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UTHSC researcher receives prestigious grant award for hypoxia studies
(10-12-01)
A prestigious grant
award will enable a University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
(UTHSC) researcher to gain a better understanding of cell death in heart
attacks, strokes, and renal failure. Zheng Dong, Ph.D. is the recipient
of the Charles W. Gottschalk Scholar award. The $200,000 grant will fund
his hypoxia research.
Hypoxia, or lack of
oxygen, is a key determinant of cell and tissue death in cases of heart
or kidney failure. “Under hypoxia, some cells are irreversibly injured
and die, whereas others survive.
In the project funded
by the Gottschalk Scholar award, we will specifically focus on the mechanisms
underlying cellular adaptation to hypoxia,” Dr. Dong said. “These
studies are of significance because adaptation to hypoxia has been recognized
as an important factor involved in solid tumor development.”
Dr. Dong is one of
only three researchers in the United States selected to receive the Gottschalk
award this year. “I feel highly honored by this particular award,
due to the fact that is in memorial of Dr. Gottschalk, a pioneer in kidney
research,” Dr. Dong said. Dr. Gottschalk is internationally renowned
for his discoveries in renal physiology.
Dr. Dong joined the UTHSC in 1994, after receiving his doctorate degree from the Shanghai Institute of Physiology, a premier research institute in China. He is an assistant professor in the department of pathology at the UTHSC. The American Society of Nephrology, the Texas Advanced Research Program, the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health also support his work.
Contact: Amanda Gallagher