The state has awarded nearly $1 million in grants to three Connecticut scientists to further their research into diseases associated with tobacco use and other chronic illnesses.
The grants, which were awarded by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) from the state’s Biomedical Research Trust Fund, will support three research projects conducted by researchers from the University of Connecticut, UConn Health Center, and Yale University.
The recipients include Daniel Rosenberg of the UConn Health Center who is receiving $356,250 to further his research on ways to detect specific smoking-induced changes in the colon that will allow doctors to identify patients at increased risk of developing colorectal cancers.
Bradley Bolling of UConn will receive $417,076 Â to evaluate whether chokeberry extract containing antioxidant polyphenols have cardio-protective effects in former smokers who are susceptible to atherosclerosis due to previous exposure of smoking-induced oxidative stress.
Kevan Herold of Yale will get $169,678 for the development and testing of a novel approach to measure beta cell death in vivo, which is not now possible but would have important implications for treatment of diabetes.
