MEMPHIS - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today announced $2,543,243 in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Both institutions received funding for research into hearing loss.

UTHSC received a grant of $460,908 for research into cholinergic modulation of olfactory coding under the director of Dr. Max L. Fletcher from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Acetylcholine is one of the chemicals in the brain (neurotransmitters) involved in sending signals (synaptic transmission). Dr. Fletcher's team is working to evaluate how acetylcholine and cholinergic signaling affects olfactory sensation. Dysfunction in the olfactory system is an early indicator of several major neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and therefore better understanding these systems will aid in understanding the disease progression. It also received a grant of $198,497 from the same institute for research into Early Communication in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) and its Prediction of Autism under the direction of Dr. Tanjala Trinette Gipson. TSC is a rare genetic disease that causes non-cancerous tumors to grow in the brain, and around 50 percent of individuals with it develop an autism spectrum disorder. This project will help determine how certain key aspects of language development predict language outcomes and autism severity.

St. Jude received a grant of $455,000 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for research into the Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene under the direction of Dr. Chia-Hsueh Lee. LRRK2 mutations are among the most commonly associated with familial and sporadically developed Parkinson's disease. Dr. Lee's team will seek to better understand the structural features of the LRRK2 protein, and how it works at the molecular level. Their team hopes this work will facilitate the development of a new generation of anti-Parkinson's disease drugs. It also received a grant of $867,054 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for research into the Mechanisms and Modeling of Vaccine Evasion in Pneumococcus under the direction of Dr. Jason W. Rosch. Dr. Rosch's team is studying how pneumococcus bacteria sometimes evade vaccine-induced protection. His research could help improve the efficacy of these vaccines. It received a third grant of $561,784 for research into Sensory-evoked adenosine release in cortical plasticity from the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders under the direction of Dr. Stanislav S. Zakharenko. Dr. Zakharenko's team will evaluate how sound impacts the release of the neurotransmitter adenosine and how it can control synaptic plasticity (adaptability within the brain).

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"Understanding and treating hearing loss is critical to improving the quality of life. I am impressed and encouraged that both St. Jude and our medical school are engaged in this important work. The NIH grants I am announcing today will enhance our understanding and lead to better outcomes. I commend Drs. Fletcher, Gipson, Lee, Rosch and Zakharenko and St. Jude and the University of Tennessee for their commitment to this important work."

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