Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine

AUBURN, Ala., Sept. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --Convenient, affordable access to housing, health care and education can change the lives of those living in rural areas, and Auburn University is on a mission to build resilient communities throughout Alabama. Several programs bring Auburn's research and outreach work to rural areas across the state. Health care Continue Reading As part of the Rural Health Initiative, Auburn University nursing students gain hands-on experience by working shifts with Chambers County EMS in Chambers County, Alabama. The university's Rural Health Initiative seeks to enhance access to health and wellness services and education, both in-person and through telehealth. This initiative, supported by Auburn Outreach and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, is a collaborative effort involving a diverse group of faculty and staff. Telehealth emphasizes substance use disorder treatment, mental health and primary care with OnMed health care stations at six sites and telehealth carts at 10 sites. Additionally, the colleges of nursing, liberal arts, education, human sciences, veterinary medicine and pharmacy contribute significantly to face-to-face community service, bringing specialized expertise and hands-on support directly to communities in need. Their involvement ensures a comprehensive approach to addressing health and wellness issues and strengthens the initiative's impact on Alabamians. The Harrison College of Pharmacy partners with the Alabama State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) to offer the AU-SHIP Medicare Outreach Program. Each fall, student pharmacists assist community members in selecting Medicare Advantage or Part D plans. They deliver unbiased information about the plans available and help people aged 65 and older determine whether they qualify for a subsidy program to help cover out-of-pocket expenses. Funded by the State of Alabama and now in its 19th year, the Rural Medicine Program (RMP) is a strategic collaboration between Auburn's College of Sciences and Mathematics and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Launched in 2006, the RMP aims to address the shortage of primary care physicians in rural Alabama by preparing students for medical school and encouraging their return to serve rural communities. The program includes a pre-matriculation year at Auburn, followed by medical training at UAB and hands-on clinical experience in Huntsville. This three-phase structure includes rigorous science courses, clinical mentorship and experiential learning, all designed to foster a strong commitment to rural medicine among students. Housing The College of Architecture, Design and Construction's Rural Studio is an off-campus design-build program in Newbern, Alabama. Since its founding in 1993, Rural Studio students and faculty have completed more than 220 projects, building homes, recreational facilities, a firehouse, a library and more for the residents of rural Hale County. Through the program's Front Porch Initiative, innovative housing design plans generated by Rural Studio students and faculty are shared with community organizations around the country addressing the lack of affordable housing. Because many areas of the Black Belt lack wastewater treatment infrastructure due to the clay-based soil, Rural Studio recently expanded its housing efforts to include research on wastewater treatment options. Education The College of Education and Auburn Outreach are working together on the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) Achieve initiative. This program is funded by an $18.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, awarded during the 2023-24 school year, to provide greater access and opportunities to more than 6,500 Alabama middle school students, serving students in districts where college and career readiness support is most needed. Over a span of seven years, these students will receive a college scholarship, enhanced support for higher education opportunities and assistance in navigating the college admissions process to help ensure greater post-secondary success. In addition, Auburn's Government & Economic Development Institute (GEDI) is working to provide support for entrepreneurs, small businesses and local governments in rural communities, hosting trainings and workshops across Alabama. GEDI partners with many municipalities and professional associations to host certification and credentialing programs for elected officials, community leaders and government employees, as well as programs focused on topics such as economic and community development, workforce development, retail strategies, business attraction and marketing. These programs help participants excel at their jobs, better serve their citizens and grow and strengthen their local communities and economies. SOURCE Auburn University

AUBURN, Ala., Dec. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- For most academic scientists conducting biomedical research, the possibility of advancing a new medicine to the clinic is, at best, an aspiration. Despite the odds, Gary Piazza and his research team in Auburn University's Harrison College of Pharmacy discovered a highly potent and selective anticancer drug and are collaborating with investigators at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center to advance a new drug candidate to clinical trials for patients with the most fatal of cancers. Continue Reading Gary Piazza, left, is a highly respected cancer investigator with over 35 years of research experience. At Auburn University's Harrison College of Pharmacy, he is director of the Cancer Research Center, a professor and department head. Piazza joined the Harrison College of Pharmacy (HCOP) in 2021 as the W.W. Walker Professor and head of the Department of Drug Discovery and Development. A highly respected cancer investigator, Piazza is a UAB graduate with over 35 years of research experience, including 10 years as a professor at the University of South Alabama Mitchell Cancer Institute (MCI) in Mobile and 10 years as a principal scientist with Southern Research in Birmingham. Along with his administrative responsibilities, Piazza continues his groundbreaking research as director of the newly created Cancer Research Center at HCOP. His collaborators also made the move from MCI to Auburn including medicinal chemist Xi Chen, cancer biologist Adam Keeton, pharmacologist Yulia Maxuitenko and lab manager Kristy Berry. "Having a multidisciplinary team with diverse scientific expertise has allowed us to solve many technical problems as we seek to advance our experimental drugs to the clinic," said Piazza. Piazza also brought with him multiple actively funded research projects, including three R01 projects from the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute and a project from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, along with several million dollars in funding. Selective targeting From his early research in a class of drugs known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), Piazza was the first to publish evidence a drug called sulindac could kill cancer cells by a specific mechanism known as apoptosis, or programmed cell death. This research supported the clinical development of a sulindac derivative called exisulind to treat precancerous colon adenomas (polyps) in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis who are at high risk of developing colorectal cancer. "NSAIDs are not considered to have strong anticancer activity and are not FDA approved for long-term use to either prevent or treat cancer because of potentially fatal gastrointestinal and other toxicities," said Piazza. "Yet, this unusual anticancer activity of NSAIDs commonly used to treat everything from headaches to arthritis inspired me to better understand the underlying mechanism of action." His research looks to use his novel series of compounds to inhibit a protein called RAS, a protein in which mutations in RAS genes have been known for decades to be responsible for many human cancers and those that are the most fatal, especially pancreatic, colorectal and lung. A unique approach Piazza is optimistic that their lead compound, ADT-1004, is an attractive drug candidate inching closer and closer to clinical trials. Although more research is needed, Piazza is encouraged by the promising anticancer activity that ADT-1004 has shown in mouse models of pancreatic cancer and our detailed understanding of how the drug can selectively kill cancer cells. "In many ways, cancer cells are just like normal cells, especially those cells in tissues where there is rapid cell division, for example, in the gut," said Piazza. "The difficulty in cancer drug development has always been the ability to find target-directed small molecules that can selectively kill cancer cells without harming normal cells." Potential at Auburn Piazza is excited about what can be accomplished on The Plains to be a beacon of hope in the battle to fight cancer. "Most of my career prior to joining Auburn was in the pharmaceutical industry where I learned the value of collaboration and in cancer centers, I saw sick patients every day coming in for chemotherapy, which made me more determined not to be satisfied with only conducting basic research," said Piazza. "At Auburn, I recognized the diverse expertise within the college, which I believed could help solve some of the major hurdles we encountered to advance our experimental anticancer drugs to the clinic." To read more on the Piazza lab's work, visit . SOURCE Auburn University

