$2.6M genetics grant

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Tony J. Simon, pediatric cognitive neuroscientist with the UC Davis MIND Institute, a five-year, $2.6 million grant to study the syndrome associated with the single most common genetic deletion in humans — chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS).

The deletion can lead to cognitive impairments and result in a broad range of disorders, including autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia. The condition affects approximately one in 4,000 people worldwide.

“This grant will enable us to, through careful measurement, test both neurological and cognitive targets for 22q11.2 DS that will potentially lead us to the development of interventions and treatments,” said Simon, associate professor-in-residence in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the director of the MIND Institute’s Cognitive Analysis and Brain Imaging Laboratory.

Talking stem cells

UC Davis vascular specialists and stem cell experts will present a May 12 session to discuss upcoming clinical trials on the use of stem cells to treat vascular disorders such as peripheral artery disease and stroke.

This is the first in a series of community discussions sponsored by the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures.

The session runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and will be held in the UC Davis Cancer Center Auditorium, 4501 X St., Sacramento. A map and directions are available at http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/welcome/maps_directions.

Rural medicine boost

UC Davis School of Medicine and the Tahoe Forest Health System on April 3 moved forward on a program designed to help increase health care access in rural areas of the state.

The university’s Rural-PRIME will recognize Truckee as the first official site beyond Sacramento where the School of Medicine will train its medical students as the next generation of rural physicians. Officials from each health system will sign an agreement to formalize the new program.

Rural-PRIME is part of the UC’s Programs in Medical Education, or PRIME, which is designed to produce physician leaders trained to help California’s underserved communities. Rural patients typically struggle with greater health risks as well as a shortage of physicians in their areas.

— UC Davis Health System