NAAF Awards $270,000 in New Research Grants for 2007

The National Alopecia Areata Foundation recently awarded seven new grants totaling $270,000 for research to solve the alopecia areata puzzle and bring us closer to an ultimate cure. NAAF awards grants of up to $50,000 to foster research in alopecia areata within the scientific community. Some of these grants are funding ongoing research in key fields like genetics, and some grants are funding promising new projects such as the growing National Alopecia Areata Registry and the use of alopecia areata mouse model.

Angela Christiano, Ph.D., of Columbia University in New York, New York has been awarded a grant for her ongoing “Genome-Wide Search for Alopecia Areata Susceptibility Genes”. Dr. Christiano hosts one of the five research centers for the National Alopecia Areata Registry, which is funded largely through a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NAAF continues to fund additional genetic studies by Dr. Christiano not covered directly by the NIH grant. Dr. Christiano continues her quest to find the genes surrounding the inheritance and genetic susceptibility of AA, specifically mapping genes from families enrolled in the Alopecia Areata Registry.

Ranhy Bang, Ph.D., M.D., of the University of Texas in Houston, Texas will undertake a study, “Analysis of Candidate Susceptibility Genes in Alopecia Areata”. Dr. Bang will be researching genetic susceptibility genes of alopecia areata at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the principal research center for the National Alopecia Areata Registry. This study will investigate the genes of families where only a single family member is affected.

Karen Dwyer, Ph.D., of the University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia has been awarded a grant to study “Cd39 null mice: a new mouse model of alopecia areata.” Dr. Dwyer will be using a mouse model characterized by hair loss affecting the face and trunk to study characteristics of alopecia areata. Dr Dwyer aims to explore the mechanisms leading to the attack by one’s immune system and attempt to treat the disease using novel drugs. NAAF is interested to see if this will be another valid model for alopecia areata.

Carl K. Edwards, III, Ph.D., of the University of Colorado Health Services at Fitzsimons in Aurora, Colorado has been awarded continued funding for “X5Use of Precision Quantitative “Real Time” PCR to Assess Proinflammatory Gene Expression in Alopecia Areata Patients in Correlation with a Mouse Model of Disease”. Edwards will analyze and measure inflammation-related gene expression in alopecia areata patients. The goals are to identify useful biochemical markers of alopecia areata disease progression and/or potential for response to treatment, identify molecular variations between alopecia areata patient subpopulations, and identify the molecular mechanisms of action of different treatment modalities. Dr. Edwards will compare his data to various inbred mice with alopecia areata to identify suitable reproducible preclinical models for therapeutic testing.

Joanna Quast, a student pharmacist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota will study “Adrenal Function and Use of Intralesional Triamcinolone Acetonide in Patients with Alopecia Areata”. The major goal of this study is to determine the affects of intralesional corticosteroid use on adrenal gland function in the treatment of patients with alopecia areata. This study will provide the first comprehensive review of the effect of intralesional Kenalog 10 injections on adrenal gland function in patients receiving this therapy for alopecia areata.

Alexander Awgulewitsch, Ph.D. of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina will undertake “Molecular Analysis of Hair Follicle Structural Changes in Alopecia Areata Mice”. The study attempts to define the genetic pathways controlling hair shaft formation. This information will be used to help target potential treatments bypassing the immune system aspect of alopecia areata and focusing on the effects of disruption of gene function within the hair follicle.

Derry C. Roopenian, Ph.D., of the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine is studying “An Alopecia Areata Molecular Screening Tool: Development and Testing”. The scientists will work with a mouse model that closely mimics the adult onset form of alopecia areata. Using information on gene expression Dr. Roopenian will create a molecular test system for diagnosis, staging of disease and prediction of response to drugs. Most importantly Dr. Roopenian hopes that these tests will translate to a similar system for human patients.