Two researchers in pharmaceutical sciences at NDSU have received separate grants to help further their studies in helping to treat disease.

Yagna Jarajapu, associate professor in NDSU Pharmaceutical Sciences, received a three-year $300,000 Transformative Project Award from the American Heart Association for the research topic “Targeting the ß-Splice Variant of TERT in CD34+ Cells for Diabetic Vascular Disease.”

A total of 37.3 million people, or 11.3 percent of the U.S. population, have diabetes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disease increases risk of complications, including peripheral artery disease due to a lack of flood flow to limbs.

Stem cells can repair damaged blood vessels to maintain blood flow. However, diabetes impairs these reparative functions. Jarajapu’s lab research found that a gene variant called beta-TERT is highly expressed in the diabetic stem cells. This variant impairs stem cell functions by inducing mitochondrial damage.

“The research funded by the American Heart Association will test if blockade of this variant restores the reparative functions of diabetic stem cells,” said Jarajapu. “If so, it would enhance the revascularization outcomes of cell-based therapies for diabetic vascular diseases.”

In a separate grant award, Stefan Vetter, research assistant professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at NDSU, received a one-year $100,000 grant from a National Institutes of Health initiative titled “Illuminating the Druggable Genome.”

Vetter received the grant from NIH as principal investigator on the topic “Biochemical Characterization of the CAMKV pseudokinase: Shining light on its regulation and targets.”

“The research focuses on characterizing drug binding properties of CAMKV and develops methods to block its function,” said Vetter. “CAMKV is suspected to play a role in mental disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder.”

The award is administered through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences in NIH. Program goals include streamlining the development and deployment of disease treatments.

North Dakota State University is an R1 research institution and a place where students experience opportunities to grow, contribute and prepare for fulfilling careers. The research portfolio for the College of Health and Human Sciences includes prestigious R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health, with research focused on the role of pharmaceutical sciences in disease prevention, disease treatment, and additional research to promote health.

As a student focused, land grant, research university, we serve our citizens.