By Marty Trieschmann
Aug. 24, 2022 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has received $3.4 million in funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to study acute and delayed injuries caused by full-body radiation exposure from a nuclear accident or bioterrorism.
The five-year study entitled, “Platelets in Radiation-induced Immune Dysregulation,” is led by Rupak Pathak, Ph.D., assistant professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Radiation Health in the UAMS College of Pharmacy; Martin Cannon, Ph.D., professor of Microbiology and Immunology in the UAMS College of Medicine; and Jerry Ware, Ph.D., professor of Physiology and Cell Biology in the UAMS College of Medicine.
While the FDA has approved some drugs to alleviate bone marrow injuries in people exposed to radiation, no drugs are available to treat the adverse effects in other organ systems. The study hopes to encourage drug development for therapies that will reduce radiation side effects.
