Michael Page, PhDBy Kate Rauch
A major frustration for heart and lung doctors are blood clots that typically cannot be detected until they are large and deadly. Severe symptoms, usually shortness of breath combined with risk factors such as obesity or smoking, are common emergency room triggers prompting doctors to look for clots. The most common technique is invasive angiogram x-ray.
Michael Page, PhD, UCSF assistant researcher, is on the trail of a better way. Page has invented something he calls CardioPaint, a peptide-based probe that detects small, early blood clots when injected in mice. The probe is activated by thrombin, a protein emitted in clotting. The new method shows clotting in real time, allowing doctors to evaluate immediate risks and treat as needed.
Page, who said he is already on the radar of big pharmaceutical companies, received a T1 Translational Catalyst Award from UCSF’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), to help his quest to examine CardioPaint in humans.
The award is designed to help drive promising research through the complexities of early stage development by connecting UCSF scientists to customized expertise and capabilities outside of UCSF and the traditional academic realm.
The granting process is phased, with each level of the award providing customized support from legal, financial, and regulatory experts in medical and health product development. Page received the highest award, which combines one-on-one consultation with $100,000 in funding.
Page is using his T1 Catalyst award funding to narrow down which imaging method gets the best results -- vital data for planning future studies. He is also expanding his investigation to clots associated with cancers and infectious disease.
Page’s aim is to eventually test the approach in humans. “The data are interesting, but what’s a venture capitalist or Big Pharma going to say,” Page said. His Catalyst Award consultants include a FDA specialist, a venture capitalist, and a cardiologist. “They each had different skills sets that were important and useful,” Page added. “The award is unique in that it matches us with the right people helping us focus our options at the earliest stage of research and answer the question where we should put our money and efforts.”
CTSI at UCSF is a member of the national, NIH-funded CTSA network focusing on accelerating research to improve health. The T1 Translational Catalyst Award is among a wide range of CTSI resources and services that support research at every stage.
