March 08, 2019

Castro Announces $903,813 for Diabetes, Kidney Disease Research at UTSA

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Vice Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and a member of the House Intelligence and Education and Labor Committee, today announced that the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) will receive a total of $903,813 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research on the mechanisms affecting tissue repair in diabetic muscles after injury and how blood vessels grow in a variety of environments.

“Diabetes and kidney disease continues to affect the lives of San Antonians, Texans and Americans, and it’s vital we continue to move forward in research and treatment for such diseases,” said Rep. Castro. “The University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) has been a leader in biomedical research and I know these grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Science Foundation will only improve our understanding of human physiology and treatment for such diseases. Any efforts that help us understand such ailments makes our community, our state and our nation healthier and I’m glad to see San Antonio lead in this medical research.”

Background: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has awarded $373,125 to a project led by Dr. Christopher Rathbone at UTSA. HHS is funding the project, titled “Elucidating Skeletal Muscle Satellite Cell-Microvessel Interactions in Diabetic Muscle,” as part of their efforts to support ongoing diabetes, endocrinology and metabolic research. Dr. Rathbone’s research examines how insufficient vascular supply can limit the success of tissue regeneration therapies, and seeks to improve the regeneration of tissue by combining existing therapies with vascular structure strategies. Skeletal muscle dysfunction is a contributing factor to the negative consequences of Type 2 Diabetes, and this research will help improve understanding of the mechanisms in diabetic muscle that can affect repair to the muscle after injury.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced its intent to award $530,688 over five years to a project entitled “CAREER: Programming Vascularization by Design in Porous Composites.” Spearheaded by Dr. Teja Guda at UTSA, the project will help further understanding of how blood vessels grow in a variety of materials. Dr. Guda’s research will use a computer model to examine how the growth of vessels may be influenced by the stiffness or softness of the surrounding environment, the size and organization of pores and other factors. By improving understanding of the interactions of these factors, this research will inform and improve approaches to tissue regeneration. This will both accelerate the design of new tissue engineering solutions and potentially reduce the cost of development by enabling rapid screening. The project’s duration will begin April 1, 2019 and last until March 31, 2024.

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