AUBURN, Ala., Sept. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --Tori Bowie was known for her athletic prowess on the track. She captured three medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, including a gold medal as the anchor of the women's 4 x 100-meter relay team. She made headlines again this May when she died at the age of 32 due to complications from childbirth. Continue Reading Auburn University Assistant Professors Katilya Ware and Sarah Watts are conducting similar research projects through the College of Nursing to address health needs of underserved populations in the area. "When I learned of Tori Bowie's death, I shared the news with my project team because I felt that it helped confirm the need to engage African American women in research studies to develop solutions towards improving maternal health outcomes," said Katilya Ware, an assistant professor in Auburn University's College of Nursing. Pregnancy-related deaths occur during or within one year of the end of pregnancy from a complication or chain of events initiated or aggravated by the physiological effects of pregnancy. "In the United States, African American women experience pregnancy-related deaths at a rate three to four times higher than white women," added Ware. "Engaging African American women, family members or other support persons in research is critical in mitigating the continued increase in these deaths that has remained persistent over the last two decades." Bowie's death also made Ware think of a pregnancy-related death in her own family. In 2011, Ware's 30-year-old sister, Kanika, died from an amniotic fluid embolism. She wasn't famous like Bowie, but her pregnancy-related death was just as tragic. Because of her sister and the complications other family members endured during pregnancy, Ware has devoted her research at Auburn to improving maternal health outcomes in Alabama. In 2020, Alabama had the third-highest maternal mortality rate in the nation. For her project, "Engaging African American Women in the South in Patient-Centered Outcomes Research," Ware received funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to build a consortium to engage African American women with local faith-based leaders and health experts to improve maternal health outcomes. Thirty African American women who are either pregnant or delivered within the last five years are currently working with the group, alongside a family member and/or support person. "Most pregnancy-related deaths are preventable," said Ware. "Recognition of warning signs for symptoms that occur during pregnancy or after delivery is essential in receiving a prompt diagnosis and treatment." Ware is not alone in her attempt to improve the health of Alabamians. Several faculty members in the college are specifically conducting research with racial and ethnic minority groups, those who experience poor health disproportionately higher than others. Assistant Professor Sarah Watts is seeking answers to improve the health outcomes of the local Hispanic population. In general, Hispanics have limited access to health care, which leads to poor health outcomes and increased susceptibility to certain disease states. To address this, Watts secured funding from PCORI to support her project, "Engaging and Training Stakeholders to Participate in Patient-Centered Research to Reduce Obesity in Hispanic Women," and engaged with Hispanic women, their families, community partners and health care providers. A key partner for Watts has been Odalys Silvera, executive director of Esperanza House, a local non-profit organization aimed at improving the quality of life for Hispanic children and their families. The pair collaborate with leaders across Lee County, Alabama, to improve access to health care for these families. "I believe Sarah's project is very important to our local community and Hispanic women across the country, as many are facing numerous challenges and are in poor health," said Silvera. Another key partner is East Alabama Health. As Watts and her team identify Hispanics who could benefit from access to preventative care, they arrange for Opelika's Neighborhood Mobile Wellness Clinic to visit these local communities. Victor Chavez's visit to the clinic in his neighborhood likely saved his life. Watts and Ware are also working with the hospital to create a program to improve prenatal care for pregnant women, especially vulnerable populations. "Many of these women arrive at the hospital to deliver with minimal prenatal care, which can lead to poor outcomes," said Watts. "We aim to change this." As Alabama continues to be ranked one of the lowest states in the country in overall health, faculty in the College of Nursing are striving to change that and make Alabama a better place to live and work. SOURCE Auburn University