6th Annual UH Research & Innovation Day Showcases the Transformative Power of Research
December 02, 2024
UH Research & Education Update | December 2024
The University Hospitals Research & Education Institute hosted its 6th Annual Research & Innovation Day, “Discover. Translate. Transform. A Path to Better Health” on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.
The dynamic half-day symposium highlighted the breadth and depth of scientific discovery at University Hospitals. Leading physician-scientists and scientists from UH and Case Western Reserve University presented research updates across many disciplines.
“It’s really nice to be here and know that we can lead in research nationally and globally,” said Daniel Simon, MD, President, Academic & External Affairs and Chief Scientific Officer, and the Ernie and Patti Novak Distinguished Chair in Health Care Leadership for University Hospitals, as he reviewed UH’s #14 in the U.S. and #28 global ranking by UK Brand Finance.
Research is the engine that drives state-of-the-art care at University Hospitals forward. It propels the development of new drug, device and cell-based therapies, bringing hope to patients with dwindling options.
Since 2019, research at UH has grown significantly with $197 million total research expenditures in 2023 from a range of funding sources, including National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, National Science Foundation, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, foundations and pharma/industry/biotech. Much of this research growth, Dr. Simon says, has been the consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was accompanied by new funding opportunities in clinical trials and health services/health implementation science research.
Research & Innovation Day Highlights Groundbreaking Discoveries and Research Impact
UH is committed to the full spectrum of research—basic, translational, clinical and health services research activities.
Faith Nakazzi presents her research during the poster exhibit session.This year’s Research & Innovation Day featured eight research faculty highlighting advances in inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular medicine, vascular neurology, rare genetic disease and prostate cancer. From target identification to new clinical approaches, including the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI), these leading physician-scientists and scientists wowed the live and streaming audience with impactful discoveries that advance the science of health.
Dr. Sarah Ronis, a pediatrician and health services researcher dedicated to improving systems and care for low-income families and their children, opened the symposium with her talk, “Socioecological Profiles of Children with Asthma in Cuyahoga County, 2018-2022.” She reviewed preliminary data linking chronic school absenteeism to health conditions, particularly asthma.
The 6th Annual Research & Innovation Day featured two keynote speakers, Dr. Fabio Cominelli and Dr. Atul Chopra.
Dr. Cominelli reviewed his seminal studies providing the foundation for targeting cytokine pathways in inflammatory bowel disease and his more recent work focusing on TL1A/DR3 signaling.
Dr. Chopra, whose groundbreaking research leverages keen observations from rare Metabolic disease, recounted how his lab discovered Asprosin, a hormone that controls appetite and glucose levels, from a handful of patients with extremely low BMI. Looking back, he said, “the discovery of Asprosin is a case study for how obscure things are important and what we can learn from outliers.”
Mehdi Shishehbor, DO, PhD, MPH, presents "Leave No Limbs Behind"Two recipients of 2024 Top 10 research awards in the U.S. from Clinical Research Forum were also featured. Dr. Mehdi Shishehbor reviewed the transformative results of the PROMISE II U.S. Pivotal Clinical Trial for amputation prevention with a new endovascular approach transforming veins into arteries. Dr. Amrou Sarraj highlighted the results of the SELECT2 Clinical Trial reporting the superiority of thrombectomy over medical therapy for large core strokes. UH was the only health system to have two Top 10 award recipients.
Dr. Yunmei Wang, a noted cardiovascular researcher in the UH-CWRU Blood, Heart, Lung and Immunity Center, highlighted exciting studies targeting leukocyte-platelet interactions to ameliorate disease in mouse models of vasculitis, restenosis, atherosclerosis, thrombosis, glomerulonephritis and demyelinating disease.
The symposium’s last speaker, Dr. Daniel Spratt, Chairman of Radiation Oncology, spoke about genomic and AI-based biomarkers in prostate cancer. This technology has enabled greater precision in risk stratification of prostate cancer patients, allowing physicians to more accurately determine individual patient prognosis and treatment responses.
Stephanie Teal, MD and Kayla Klatt.In addition to the leading-edge research presentations, the symposium featured a display of 55 scientific posters prepared by undergraduates, medical students, fellows and post-doctoral fellows. The highest scoring abstract, “Evaluating the Efficacy of B Cell Activating Factor CAR-T Cell Therapy in Scleroderma,” was presented by Kayla Klatt, a third year MD-PhD student in the laboratory of Dr. Reshmi Parameswaran.
Dr. Stephanie Teal, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology for University Hospitals, and Arthur H. Bill Professor and Chair of Reproductive Biology at Case Western Reserve University served as the Research & Innovation Day moderator. Attendees comprised an in-person and remote audience.