Dijoia Darden, M.D., an acute care surgery fellow in the University of Florida Department of Surgery, has received funding support from the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Research & Education Fund.
The one-year, $50,000 pilot grant will allow Darden to study the repurposing of fostamatinib — normally used to treat chronic immune thrombocytopenia — for chronic critical illness after sepsis.
The grant not only recognizes the project’s potential impact but also speaks to the quality of support and mentorship Darden has received in the department and at the UF Sepsis and Critical Illness Research Center.
Using advanced artificial intelligence-assisted tools to comb through large amounts of data, researchers at the center identified fostamatinib as having the potential to help patients suffering from chronic critical illnesses associated with long-term sepsis, an area of intense study at the center.
When looking more closely at the drug, Darden’s team found it had also been successfully used to reduce length-of-stay and ventilation time for patients with severe COVID-19 in intensive care units.
“A study showed fostamatinib has the potential to positively impact pathways associated with chronic critical illness in the same cells we look at in sepsis research,” Darden said. “It’s very promising and exciting.”
The grant will allow Darden, who is preparing to finish her fellowship and join the Department of Surgery as an assistant professor in the Division of Acute Care Surgery, to hit the ground running with research funding.
“The Department of Surgery has been so supportive of me as a surgical trainee and as a research fellow,” she said. “I’ve had amazing mentors and am so excited to stay here as faculty.”
Congratulations to Dr. Darden on this impressive achievement. We look forward to seeing where this important research leads.