NIH awarded $10.5 million
trauma center grant
The University of Colorado Denver and Denver
Health have been awarded a joint five-year $10.5 million trauma center grant
from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant is a continuation
of a study originally funded by the NIH in 1992, which seeks to understand
why some patients develop multiple organ failure after severe injury. It
is one of only eight federally supported initiatives for trauma research
nationwide, and the only one of its kind in the central United States.
“Accidents mean physical trauma and can affect any of us – any time,” said
Anirban Banerjee, PhD, professor of surgery at the CU School of Medicine,
and program director of the trauma center grant. “Our near and dear
could be involved today in car crashes, sports injuries, fires, and industrial
accidents, let alone war and terrorism. Fortunately for us, a multi-year
collaboration between the Rocky Mountain Regional Trauma Center at Denver
Health and University of Colorado Denver has
kept Colorado on the cutting edge of trauma care in the world.”
Dr. Banerjee is joined as principal investigator by Ernest E. (Gene) Moore,
MD, chief of surgery and trauma services at Denver Health, and professor
of surgery at the CU School of Medicine.
“This unique grant provides us an outstanding research opportunity through
the juxtaposition of research science at UCD and clinical care for severely
injured trauma patients at Denver Health,” said Dr. Moore. “We
look forward to five more years of productive trauma research through this
collaborative grant.”
Joining Drs. Banerjee and Moore as co-investigators are Chris Silliman, MD,
PhD, associate professor of pediatrics at UCD, and assistant director
of Belle Bonfils Blood Center; Edward Abraham, MD, professor and co-division
head of pulmonary sciences and critical care medicine at UCD; Dave Ciesla,
MD, chief of pediatric trauma at Denver Health, and assistant professor of
surgery at UCD; and Jeff Johnson, MD, trauma surgeon, director of the
Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Denver Health, and assistant professor of
surgery at UCDHSC.
“We have worked over the past few years, combining our expertise to make
an efficient team – a fact recognized by NIH,” added Dr. Banerjee.
The $10.5 million grant will be shared over the next five years between a
joint inter-institution trauma research team, and doubles what the National
Institute of General Medical Sciences – a division of the NIH – has
invested in trauma research in the Rocky Mountain region in the past.
“We are delighted to have the continued support for this critical research
program at the School of Medicine. I am confident that our faculty, led by
Drs. Moore and Banerjee, will learn a great deal that will help trauma patients
everywhere,” said Dr. Richard Krugman, dean of the University of Colorado
School of Medicine.
Over the past 11 years, the trauma center grant has worked to develop a better
understanding of the causes and remedies of multiple organ failure in severely
injured trauma patients in order to increase the chances of survival. The
team created a unique database – the largest database of severely injured
patients in the country. Analyses of this data make it possible for trauma
researchers to address many unanswered questions, for example, why younger
women endure injuries better than men, and why young children are less prone
to organ failure than adults.
“Trauma remains the leading cause of death for people in the United States
under the age of 45, and accounts for the greatest loss of years of productive
life,” said Dr. Moore. “This grant allows us to research and
develop methodologies to improve care for trauma patients, especially those
suffering from shock and multiple organ failure.”
Over the next five years, the trauma research team will:
•
Continue researching the factors that cause multiple organ failure due to
hemorrhagic shock;
•
Work to determine why blood transfusions can cause multiple organ failure;
•
Determine how newly recognized proteins contribute to multiple organ failure;
•
Research cell signaling manipulation in order to possibly avoid multiple
organ failure; and
•
Establish a cell and imaging core.
“We are very excited that Drs. Moore and Banerjee have received funding
to continue their outstanding research,” said Patricia A. Gabow, MD, CEO
and medical director at Denver Health. “Their work on behalf of trauma
patients everywhere is a testament to our institutions’ commitment
of providing the highest quality health care possible.”
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