Annual Report 2018 | Page 19

“ We are focused on moving our work into pre-clinical models as the protein is an exciting target for developing sepsis-specifc therapies , and could lead to the development of treatments for other diseases such as atherosclerosis and diabetes .”

– NATALIJA GLIBETIC

Graduate student , Natalija Glibetic , has won multiple awards for sepsis research conducted at the UH Cancer Center in Michelle L . Matter ’ s lab of the Cancer Biology Program .

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I am incredibly grateful for all the support and attention my work has received . Sepsis is the leading cause of death in U . S . hospitals and accounts for 8.5 percent of cancer patient deaths each year , yet there are no sepsis-specifc therapies . Native Hawaiians are particularly susceptible to cancer-associated sepsis , so it is crucial to develop these therapies for Hawai ‘ i ,” said Glibetic .

Glibetic ’ s research focuses on the regulation of vascular leakage in sepsis and cancerassociated sepsis . Glibetic found a protein that is crucial in maintaining blood vessel integrity that blocks sepsis-induced vascular leakage . Te protein acts as a key switch from an unhealthy leaky vessel that can induce tissue swelling , multiple organ failure and death of a healthy blood vessel .

People with cancer are particularly susceptible to developing sepsis due to suppression of the immune system that can occur from the cancer itself or from surgery , chemotherapy or radiation therapy used to treat the disease .

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