Bridge and Seed Funding Grants Awarded

‌Researchers at NYMC, Touro College of Pharmacy and Touro College of Dental Medicine are the recipients of a series of grants supporting their research for the 2017-2018 program year. The bridge grants sustain research projects between larger grant funding, and seed grants enable researchers to gather initial data. This round of bridge and seed grants is part of the Touro College and University System (TCUS) strategy to sustain and enlarge the University’s research enterprise. The recipients’ projects were reviewed as part of a rigorous peer review process, as well as recommendations by the TCUS Biomedical and Health Sciences Research Council. 

Salomon Amar, D.D.S., Ph.D., provost for biomedical research and chief biomedical research officer and chair, Biomedical and Health Sciences Research Council, oversaw the selection process and called the funding strategy “one of several initiatives aimed at supporting research as a fundamental component of Touro’s mission.”

The 2017-2018 awards are: 

Bridge Funding

Dana G. Mordue, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology, NYMC

“Role of the Toxoplasma FIKK Kinase in Parasite Cyst Formation and Chronic Infection” 

Dr. Mordue said her bridge grant is “essential to be able to complete a few critical experiments that will enable her to compete more effectively for NIH grant funding. Medical scientific research,” she continued, “is time-sensitive, and if you are out for a year or two, it is next to impossible to get back in and be competitive. Thus, these timely bridge grants are a great investment in the college and the faculty.”

Seed Funding

Brian Ratliff, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine and physiology, NYMC
Piotr Kozlowski, M.D., Ph.D., dean of research and professor of pathology, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine – Harlem Campus

“Fetuin-B Impairs Nephrogenesis in the Malnourished Low Birth Weight Neonate”

Dr. Ratliff noted that “many low birth weight neonates have underdeveloped kidney and vascular systems, which predisposes them to develop a wide range of health problems immediately after birth and also later in life during adulthood. This seed award-funded study will investigate the factors and mechanisms responsible for impaired kidney development and subsequently, can provide valuable insight into potential therapeutic strategies.”


Sachin Gupte, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology, NYMC
Zvi G. Loewy, Ph.D., professor of pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences, Touro College of Pharmacy, and adjunct professor of microbiology and immunology, NYMC
Salomon Amar, D.D.S., Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and microbiology and immunology, NYMC, and professor of dental medicine, Touro College of Dental Medicine at NYMC

“Periodontal Inflammation and Pulmonary Hypertension”

This research encompasses a novel concept that links periodontal infection and inflammation to pulmonary hypertension. The research involved will develop a novel pulmonary hypertension model that can be manipulated for therapeutic interventions.

Dr. Amar, an investigator on the study, noted that the research would “serve to generate very valuable preliminary data that will enable us to be competitive when applying for external funding in the future.”  The research collaboration between Drs. Loewy, Amar and Gupte establishes an interdisciplinary alliance between NYMC and the Touro University campuses.