Society Members Receive Ferring Innovation Grants

Ferring Pharmaceuticals announced the recipients of the 2017-2018 Innovation Grants Program, an annual initiative of the Ferring Research Institute (FRI) based in San Diego, Calif. This global program supports research in the fields of reproductive medicine and women’s health, urology, gastroenterology, hepatology, and endocrinology.

This year, five Endocrine Society members were awarded 2017 – 2018 Innovation Grants from Ferring. Those recipients are listed below along with their grant titles:

• K. Joseph Hurt, MD, PhD – University of Colorado School of Medicine
  Adiponectin receptor regulation of myometrial contractility suggests novel therapeutic targets to augment uterine quiescence and prevent preterm birth
• Ursula Kaiser, MD, BSc – Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
  Differential modulation of LH and FSH by GnRH analogs for improved treatment of reproductive disorders
• Victor Navarro, PhD – Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
  Targeting the Kappa Opioid Receptor to Regulate LH Pulses in PCOS Patients
• Willis Samson, PhD – Saint Louis University School of Medicine
  A Novel Ligand (Adropin) – Receptor (GPR19) Handshake: Implications for the Control of Growth Hormone Secretion
• Suraj Unniappan, PhD – University of Saskatchewan
  Nesfatin-1 and Nesfatin-1-Like Peptide Regulation of Growth and Stress Hormones: Novel Targets for Endocrine Diseases

“The quality of applications received in response to the 2017-2018 Ferring Innovation Grants call for proposals was outstanding,” says Keith James, president, FRI, senior vice president research and development. “We have funded programs that we believe represent the leading edge of research in their therapeutic fields, and very much look forward to seeing the outcome of the innovative projects proposed by this year’s grant awardees.”

Now in its fifth year, the Innovation Grants Program received 300 submissions. Each submission was reviewed for its scientific merit, and a short list of finalists were invited to submit more detailed applications for consideration. A total of 13 projects were chosen to receive grant funding from Ferring this year. In addition to the U.S., projects have been funded in Canada, the UK, Australia, and Portugal.