STEVE CHAN MD PH.D. AND ANNA KIRILLOVA (MD/PH.D. STUDENT IN THE MEDICAL SCIENTIST TRAINING PROGRAM) PHOTO BY TOM ALTANY|UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

University of Pittsburgh research into potential causes of dementia and cardiovascular disease has gotten a boost with a $14.3 million gift from a foundation created by the founder and CEO of Roku, the video streaming device.

Anthony Wood and his wife, Susan, fund their philanthropic efforts through WoodNext Foundation and this award adds to the total $20.6 million in its contributions to Pitt. The other support has funded research into the genetic underpinnings of sleep dysfunction.

The new gift will support research focusing on the effects of inflammation on cardiovascular disease — the leading cause of death in America — and the development of dementia. Previous research has shown a close link between inflammation and chronic diseases of aging, but studies have yet to provide a clear understanding of how inflammation drives these deadly diseases.

“This funding provides a unique opportunity to learn how inflammation connects the cardiovascular and neurological systems,” said Stephen Chan, director of Pitt’s Vascular Medicine Institute and Vitalant Chair in Vascular Medicine, in a press release. “We will leverage our discoveries to identify molecules in the body that could be targeted by drugs and develop a novel generation of medicines that prevent, treat or even reverse these disease processes and improve the lives of patients worldwide.”

ANNE NEWMAN, MD, MPH, AND STUDY PARTICIPANT HILDA MCNABB TEST GRIP STRENGTH USING A HAND DYNAMOMETER. PHOTO BY AIMEE OBIDZINSKI|UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

The award will fund discoveries in three major areas of study.

• Dr. Chan will lead a team to use gene-editing tools and genome-wide association studies to discover causes of inflammation connecting heart disease with dementia in hopes of identifying specific proteins that drive neurodegeneration.
• Building upon the genomic research, a second team led by Dr. Toren Finkel, distinguished professor of medicine; G. Nicholas Beckwith III; and Dorothy B. Beckwith, professor of translational medicine and director of the Aging Institute at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC; hope to identify drugs to prevent or reverse dementia.
• A third team led by Dr. Anne Newman, distinguished professor of epidemiology, clinical director of the Aging Institute and director of the Center for Aging and Public Health, will launch the first clinical trial to determine whether an immune regulator can reduce the deleterious aspects of aging in elderly, but otherwise healthy adults.

The WoodNext funding also will support an entrepreneur-in-residence to work with faculty scientists and Pitt’s Innovation Institute on therapeutic commercialization as well as fund an Innovation Board of Advisors with ties to the biotech industry and investment community.

“The WoodNext Foundation’s mission is to remove obstacles, such as debilitating diseases, that stand between individuals and a fulfilling life,” said Nancy Chan, executive director of the WoodNext Foundation.

The Houston-based Wood family has no direct ties to Pitt so most priorities have gone toward the southern region of the United States.