Novel Methodologies and Pilot Studies
The TRI established an innovative group of senior investigators, called Rainmakers, to provide guidance and mentoring in proposal development. These scientists are from a broad array of disciplines, departments, and colleges and will foster collaborative interactions and support investigators in developing novel research ideas.
UAMS Rainmakers
S. Michael Owens, PhD
Sudhir Shah, MD
Mary Aitken, MD, MPH
Cornelia Beck, PhD, RN, FAAN
Marie Chow, PhD
Michael Douglas, PhD
Martin Hauer-Jensen, MD, PhD
Michael Owens, PhD (Co-chair), is the Director of the Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Studies, a Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the College of Medicine, and a Wilbur D. Mills Endowed Chair in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention at UAMS. His research interests are in translational science, antibody-based medications development, experimental therapeutics, and drug abuse with continuous NIH funding since 1986. He has mentored 12 PhD or MD/PhD students and three post-doctoral fellows. He was mentor for a K08 clinician/scientist award and a K25 award. He also served on expert panels at the NIH Small Business Innovative Research Grants program, NIDA, NSF, the Office of Naval Technology, and the AAAS. He is a founder and Chief Scientific Officer of InterveXion Therapeutic LLC, a pharmaceutical company utilizing Dr. Owens’ monoclonal antibody medications.
Sudhir Shah, MD, FSCP (Co-chair), is the Director of the Division of Nephrology at UAMS and at the Central Arkansas VA. Dr. Shah's major research interest in is in the pathophysiology of renal and cardiovascular disease. With a major research interest in the role of oxidants and iron in acute kidney injury and progressive kidney disease, Dr. Shah was the PI of an NIH program project grant and has licensed research technology and methodologies (10 U.S. patents) to a company through UAMS BioVentures. His participation with the FDA resulted in one investigational new drug for a Phase III study to prevent contrast-induced acute renal failure and another for a Phase II study to halt progression of kidney disease. He is also the program director of an NIH T32 training grant.
Mary E. Aitken, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine, Section Chief of the Center for Applied Research and Evaluation in the Department of Pediatrics, and Medical Director of the Arkansas Children's Hospital Injury Prevention Center. She serves on the Executive Committee for the Section on Injury, Poison, and Violence Prevention for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Her research interests include prevention of motor vehicle and all-terrain vehicle injury and improving the quality of life for children after injury, particularly traumatic brain injury.
Cornelia Beck, PhD, RN, FAAN, serves as Professor in the Department of Geriatrics, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Nursing, and holds the Louise Hearne Chair in Dementia & Long-Term Care at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). She is Co-Director of the UAMS Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence and the UAMS Translational Research Institute. Her research interests include strategies to improve best practices in long-term care settings and non-drug interventions to alleviate problem behavior and promote functional performance in persons with dementia. Dr. Beck has served on the Mental Disorders of the Elderly Study Section at NIH and on the National Advisory Council for the NINR; chaired the NIH Nursing Research Study Section; and served on the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council of the Alzheimer's Association.
Marie Chow, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine at UAMS. She has been the major advisor of eight PhD or MD/PhD students and over 20 post-doctoral fellows. She has mentored more than ten junior faculty in basic science and clinical fields. She has served on the scientific advisory boards of biotechnology companies and as a consultant for pharmaceutical companies, the World Health Organization, and the International Union for Cancer Prevention and Control. Her research interests focus on the molecular mechanisms of viral diseases and understanding host responses to and the role of host susceptibility genes in microbial infections. Her most recent research activities include development of technologies for rapid diagnosis of viral and bacterial infections and understanding the role of RNA interference and microRNA regulation of microbial infections.
Michael Douglas, PhD,is currently Director of UAMS BioVentures and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the College of Medicine at UAMS. His research interests focus on the participation of mitochondria in the growth control circuitry of the cell. His more recent studies address the mechanisms of age-dependent mitochondrial loss of function and how this affects the partitioning of growth regulatory proteins and metabolites between the organelle and other sub cellular compartments. Earlier work established the mechanisms of cytoplasmic protein sorting, organelle protein delivery, and the cellular machinery that participates in the control of protein folding and assembly. He has mentored 9 PhD and 12 post doctoral fellows.
Martin Hauer-Jensen, MD, PhD, is Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Surgery, and Pathology at UAMS and Staff Surgeon at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. He serves as Associate Dean for Research in the College of Pharmacy and as Director of the Division of Radiation Health. Dr. Hauer-Jensen has broad experience in basic, preclinical, and clinical research. His research focus is on determining the mechanisms of and developing strategies to prevent short- and long-term adverse effects of radiation therapy in cancer survivors, as well as on developing effective, non-toxic medical countermeasures against radiological or nuclear threats. His research currently receives funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). Dr. Hauer-Jensen is a former Chair of the Radiation Study Section of the NIH.
