Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation Announces 2016 Fellowship and Project Awards

NEW YORK, April 4, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership (MMAAP) Foundation announced the 2016 Fellowship and Project Awards in Geriatrics (under the Irma and Paul Milstein Program for Senior Health), Dermatology, Hematology, Translational Medicine and Reproductive Medicine. The mission of the MMAAP Foundation, established in 2011, is to bring together leading research and medical talent and institutions from the U.S., China and greater Asia.

Each year fellowships and research projects are awarded in these five medical fields. The Fellowship Award supports one-year training for a promising investigator in clinical or basic research in the United States at a distinguished host institution. The Project Award supports a research project conducted in China in partnership with a prominent U.S. institution that will potentially produce a measurable effect on healthcare within two years.

Since its inception, MMAAP has awarded over 30 Fellowships and Project Awards to support the work of exceptional scientists and investigators with the vision, drive and dedication to find new and innovative ways towards advancements in MMAAP's targeted medical fields. These outstanding award recipients represent more than 20 prestigious Chinese medical institutions including Peking Union Medical College Hospital, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University Institute of Hematology, and Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine.

"The visionary leadership of Howard P. Milstein, Chairman and Founder of the MMAAP Foundation, has brought together and funded exchanges between the best researchers, medical talent, and institutions in these regions," said Sean Leng, MD, President of the MMAAP Foundation. "The 2016 recipients are among the most talented researchers in their fields. Our support of their work is vital to both furthering medical research and strengthening relations between the U.S. and China".

Grant applications were evaluated through a two-step peer review process according to the National Institutes of Health standards. All proposals were jointly reviewed by panels of Chinese and U.S. experts in their respective fields, with the finalists submitted for approval by the MMAAP Foundation. The U.S. panels in Geriatrics, Dermatology, Hematology, Reproductive Medicine, and Translational Medicine include members of the American Geriatrics Society, Medical Advisory Committee of American Skin Association, the New York Blood Center, and the Jones Foundation respectively, as well as members of other leading U.S. institutions in each field.

AWARDEES

IRMA AND PAUL MILSTEIN PROGRAM FOR SENIOR HEALTH

2016 Fellowship Awards
Fellowship Applicant: Xiu Shan, PhD
Project Title: Gensenoside Rg3: Effects on Cytomegalovirus Infection and Cellular Senescence
Institution: The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University
U.S. Institution: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
U.S. Host Institution Mentor: Sean X. Leng, MD

Fellowship Applicant: Guobing Chen, PhD
Project Title: Determining TCR Repertoire of CD8 T Cells Against Cytomegalovirus and Influenza a Virus Antigens and Its Implication in Age-Related Decline of Immune Function
Institution: Guangzhou Chest Hospital
U.S. Institution: National Institute on Aging, NIH
U.S. Host Institution Mentor: Nanping Weng, MD

2016 Research Project Award
Project Title: Design and Application of Frailty Assessment Tools in Chinese Older Adults
Principal Investigator: Ning Ge, MD
Institution: West China Hospital, Sichuan University                 
U.S. Institution: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
U.S. Partner: Jeremy D Walston

MILSTEIN MEDICAL ASIAN AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP FOUNDATION AWARDS IN SKIN DISEASE

2016 Fellowship Award
Fellowship Applicant: Ling Liu, MD, PhD
Project Title: Pathogenesis of Keloids: Phenotypic Delineation and Biosynthetic Function of Gli+ Activated Fibroblasts
Institution: Xijing Hospital      
U.S. Institution: Thomas Jefferson University
U.S. Host Institution Mentor: Jouni Uitto, MD, PhD

2016 Research Project Award
Project Title: The Digital Image Bank (DIB) of Skin Diseases for Chinese Population
Principal Investigator: Yong Cui, MD
Institution: China-Japan Friendship Hospital
U.S. Institution: Mayo Clinic
U.S. Partner: Mark R. Pittlelkow, MD. PhD

MILSTEIN MEDICAL ASIAN AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP FOUNDATION AWARDS IN HEMATOLOGY

2016 Fellowship Award
Fellowship Applicant: Xiaojing Yan, MD, PhD
Project Title: The Molecular Mechanism of Epigenetic Regulators in Clonal Evolution of Leukemia
Institution: The First Hospital of China Medical University
U.S. Institution: Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University
U.S. Host Institution Mentor: David T. Scadden, MD

2016 Research Project Award
Project Title: Selective JAK2/ABL Dual Inhibition Therapy May More Effectively Eliminate Leukemia Propagating Cells in Philadelphia Chromosome-Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Its Mechanisms Study
Principal Investigator: Yuan Kong, MD, PhD
Institution: Peking University Institute of Hematology               
U.S. Institution: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
U.S. Partner: Gang Huang PhD

MILSTEIN MEDICAL ASIAN AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP FOUNDATION AWARDS IN TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE

2016 Fellowship Award
Fellowship Applicant: Nan Wu, MD
Project Title: Exploring Genetic Etiology and Mechanism of Vertebral Malformation with Whole Exome Sequencing and Array-Based Comparative Genome Hybridization
Institution: Peking Union Medical College Hospital
U.S. Institution: Baylor College of Medicine
U.S. Host Institution Mentor: James R. Lupski

2016 Research Project Award
Project Title: Therapeutic Potential of Mab2F1, An Inhibitor of Wnt Pathway, in Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis
Principal Investigator: Xiaomin Zhang, MD, PhD
Institution:  Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital & Eye Institute     
U.S. Institution: The University of Oklahoma
U.S. Partner: Jian-Xing Ma, MD, PhD

MILSTEIN MEDICAL ASIAN AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP FOUNDATION AWARDS IN REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE

2016 Fellowship Award
Fellowship Applicant: Liying Yan, PhD
Project Title: Effects of Oocyte Vitrification on the DNA Methylation and Gene Expression of Resulting Embryos and Early Fetus          
Institution: Peking University Third Hospital
U.S. Institution: University of Michigan
U.S. Host Institution Mentor: Gary D. Smith, PhD

ABOUT MILSTEIN MEDICAL ASIAN AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP FOUNDATION
The mission of the Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation (MMAAP Foundation) is to improve world health by developing mutually beneficial partnerships between the U.S. and China, as well as greater Asia. Working with some of the premier health organizations in the world, the MMAAP Foundation brings together and funds exchanges between top researchers, medical talent, and medical institutions.

For more than 50 years, the Milstein family has been actively involved in health-related and medical philanthropy. The MMAAP Foundation builds upon this distinguished history in five areas: Senior Healthcare, Skin Disease and Melanoma, Reproductive Biology, Blood Research, and Translational Medicine. The MMAAP Foundation works in close collaboration with other medical organizations supported by the Milstein family, including American Skin Association, the Milstein Melanoma Research Program at the Rockefeller University, the Howard and Georgeanna Jones Foundation for Reproductive Medicine, New York Blood Center, and the Program for Translational Chemical Biology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The MMAAP Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. For more information, please visit the MMAAP Foundation's website at www.mmaapf.org.

SOURCE Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation

Related Links

http://www.mmaapf.org