, focusing on how it engages oxytocin receptors and the downstream signaling pathways. They’ll also investigate how the divalent metal ions copper and zinc modulate oxytocin signaling.
The goal of the project is to help inform the design of oxytocin-based therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders.
Brenna Henn
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
Humanity’s genetic origin story remains an unknown. Historically, genetics research has suggested a tree-like model of human population divergence from a single ancestral population. However, fossil and archaeological records show that early humans occupied the vast African continent, which conflicts with the single-origins hypothesis.
But as more genomic, fossil and archeological data accumulates, and as technologies advance, researchers are finding new opportunities to investigate early human evolution.
In her project “Untangling early human evolution using computationally intensive models to link genetics, fossils and paleoclimate,” Henn will partner with Professor Timothy Weaver, also of the Department of Anthropology, to build an interdisciplinary partnership that bridges the fields of paleoanthropology and population genetics.
The research will build on a novel model of human origins built by Henn and Weaver that they call the “weakly structured stem” model. The model characterizes human population structure pre-dating the origin of the species.
The researchers’ goal is to expand the model with additional genomic, morphological and ecological data to address gaps in our understanding of human evolution.
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