COBRE
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER
The Principal Investigator
Jian-xing Ma, MD, PhD
The Principal Investigator of this CoBRE is Jian-xing Ma, MD, PhD, Professor and Laureate Chair, Director of Research, Oklahoma Diabetes Center. The PI graduated from a medical school in China and received his Ph.D. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the US. The combination of his medical background and solid training in basic sciences enables him to apply his molecular biological expertise in investigation of human diseases. He has been studying diabetic complications since 1994, and has a long track record of independent funding in diabetes research, where he has made significant contributions. The PI’s group was the first to show experimentally that the balance between pro-angiogenic factors and angiogenic inhibitors in the eye is the determinant of ocular angiogenesis, and that a disturbed balance between pro-angiogenic factors and angiogenic inhibitors in diabetes is responsible for retinal neovascularization and vascular leakage. The PI’s group was the first to identify the genetic basis of differential susceptibility to retinopathy between different strains of rats, and its molecular basis. The PI’s group also first identified the retinal isomerohydrolase, a key enzyme in the visual cycle of vitamin A processing and an enzyme searched for by the entire vision community for over 20 years. In 2005, the PI’s group demonstrated that there exist high levels of angiogenic inhibitors in normal kidneys, and that levels of these angiogenic inhibitors are decreased in the kidneys of diabetic rats and mice. Further, the PI’s group showed that delivery of these factors into diabetic rats significantly ameliorated proteinuria, mesangial expansion, and inflammation in the kidney. The PI has been invited to present his research at numerous national and international conferences and invited seminars. He has served in several NIH study sections and grant review panels for private foundations such as the American Diabetes Association.
The PI is also currently conducting collaborative and translational research with colleagues at OUHSC and at other universities across the US and abroad. He is collaborating with clinicians in clinical studies, such as Dr. Timothy Lyons and Dr. Alicia Jenkins in searching for predictive markers of diabetic complications. The PI has obtained two Partnership Grants in diabetes research recently. He is also the PI of a NIH bench-to-bedside grant to develop a new treatment for diabetic retinopathy. He has acquired two patents, both in the diabetes field. The PI has also been an organizer of Program Project Grants and center grants in the past, including a successful NIH/NEI R24 grant and Lions Retinal Research Center grant.
The PI has a long track record in mentoring graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty members. In the past, he has trained 8 Ph.D. students and 17 postdoctoral fellows in his lab. Among these graduates from his lab, 8 of them are currently faculty in academic institutions. In addition, he has trained two professors from teaching colleges in research. One of the college professors has carried the project which she initiated in the PI’s lab and has obtained an independent NSF grant. After moving to OUHSC, the PI has been actively involved in mentoring junior investigators. He served as mentor for two PJIs in the OUHSC Vision CoBRE. In 2005, he was promoted to Director of Research in Section of Endocrinology and Oklahoma Diabetes Center. The PI has participated in numerous administrative activities at the University level. He is a member of OUHSC Strategic Planning and OUHSC Research Council and Chairman in the first Internal Reviewing Committee for the Graduate Program. He initiated and has been organizing the state-wide annual Diabetes Research Retreat for the last three years, which include more than 100 attendees and 50 presentations this year. This activity has greatly enhanced diabetes research and promoted collaborations among diabetic researchers. He has promoted three of his postdoctoral fellows to become independent faculty members. Two of them have obtained independent extramural funding. The PI has been working closely with Dr. Timothy Lyons in recruiting new investigators into OUHSC and developing the Oklahoma Diabetes Center. This CoBRE represents another effort by Dr. Ma to mentor and develop new investigators in diabetes research and expanding diabetes research program in Oklahoma.