What causes poor outcomes in patients with advanced peripheral artery disease who develop a complication called chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI), which has a high risk of limb amputation due to the restriction of blood flow to the extremities? Researchers screened for factors in skeletal muscle samples from patients with CLTI to identify those that were different compared to controls. Surprisingly, it wasn't growth factors that emerged as different, but a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) called CARMN – and it wasn't expressed in endothelial cells, only in vascular smooth muscle cells.

In 2018 the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) awarded a five-year, $2.9 million R01 grant to a TTUHSC research team in Amarillo to help uncover and develop much needed therapies for the treatment of ischemic stroke. Due to their high level of productivity and potential to create new medications for stroke injury, NINDS recently awarded a new $3 million competitive renewal that extends the grant for an additional five years to 2030.