Dan and Diane Riccio Fund for Neuroscience

The Dan and Diane Riccio Fund for Neuroscience is intended to catalyze interdisciplinary collaborations, leading to innovative discoveries that deepen our understanding of brain function and the processes that go awry in neurological diseases.  The initiative seeks to establish collaborations between faculty that will promote pioneering scientific discoveries and develop innovative technologies, with the long-term goal of making the NeuroNexus Institute at UMass Chan a national center of excellence in Neuroscience research, education and clinical care. To date, the Dan and Diane Riccio Fund for Neuroscience has supported innovative discoveries at UMass Chan by funding over 20 interdisciplinary collaborations, listed below.  The Fund has supported collaborations that have deepened our understanding of brain function and investigated the processes that go awry in neurological disease conditions, including neurodegenerative disorders.

 

In October 2017, Diane M. (Casey) Riccio and her husband Dan very generously donated $2 million to support neuroscience research at UMass Chan Medical School, with $1 million to establish the Dan and Diane Riccio Fund for Neuroscience, and an additional $1 million to support the UMass ALS Cellucci Fund which they had established in 2013. These generous donations are in addition to ongoing support for graduate student travel fellowships administered through the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. In recognition of their commitment to supporting research and training at the medical school, Dan and Diane Riccio received honorary degrees at the 48th UMass Chan Commencement on June 6, 2021.

In 2022, the Riccio Family made an even more generous, $15M gift to support neuroscience at UMass Chan Medical School. A portion of these funds were invested to create an endowment to provide seed money for future funding cycles of the Dan and Diane Riccio Fund for Neuroscience. In the interim, Provost Flotte agreed to support two $50,000 awards per year.

 

The applications supported in 2024 were:

 

One award was presented to Darren Lee, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology & visual sciences; Claudio Punzo, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology & visual sciences and neurobiology; and Ann Marshak-Rothstein, PhD, professor of medicine and microbiology for their project, “Fas therapy for the treatment of autoimmune uveitis.”

Uveitis, an inflammation inside the eye, is the third leading cause of blindness in the United States. The goal of the project is to test a novel strategy to provide more effective and long-lasting therapy option for uveitis patients.

The other award was presented to Michael Lodato, PhD, assistant professor of molecular, cell & cancer biology; and Ryan Logan, PhD, professor of psychiatry and neurobiology, for their project, “DNA damage and somatic mutations associated with opioid use disorder in human brain.”

The project’s main goals are to study the impact of chronic opioid use on DNA damage and repair in the human brain and to explore the potential impact of opioids and DNA damage on brain cell function and physiology.

 

Previously Funded Applications

2023

Fiachra Humphries, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and Carolina Ionete, MD, PhD, professor of Neurology and director of the Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Center, for “Characterizing MARCO as a Biomarker and Therapeutic Target in Multiple Sclerosis” 

John P. Haran, MD, PhD, professor of emergency medicine, Paul L. Greer, PhD, assistant professor, program in molecular medicine, and Jessica B. Spinelli, PhD, assistant professor, program in molecular medicine, for “Understanding the gut microbiota’s role in phytoestrogen metabolism and the protective role it plays in preventing neurocognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease” 

2022

Four seed grants were selected for support by the Dan and Diane Riccio Fund for Neuroscience. One project was a renewal of a project initially funded in 2021, while three of the projects were new. The 2022 recipients and their projects are:

• Mark J. Alkema, PhD, professor of Neurobiology, Alexandra B. Byrne, PhD, assistant professor of Neurobiology, Doyle V. Ward, PhD, associate professor of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, and Beth A. McCormick, PhD, the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair II, professor and vice-chair of Microbiology and Physiological Systems and Director of the Program in Microbiome Dynamics.
  “How do human microbiota determine neuronal health?” (Renewal)
• Yingleong (Rigel) Chan, PhD, assistant professor of Neurology and Christopher C. Hemond, MD, assistant professor of Neurology.
  “High-throughput antibody profiling of cerebrospinal fluid from multiple sclerosis patients”
• Allison M. Keeler-Klunk, PhD, assistant professor of Pediatrics and Horae Gene Therapy Center and John E. Harris, MD, PhD, professor and chair of Dermatology.
  “Targeting sensory neurons for the treatment of chronic itch by AAV gene therapy”
• Yang Xiang, PhD, assistant professor of Neurobiology & Y. Tony Ip, PhD, professor, Program in Molecular Medicine.
  “Mechanisms and functions of gut-neural sensing”

2021

The Dan and Diane Riccio Fund for Neuroscience announced the four $50,000 seed grants awarded to teams of UMass Chan Medical School researchers in June, 2021. Two of the projects funded in 2021 were new, while two others were renewal applications initially funded in 2020. The recipients and their projects are:

