Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation Announces 2018 Fellowship and Project Awards

NEW YORK, June 14, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership (MMAAP) Foundation announced their 2018 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 promising researchers, talented medical professionals and institutions from the U.S. and China, as well as greater Asia.

Each year fellowships and research projects are awarded in these five medical fields. The Fellowship Award supports a gifted investigator in clinical or basic research from China for one year of training at a distinguished host institution in the U.S. The Project Award supports a research project, conducted in China and in partnership with a top U.S. institution, with the potential to make a measurable impact on healthcare within two years.

Since its founding, MMAAP Foundation has awarded over 50 Fellowships and Project Awards to support the work of exceptional scientists and investigators demonstrating the vision, drive and dedication to find innovative advancements in these targeted medical fields. These outstanding award recipients represent nearly 30 prestigious Chinese medical institutions including, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Xijing Hospital at the Fourth Military Medical University, Peking University Institute of Hematology, West China Hospital at Sichuan University, Hushan Hospital at Shanghai Fudan University, and Ruijin Hospital at Shanghai Jiaotong University.

"The visionary leadership and continued commitment of MMAAP Foundation Chairman and Founder, Howard P. Milstein, has brought together and funded exchanges between outstanding researchers, medical talent, and institutions in these regions," said Sean X. Leng, MD, PhD, President of MMAAP Foundation. "The 2018 recipients are among the most talented researchers in their fields and our support of their work is crucial to furthering medical research and strengthening relations between the U.S. and China."

Grant applications were evaluated through a two-step peer review process in accordance with National Institute of Health standards. Panels of Chinese and U.S. experts in their respective fields jointly reviewed all proposals, and finalists were submitted for approval by the MMAAP Foundation. The U.S. panels in Geriatrics, Dermatology, Hematology, Reproductive Medicine, and Translational Medicine include experts from the American Geriatrics Society, Medical Advisory Committee of American Skin Association, as well as experts at other leading U.S. academic institutions in each field.

AWARDEES:

IRMA AND PAUL MILSTEIN PROGRAM FOR SENIOR HEALTH

2018 Fellowship Award

Project Name: Effects of Osteocalcin on Monocytic IL-6 Production as well as Cytomegalovirus Infection and CMV-induced Cellular Senescence
Fellowship Awardee: Suifeng Liu   
Institution: Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University
U.S. Institution: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

2018 Project Award

Project Name: Establishing a Physiological Model for Frailty in China
Principal Investigator: Lina Ma
Institution: Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University
U.S. Institution: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

MILSTEIN MEDICAL ASIAN AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP FOUNDATION AWARDS IN SKIN DISEASE

2018 Fellowship Award

Project Name: Therapeutic effects of Smad7 on diabetic wounds via Nrf2-dependent antioxidant signaling pathway
Fellowship Awardee: Yao Ke
Institution: School of Stomatology, Fourth Military Medical University
U.S. Institution: University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (UC AMC)

2018 Project Award

Project Name: The role of eosinophils in the pathogenesis of bullous pemphigoid
Principal Investigator: Jinbo Chen
Institution: Wuhan No.1 Hospital, the fourth Affiliated Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
U.S. Institution: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

MILSTEIN MEDICAL ASIAN AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP FOUNDATION AWARDS IN HEMATOLOGY

2018 Fellowship Award

Project Name: Immunotherapeutic Targeting of IL1RAP to Eliminate Leukemia Stem Cells in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Fellowship Awardee: Liang Huang
Institution: Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
U.S. Institution: Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope National Medical Center

2018 Project Award

Project Name: Role of ZEB2, a master EHT regulator, in controlling hematopoietic stem cell differentiation and its therapeutic potential in targeting myeloid disorders
Principal Investigator: Tong Chen
Institution: Huashan Hospital, Fudan University
U.S. Institution: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

MILSTEIN MEDICAL ASIAN AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP FOUNDATION AWARDS IN TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE

2018 Fellowship Award

Project Name: Artificial intelligence assisted navigation development and application in brain surgery
Fellowship Awardee: Nidan Qiao
Institution: Huashan Hospital Fudan University
U.S. Institution: Massachusetts General Hospital

2018 Project Award

Project Name: The role of fibrillin-1 in cervicocephalic artery dissection: from bench to bedside
Principal Investigator: Zhu Zhu
Institution: Huashan Hospital, Fudan University
U.S. Institution: Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School

MILSTEIN MEDICAL ASIAN AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP FOUNDATION AWARDS IN REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE

2018 Fellowship Award

Project Name: Long-term risk evaluation of mouse offspring conceived from mitochondria DNA genome editing
Fellowship Awardee: Yang Yu
Institution: Peking University Third Hospital
U.S. Institution: The Salk Institute for Biological Studies,

ABOUT MILSTEIN MEDICAL ASIAN AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP FOUNDATION

The mission of the Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership (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: Geriatrics (under the Irma and Paul Milstein Program for Senior Health), Dermatology, Hematology, Translational Medicine and Reproductive 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, 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 mmaapf.org.

SOURCE Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership Foundation