Arora Selected to Receive Biomedical Research Funds
September 1, 2022
Ripla Arora, PhD, has been awarded the 2022 Jean P. Schultz Biomedical Research Endowment Fund.
Dr. Arora is an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, and member of MSU's Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering. Her research is focused on maternal-fetal interactions during pregnancy. Through the Schultz award, Arora seeks to understand how TBX4 protein regulates in-utero embryos' vascular and lung development. Fluctuations in TBX4 protein levels can cause babies to be born with underdeveloped lungs, and in many cases, leads to pediatric pulmonary hypertension (PPH), resulting in neonatal or childhood death.
“This is a new direction for our lab and the Schultz funding will help us develop a model for TBX4 deficiency and generate preliminary data to apply for an National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 award," Arora said.
Arora is also part of the TBX4Life network, a global consortium working toward improving treatment and management strategies for TBX4 syndrome patients. "By sharing data with the TBX4Life community, we will go beyond academic research to help the larger community of scientists, clinicians, geneticists and families dealing with PPH," she added.
Arora's translational work has the potential to save the lives of children with PPH. Over the next year, the endowment award will support activities directly related to Arora’s research lab. The Schultz endowed funds intend to lessen the financial barrier of pursuing innovative research solutions.
Arora was recently granted a $1.98M National Institutes of Health (NIH) research award for her use of innovative 3D imaging technologies to uncover uterine structure changes necessary for embryo implantation and pregnancy success.
Currently, there are two PhD students, one medical student, two research assistants and seven undergraduate students in Arora's lab.
Established in 2014 through a gift made by Robert J. Schultz in honor of his late wife Jean P. Schultz, previous recipients include:
| 2020 | Sascha Drewlo |
| 2019 | Alison Bernstein |
| 2018 | Jamie Bernard |
| 2017 | Karen Racicot & Georg Mias |
| 2016 | Karen Racicot |
| 2015 | Julia Busik |
| 2014 | Robert Abramovitch |
According to the college's research office, the Schultz fund has enabled MSU College of Human Medicine researchers to attract over $10 million in additional federal funds within the past eight years for research on significant biomedical topics.
Story by Sarah Enlow