ATA Awards More than $400,000 in Research Grants; Research Grants Advance Diagnosis and Treatment of Thyroid Disease

Newswise — The American Thyroid Association (ATA), the nation's leading organization in promoting thyroid health and understanding thyroid biology, will award more than $400,000 in research grants to eleven investigators at the 79th Annual Meeting of the ATA in Chicago, Ill. The ATA will also renew four 2007 research grants based on the current status of their research projects. These grants will support innovative research projects focused on the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease.

"The ATA is proud to support today's most talented and visionary investigators through our research grants program" said Irwin Klein, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Cell Biology at NYU School of Medicine and Chairman of the ATA Research Committee. "It is our belief that their outstanding research efforts will greatly improve the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease."

The promising research efforts of this year's recipients include thyroid cell biology, thyroid hormone action and metabolism, and the investigation of novel approaches for the treatment of thyroid cancers. All ATA research grants are awarded for two-year terms based on the receipt and review of a satisfactory progress report from funded investigators in the fourth quarter of the first-year funding.

ATA Research GrantsATA Research Grants support investigator-initiated research projects focused on thyroid function and disease.

Nashaat Z. Gerges, PhDMedical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WisconsinRole of Neurogranin in Hypothyroidism-induced Synaptic Plasticity Deficits

Hiroaki Kimura, PhDThe Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MarylandMacrophage Causes Thyroid Diseases in LMP7 KO Mice: A New Spontaneous Thyroiditis Model

2008 ATA ThyCa GrantsATA ThyCa Grants, awarded in collaboration with the ThyCA: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc (ThyCA), fund thyroid cancer research, including a grant specifically focused on medullary thyroid cancer.

2008 ATA ThyCa Grant "Thyroid Cancer

Michael S. Fenton, PhD West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CaliforniaRegulation of Sodium/Iodide Symporter (NIS) Gene Expression in Thyroid Cancer

2008 ATA ThyCa Grant " Medullary Thyroid Cancer

Libero Santarpia, MD, PhD The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TexasIdentification of microRNA (miRNA) Target Genes in Human Medullary Thyroid Cancer: A Specific Role of miRNAs to Promote Invasion and Metastasis

2008 ATA THANC GrantsATA THANC Grants, awarded in collaboration with the Thyroid Head and Neck Cancer Foundation (THANC), provide funding to new investigators to advance new research projects in the area of thyroid head and neck surgery and thyroid cancer.

Ann Gramza, MDOregon Health & Science University, Portland, OregonIdentification of Primary and Secondary RET Kinase Mutations Associated with Vandetanib (ZD6474) Resistance in Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma

Rebecca Leboeuf, MDMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New YorkReacquisition of RAI Uptake of RAI-refractory Metastatic BRAF (+) Thyroid Cancers by Pretreatment with the Selective MEK Inhibitor AZD6244

Undraga Schagdarsurengin Institute of Genetics, Giessen, GermanyEpigenetic Inactivation of Ras Effectors in Thyroid Neoplasm

2008 Second-Year Grants

2007 ATA Grant

Helmut Grasberger, MDUniversity of Chicago, Chicago, IllinoisApplication of Reverse Genetics in the Identification of Defects in the Dual Oxidase Maturation Factor in Humans

Brian Kim, MDBrigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MassachusettsThyroid Hormone, Type 2 Deiodinase, and Energy Expenditure in Human Skeletal Muscle

2007 ATA ThyCa Grant " Thyroid Cancer

Krystian Jazdzewski, MD, PhDOhio State University, Columbus, OhioThe Role of miR146a in PTC

2007 ATA ThyCa Grant " Medullary Thyroid Cancer

Mabel Ryder, MDMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New YorkThe Role of Tumor-Associated Macrophages on Thyroid Cancer Progression

About the American Thyroid Association (ATA)The American Thyroid Association (ATA) is the lead organization in promoting thyroid health and understanding thyroid biology. The ATA values scientific inquiry, clinical excellence, public service, education, collaboration, and collegiality.

A non-profit medical society founded in 1923, the ATA fulfills its mission through supporting excellence and innovation in research, clinical care, education, and public health. ATA members are physicians and scientists who work to enhance the understanding of thyroid physiology and pathophysiology, improve the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid diseases, and promote the education of physicians, patients, and the public about thyroid disorders.

Thyroid diseases are among the most common disorders of the endocrine system, affecting almost 13 million Americans alone. The ATA has extensive online information for patients on thyroid disease (in English and Spanish) serving the clinician as a resource for patients and the public who look for reliable information on the internet.

To learn more about the ATA, visit: http://www.thyroid.org.