Programs and Activities Highlights
- Human Tissues and Organs for Research Resource Pilot Award
An ORIP Special Emphasis Research Career Award (SERCA) K01 awardee received a pilot award through the Human Tissues and Organs for Research Resource (HTORR). Launched in 2024, the Pilot Award Program, a component of the ORIP-supported supported HTORR program, supports early-stage investigators by providing up to ten biological specimens to facilitate completion of pilot studies and collection of preliminary data necessary to obtain subsequent funding. This pilot award will allow Dr. Yoko Ambrosini, an ORIP SERCA K01 awardee, to incorporate human new approach methodologies into her research on epithelial–immune–microbial crosstalk in the gut–brain axis of inflammatory bowel disease.
- National Association of Veterinary Scientists D.V.M./Ph.D. Colloquium
An ORIP staff member presented a keynote talk, titled “NIH Funding Opportunities for Veterinarian-Scientists,” at the National Association of Veterinary Scientists D.V.M./Ph.D. Colloquium in August 2025. An ORIP staff member also served as a panelist at the D.V.M./Ph.D. Alumni Panel during this meeting.
- Specialized Research Training in Animal Models and Related Resources: Focus Group, Session 2
ORIP held a series of focus groups involving veterinary trainees, early-career scientists, mentors, and training program directors to identify and cultivate opportunities for collaborations and partnerships that address challenges and synergize strategies and resources supporting recruitment and retention of veterinary scientists. In the second session, held May 15, 2025, selected current trainees supported by ORIP T32 grants were invited to discuss the challenges and opportunities that exist in the current program. Additionally, early-career scientists—including ORIP K01 awardees, applicants, and graduates of the T32 program—were invited to discuss challenges faced by early-career scientists.
- T32 and T35 Directors Consortium
The T32 and T35 Directors Consortium was convened on June 2, 2025. ORIP staff presented the latest NIH policies during the meeting. ORIP offers Institutional Research Training Grants through the T32 and T35 mechanisms to encourage veterinarians to consider a career in biomedical research.
- Specialized Research Training in Animal Models and Related Resources: Focus Group, Session 1
ORIP held a series of focus groups involving veterinary trainees, early-career scientists, mentors, and training program directors to identify and cultivate opportunities for collaborations and partnerships that address challenges and synergize strategies and resources supporting recruitment and retention of veterinary scientists. In the first session, held April 11, 2025, selected training program directors and mentors in the ORIP T32 program were invited to discuss the challenges and opportunities that exist in the current program.
Read more in the archive.
ORIP-Supported Research Highlights
- Dual Chitosan Hydrogel and Polylactic Acid Microparticle Delivery System Reduces Staphylococcal Osteomyelitis and Soft Tissue Infection
The bacteria Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of the bone infection osteomyelitis (OM). Biofilms are a community of bacteria within a matrix that grows on surfaces and is hard to treat with antibiotics. This biofilm-forming bacterial infection is treated with long-term, high-dose antibiotics. However, this extended use of antibiotics can cause organ damage and promote antibiotic resistance (meaning the drug is no longer effective in treating the bacterial infection). Developing biomaterials (naturally derived or engineered substances for medical use in the body) for localized antibiotic delivery is key to avoiding these negative outcomes. Researchers used polylactic acid microparticles in antimicrobial chitosan hydrogel (CH PLA), both loaded with fosfomycin antibiotic, to combat S. aureus infection. Using 13-week-old female CD rats, researchers showed that CH PLA reduced S. aureus infection. Local treatment of OM using CH PLA decreased the bone defect area and the amounts of bacteria present in the bone and soft tissue. CH PLA is a promising biomaterial that may be an effective alternative to long-term antibiotic use to prevent S. aureus–mediated OM.
- Identification of Antibodies to Chondrocyte and Synoviocyte Antigens in Equine Osteoarthritis
Approximately 33 million people in the United States suffer from osteoarthritis (OA), and the rate has doubled in the past 30 years. The immune processes that drive OA development are not well understood. Past rheumatoid arthritis studies have shown that antibodies (proteins that bind to a specific molecule and help the immune system destroy it) will target molecules on living cells in a patient’s body. OA is common in horses, which makes them a relevant model for studying the condition. To understand whether antibodies target live cells in joints, causing OA to worsen, researchers used 2- to 18-year-old horses (both sexes used). Blood and synovial fluid samples contained antibodies that target live cells—chondrocytes and synoviocytes—in the joint, and antibody concentrations were correlated with OA severity. This research will help inform future studies on antibody production and therapies to target immune pathways in OA.
- Assessing Gut Microbial Provisioning of Essential Amino Acids to Host in a Mouse Model with Reconstituted Gut Microbiomes
Gut microbes produce many metabolites which are substances made when the body processes food into energy and materials for cells. Metabolites include fatty acids and essential amino acids (EAAs), and they can affect the host’s health. EAAs are vital for making proteins and are involved in many cellular functions. A major challenge in microbiome research is showing the function of gut microbes in hosts, such as how microbe-derived EAAs affect the host. Using 3-week-old female germ-free mice and mice with a restored gut microbiome, researchers showed that gut microbes did not contribute to host EAA pools across the brain, kidney, liver, and muscle tissues. This study highlights the need for more research on the functional restoration of gut microbes and the importance of analytical techniques when trying to understand microbial nutrients.
- Macrophage-Engaging IgG4 Antibody Triggers Cytotoxicity Against Integrin αvβ3+ Cancers
Integrins are cell receptors that span the cell membrane and play an important role in signaling pathways—including survival and movement. Integrin αvβ3 is absent in most normal cells and is a biomarker of cancers that form in the epithelial tissue, lining most organs and body surfaces. Integrin αvβ3 also is a driver of tumor stemness (properties of cancer cells that promote tumor development) and drug resistance in epithelial cancers, which makes it an ideal target for therapy. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are immune cells that are abundant in the epithelial cancer microenvironment, but they reduce the efficacy of an antibody therapy that targets cells with integrin αvβ3. Using in vitro (outside of the body) cultures and 8- to 10-week-old female mice, researchers revealed an antibody-mediated therapy that activates the anti-tumor activities of TAMs to overcome drug-resistant, integrin αvβ3-positive epithelial cancer. This study supports the use of antibody-based therapies to activate immune cells and destroy the tumor.
- Inhalable Hsa-miR-30a-3p Liposomes Attenuate Pulmonary Fibrosis
The extracellular matrix is a substance that surrounds the cells to provide structural support and enhance signaling. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an incurable type of lung disease in which too much extracellular matrix is deposited in the lungs. Current treatments for IPF only manage symptoms or slow disease progression. Liposomes, which are fat-like particles that can be created to contain drugs or other substances, may serve as a therapy for IPF. Inhalable hsa-miR-30a-3p-loaded liposomes (miR-30a) were studied as potential treatments for pulmonary fibrosis in 6-week-old male mice. Previous studies have found that exosomes (cellular packages that allow molecules to be passed from one cell to another) with therapeutic effects on pulmonary fibrosis are enriched in these liposomes. The researchers showed that inhaled miR-30a reduced some effects of IPF and improved lung function.
Read more in the archive.
