Dr. Patricia Hurn, director of the OHSU Research Center for Gender-Based Medicine, and Dr. Nabil Alkayed, associate director and chair of the Seed Funding Program, are pleased to announce the Center’s first seed funding awards. After reviewing 23 outstanding grant applications, the committee selected the following five projects for this funding cycle.

Ovarian Regulation of Fat Mass and Bone Density
Principal Investigator: Jon Hennebold, Ph.D.
Assistant Scientist, Division of Reproductive Sciences
Oregon National Primate Research Center
Oregon Health & Science University

Dr. Hennebold’s laboratory recently found that the primate ovary is one of few adult tissues that produce the protein Delta-Like Homolog-1 (also known as DLK1), a hormone known to regulate the development of adipocytes and osteoblasts. The focus of this project is to determine the ovarian contribution to the circulating levels of this key regulator of adipose and bone mass. The findings from this project will aid in our understanding of how the loss in ovarian cyclicity, such as occurs after menopause, may lead to increased rates of adipose formation and bone loss in women.

Role of Gender in the Regulation of Platelet Activation and Thrombus Formation
Principal Investigator: Owen McCarty, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
School of Science & Engineering
Oregon Health & Science University

There are clear but poorly understood differences in the etiology and prognosis of thrombotic diseases in men and women. Platelets play a central role in the formation of occlusive thrombi in atherosclerotic coronary arteries. Investigation of the role of sex and sex hormones in relationship to specific cellular and molecular components of platelet activation could provide new clues to the discovery and development of novel preventive and therapeutic approaches to thrombosis in women.

Impact of Menopause and Estrogen Replacement Therapy on Immune Response to Vaccination
Principal Investigator: Ilhem Messaoudi, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute
Oregon Health & Science University

Evidence suggests that the loss of female sex hormones during menopause contributes to diminished immune function in elderly women. This study will investigate whether estrogen replacement therapy can improve the efficacy of the immune response following influenza vaccination in elderly post-menopausal women. The findings will increase our understanding of the interplay between sex hormones and immune function in women.

Differences in IL-13 Mediated Activation of Macrophages Obtained from Male and Female Mice with EAE
Principal Investigator: Halina Offner, M.D.
Professor, Department of Neurology
Oregon Health & Science University

Our studies have revealed that female mice lacking a certain white cell factor, called Interleukin 13, develop less severe symptoms of a Multiple Sclerosis (MS)-like disease than males. This project will determine how Interleukin 13 activates an important inflammatory cell type that is involved in initiating this disease in females. These results will help to define gender differences in susceptibility to MS and possibly a means to treat it.

Elucidating the Role of Microvascular Dysfunction in Women’s Cardiac Disease
Principal Investigator: Diana Rinkevich, M.D.
Director, Heart Disease in Women Program
Oregon Health & Science University

Almost half of women with chest pain have normal coronary arteries compared to only 15 percent of men. These women may suffer from microvascular dysfunction (MVD), which can limit flow to the heart during stress conditions and result in serious cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction. This study will establish the extent to which chest pain with normal coronary arteries is associated with MVD and will also investigate the presence of diagnostic blood markers in women who exhibit functional abnormalities characteristic of MVD.

The goal of the RCGBM Seed Funding Program is to stimulate research in areas of gender-based medicine by supporting the generation of preliminary data that will form the basis for career development proposals for junior investigators or NIH R01-type proposals for established investigators interested in developing new gender-based research programs. The Center supports both translational bench and clinical studies directly applicable to human disease and therapy.

The innovative OHSU Research Center for Gender-Based Medicine was created in 2007 with the goal of further examining the physiological and psychophysiological differences in men and women and these effects on medicine. While the principal aim is to target understudied areas of women’s health research, novel areas of gender-linked biology in men are also targeted. The Center’s design is intended for integration of translational laboratory and clinical studies in gender-based medicine. Experimental research in cell and animal models is completed at the bench then used to more rapidly advance clinical investigations in patients. Our team represents a broad spectrum of expertise in clinical and basic science, including neurosciences, vascular biology, reproductive health, endocrinology, pharmacology, cell engineering, and genetics.

To learn more about the OHSU Research Center for Gender-Based Medicine, visit www.ohsu.edu/rcgbm/.