UH College of Pharmacy Secures Over $1 Million for Sepsis Nanomedicine, AI-Driven Dementia Research, and Sickle Cell Depression Screening
核心洞察
University of Houston College of Pharmacy (搜索) researchers have secured more than $1 million in new funding across three studies targeting sepsis (搜索), Alzheimer's disease (搜索) and related dementias, and depression (搜索) in sickle cell disease (搜索).
Fanfei Meng's team developed a dual-action nanoparticle delivering an antibiotic and an immunomodulator that achieved complete survival in a preclinical model of severe sepsis (搜索), with patent protection now being pursued.
Tiansheng Wang is leveraging artificial intelligence to integrate real-world health data, genetics, cognitive assessments, and brain imaging for drug repurposing in dementia.
University of Houston College of Pharmacy (搜索) researchers have secured more than $1 million in new funding to support three separate studies targeting sepsis (搜索), Alzheimer's disease (搜索) and related dementias, and depression (搜索) in patients with sickle cell disease (搜索). While the projects address different conditions, each is aimed at improving patient outcomes through new approaches to prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Dual-Action Nanoparticle Achieves Complete Survival in Preclinical Sepsis Model
Assistant professor and Presidential Frontier Faculty member in the Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Fanfei Meng, has developed a promising new nanomedicine for the treatment of sepsis (搜索) and septic shock—life-threatening conditions that remain among the leading causes of death in hospitals worldwide. His team is now pursuing patent protection for the technology.
Sepsis (搜索) develops when the body's response to a bacterial infection becomes dysregulated, triggering widespread inflammation that can lead to organ failure and death. Because antibiotics alone are often not enough, Meng developed a nanoparticle that simultaneously delivers two complementary therapies: an antibiotic to eliminate bacteria and an immunomodulator that calms the body's overactive immune response.
"Our preliminary studies have been extremely encouraging," said Meng. "The nanoparticle formulation reduced drug toxicity, preserved potent antibacterial activity, broadly suppressed inflammatory signaling, and achieved complete survival in a preclinical model of severe sepsis (搜索)."
The nanoparticle represents a dual approach that could overcome a longstanding challenge in sepsis (搜索) treatment, where managing both the underlying infection and the host's inflammatory response has proven difficult with conventional single-agent strategies.
AI-Powered Drug Repurposing for Alzheimer's and Related Dementias
Tiansheng Wang, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Health Outcomes and Policy, is using artificial intelligence to accelerate the search for dementia treatments by focusing on drug repurposing. This approach examines whether medicines already used for other health conditions may also benefit people at risk for Alzheimer's disease (搜索) and related dementias.
"My project will bring together several types of information that are often studied separately: medication use and other real-world health data, genetic information, cognitive assessments, and brain imaging," said Wang. "By including these earlier indicators, we may be able to evaluate potential drug effects more accurately than by relying only on diagnoses documented in medical records."
The integration of these diverse data streams through AI represents a novel methodological approach that could identify existing drugs with previously unrecognized neuroprotective or cognitive benefits, potentially accelerating the path to clinical application.
Addressing Depression Screening Challenges in Sickle Cell Disease
Onye Ononogbu, research assistant professor of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research, is creating a new screening tool built specifically for individuals living with sickle cell disease (搜索). The project addresses a critical diagnostic challenge: many of the physical symptoms of SCD, including fatigue, sleep disruption, and appetite changes, mirror symptoms of depression (搜索), making it difficult to distinguish between the two.
"Standard depression (搜索) screening tools were not built with this overlap in mind, which means patients can be misclassified in either direction—missed when they truly need help, or flagged when what they are experiencing is actually a symptom of their disease," said Ononogbu. "We want patients to share their honest experiences, and we want clinicians to bring their clinical expertise. By bringing both perspectives together, we can build a tool that truly supports real-world care."
The new screening instrument aims to reduce misclassification and ensure that patients with SCD receive appropriate mental health care while avoiding unnecessary treatment for those whose symptoms stem from their underlying hematologic condition.