• Mark J. Alkema, PhD, professor of Neurobiology, Alexandra B. Byrne, PhD, assistant professor of Neurobiology, Doyle V. Ward, PhD, associate professor of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, and Beth A. McCormick, PhD, the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair II, professor and vice-chair of Microbiology and Physiological Systems and Director of the Program in Microbiome Dynamics.
  “How do human microbiota determine neuronal health?” (New)
• Alexandra B. Byrne, PhD, assistant professor of Neurobiology, Read Pukkila-Worley, MD associate professor of Medicine, and Paul R. Thompson, PhD professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology.
  “Inhibiting SARM1-mediated neuronal degeneration.” (New)
• Katherine A. Fitzgerald, PhD, the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair III, professor of Medicine, vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine and director of the Program in Innate Immunity, and Carolina Ionete, MD, PhD, professor of Neurology
  “Gasdermins as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for Multiple Sclerosis.” (Renewal)
• Paul L. Greer, PhD, assistant professor of Molecular Medicine and Robert H. Brown, Jr., DPhil, MD the Leo P. and Theresa M. LaChance Chair in Medical Research and professor and vice-chair of Neurology
  "Characterizing CNS Myeloid Cells in ALS Pathogenesis." (Renewal).

2020

Four $50,000 seed grants will be supported from the Fund in 2020. Three of the funded projects are new this year, while one is a renewal of an applications initially funded in 2019. UMass Chan News article about the 2020 Awards. The recipients and their projects are:

• Kate A. Fitzgerald, PhD (Department of Medicine) & Carolina Ionete, MD, PhD  (Department of Neurology)
  "Gasdermin D as a Biomarker and Therapeutic Target for Multiple Sclerosis"
• Paul L. Greer, PhD (Program in Molecular Medicine) & Robert H. Brown, Jr., MD, DPhil (Department of Neurology)
  "Characterizing CNS Myeloid Cells in ALS Pathogenesis"
• Andrei Korostelev, PhD (RNA Therapeutics Institute), Fen-Biao Gao, PhD (Department of Neurology) & Joel D. Richter, PhD (Program in Molecular Medicine)
  "Structural Understanding of Ribosome Dysregulation in Neurological Diseases" (renewal)
• Dorothy P. Schafer, PhD  (Department of Neurobiology) & Jean A. Frazier, MD (E.K. Shriver Center and Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics)
  "Human-derived Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) to Study Microglial Cells in the Context of Autism Spectrum Disorder"

2019

The Dan and Diane Riccio Fund for Neuroscience will support four $50,000 seed grants in 2019.  Two of the funded applications were renewals of applications initially funded in the first year of Riccio Awards, while two of the projects are new this year. The recipients and their projects are:

• Daryl A. Bosco, PhD, (Neurology) and Dori P. Schafer, PhD (Neurobiology)
  “Investigating microglial dysfunction induced by ALS-linked Profilin-1”
• Kensuke Futai, PhD, (Neurobiology) and Douglas T. Golenbock, MD, (Medicine)
  “The roles of inflammasome-dependent cytokines in Alzheimer's Disease and seizures”
• Andrei A. Korostelev, PhD, (RNA Therapeutics Institute), Fen-Biao Gao, PhD, (Neurology), and Joel D. Richter, PhD (Program in Molecular Medicine)
  “Structural understanding of ribosome dysregulation in neurological diseases”
• Michael R. Volkert, PhD, (Microbiology and Physiological Systems) and Hemant Khanna, PhD (Ophthalmology and Horae Gene Therapy Center).
  “Gene therapy for oxidative stress-induced retinal neurodegeneration”

2018

Following a call for applications in January 2018, five applications were funded.  The Riccio Fund provided funding for four awards of $50,000 each, while the UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science (UMCCTS), partnered with this initiative and provided funding for one award. Learn more. The recipients and their projects are:

• Kensuke Futai, PhD, assistant professor of neurobiology, and Douglas T. Golenbock, MD, the Pillar Chair in Biomedical Research and professor of medicine: “Roles of inflammasome-dependent cytokines in Alzheimer's disease and seizures.”
• Nils Henninger, MD, PhD, associate professor of neurology; Samer Jaber, DVM, DACLAM, assistant professor of pathology; and Mariana Pereira, PhD, assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences, UMass Amherst: “Determining mechanistic links between traumatic brain injury and frontotemporal dementia.”
• Mark Alkema, PhD, associate professor of neurobiology, and Marian Walhout, PhD, the Maroun Seeman Chair in Biomedical Research, professor of molecular medicine and co-director of the Program in Systems Biology: “The role of the microbiome and vitamin B12 on neural function.”
• Daryl A. Bosco, PhD, associate professor of neurology, and Dori Schafer, PhD, assistant professor of neurobiology: “Investigating microglial dysfunction induced by ALS-linked profilin-1.”
• Alexandra Byrne, PhD, assistant professor of neurobiology, and Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD, the Leo P. and Theresa M. LaChance Chair in Medical Research and chair and professor of neurology: “Should I stay and should I grow? Identification and manipulation of genes that determine whether an axon regenerates or degenerates after motor neuron injury or disease.”