The new MPI R01 from the NIH NHLBI, entitled “Role of Factor XII in Thrombo-Inflammatory Complications of Sickle Cell”, was awarded to Rafal Pawlinski, PhD of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and to Evi Stavrou, MD of Case Western Reserve University.
The four-year $3,129,000 project is proposed to study the mechanism of FXII activation and relative contribution of signaling versus enzymatic functions of FXII to prothrombotic and vaso-occlusive complications in sickle cell disease (SCD). Unraveling mechanisms by which FXII contributes to the pathology of SCD may lead to the development of safer anticoagulant strategies that may also reduce painful, vaso-occlusive crisis in SCD patients.
Several co-Investigators contributing to the project include Erica Sparkenbaugh, PhD, Steven Grover, PhD and Nigel Key, MD from the UNC at Chapel Hill, and John Belcher, PhD and Gregory Vercellotti, MD from the University of Minnesota.