$1.8M grant to aid studies of mechanisms of fever and hypothermia in systemic inflammation

[Source: Kimberly Lodge, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center] - St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center researcher Andrej Romanovsky, M.D., Ph.D., has been awarded a $1.8 million, five-year grant by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Dr. Romanovsky was awarded the grant to continue his studies of the mechanisms of fever and hypothermia in systemic inflammation. Systemic inflammation, including sepsis and trauma disease, is the complex biological response of the body to harmful stimuli. It is accompanied by either fever (in mild cases) or hypothermia (in severe cases). The direction of the body temperature response may determine the difference between life and death for a patient with certain injuries and infections.

In an attempt to understand how and why systemic inflammation causes fever in some cases and hypothermia in others, Dr. Romanovsky hopes to identify the mechanisms involved and possibly gain insight into the therapeutic use of some anti-inflammatory drugs. Dr. Romanovsky's grant proposal received an unusually high score upon its first submission, reflecting the great level of enthusiasm by the National Institutes of Health for his proposal. This is the fourth major grant that he has been awarded since joining St. Joseph's in 2000. Dr. Romanovsky is a member of St. Joseph's Trauma Center, the only Level I Trauma Center in Arizona that's certified by the American Colleges of Surgeons (ASC). As part of ASC certification, St. Joseph's must conduct ongoing trauma research and education.