Posts by Colleen
MMRI Receives Summer Fellowship Grant From Community Foundation
The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties announced more than $2 million in grants during the first quarter of 2024 to organizations and initiatives primarily in the areas of human services, health, arts and culture, and education. In February, the Community Foundation invited Herkimer and Oneida County nonprofits to apply for its Education, Health,…
Read MoreScience Spotlight: Dr. Nunes Santos & Miss Della Posta
Luana Nunes Santos, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow and Ariana Della Posta, research assistant, under Maria Kontaridis, Ph.D., executive director, are working on autism research. Most recently the duo is focused on understanding the molecular connection underlying congenital heart defect (CHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).The studies being conducted aim to determine the consequences and the cellular…
Read MoreAmerican Heart Association Go Red for Women Luncheon raises funds
We were honored to be a part of this year’s American Heart Association Mohawk Valley Go Red For Women luncheon, held on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Dr. Kontaridis alongside panel members Dr. Antilus, OB/GYN, and survivor Stephanie Mazloom Hammond had the privilege of inspiring and educating others. It was the American Heart Association’s 20th annual…
Read MoreMMRI Holds Utica’s First Walk to Support Lupus Research in Honor of Lupus Awareness Month
On Saturday, May 18, 2024, MMRI hosted more than 350 people at the Masonic Care Community Campus, located at 2150 Bleecker Street, Utica, New York, to walk in support of its lupus research. This was Utica’s first walk to support the devastating autoimmune disease estimated to affect 1.5 million people in the United States and…
Read MoreLupus Walk
MMRI, in partnership with the Lupus and Allied Diseases Association, Inc., was thrilled to have held the area’s first Lupus Walk to support lupus research in Utica, New York at the Masonic Care Community Campus. Over 350 participants from across the region joined us to walk a one or three mile course. The event began…
Read More1958 Gala
On Saturday, March 23, 2024, MMRI held its first annual 1958 Gala at the Fort Schuyler Clubhouse in Utica, New York, to raise awareness and support for its groundbreaking medical research. The proceeds benefited the organization’s innovative biomedical research in cardiovascular disease, neurocognitive disorders and autoimmunity. The 1958 Gala took guests through an immersive journey…
Read More$300,000 Goes to Autism and Cardiac Research in Utica
Dr. Adife Gulhan Ercan-Sencicek is an instructor at the Masonic Medical Research Institute, and Dr. Maria Kontaridis is its executive director. The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t stopped the institute’s studies. “It’s very exciting to work in this collaborative environment, not only Dr. Kontaridis, but also other principal investigators,” said Dr. Gulhan Ercan-Sencicek. Ercan-Sencicek is studying if…
Read MoreMMRI Studying Link Between Heart Defects and Autism
Scientists in Utica are studying if there a connection between autism and congenital heart defects. The research is being done thanks to more than $400,000 in grants from the American Heart Association. The Masonic Medical Research Institute’s executive director says that there could be a link. She says almost all of the patients they study…
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