5R01EY016813-05 | (PI: R. Salomon) | NIH/NEI | REACTIVE INTERMEDIATES OF OXIDATIVE LIPID FRAGMENTATION
The overall objective of the project is to provide a fundamental mechanistic basis for the rational design of therapeutic measures to prevent or ameliorate the pathological consequences of lipid oxidation, for example, by blocking the formation of certain toxic products that damage the retina resulting in age-related macular degeneration. The immediate goal is to understand oxidative fragmentation reactions of polyunsaturated fatty acyl derivatives that generate a complex mixture of oxidatively truncated phospholipids and aliphatic lipid fragments.

5R01HL053315-13 | (PI: R. Salomon) | NIH/NHLBI | MOLECULAR BASIS OF OXIDATIVE MODIFICATION OF LDL
In the initial stages of atherosclerosis, the main cholesterol-carrying lipoprotein in blood, LDL, becomes oxidatively damaged (oxLDL), resulting in an attempt by cells lining the artery wall to scavenge the oxLDL and break it down.The overall objective of the project is to understand why there is an accumulation of cholesterol in these cells, why they are unable to efficiently break down the oxLDL and clear the released cholesterol.

2R01GM021249-31| (PI: R. Salomon) | NIH/NIGMS | PREPROSTAGLANDIN ENDOPEROXIDES
This project builds on discoveries of specific oxidatively damaged lipids that modify proteins in the eye thereby contributing to the pathology of age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma, eye diseases that diminish the quality of life of millions of Americans. The project seeks to determine the biochemical mechanisms through which the damaged proteins contribute to the disease processes in order to facilitate the rational design of therapeutic countermeasures. The project also seeks to develop drugs that trap the oxidized lipids before they can damage proteins, or that block the interaction of the lipid-modified proteins with receptors that initiate pathological signals which cause growth of capillaries into the retina or cornea, or that blunt the ability of certain immune cells to contribute to retinal degeneration.

5P01HL087018-04 | (PI: R. Silverstein) | NIH/NHBLI | OXIDIZED PHOSPHOLIPIDS IN VASCULAR PATHOBIOLOGY
The goal of this Program is to develop a mechanistic understanding of the link between lipid oxidation and vascular pathology. The Salomon group participates in the "Analytic and Synthetic ChemistryCore" through which it provides well characterized, uniform-quality chemical reagents, such as oxidatively-truncated phospholipids.