Monthly Archives: October 2021

Biochemistry

Assessing Early Biochemical Alterations in Tumors – Technology Networks

Researchers at the University of Arkansas have demonstratedthe first use of a noninvasive optical technique to determine complex biochemical changes in cancers treated with immunotherapy.

We show that optical spectroscopy provides sensitive detection of early changes in the biomolecular composition of tumors, said Narasimhan Rajaram, associate professor of biomedical engineering. This is important because these changes predict response to immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Thus, our work is the first step in determining whether Raman spectroscopy can identify treatment responders and non-responders early during the course of therapy.

Immune checkpoints act as brakes on the immune system to ensure that the bodys immune response is proportional to the threat level detected. Immune checkpoint inhibitors effectively remove these brakes and unleash the bodys immune system against cancer cells.

The study, published inCancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, describes the use of Raman spectroscopy to determine the molecular composition of colon cancer tumors in mice treated with two types of immunotherapy drugs currently used in the clinical treatment of patients.

Raman spectroscopy uses optical fibers to direct near-infrared laser light to biological tissue. The Raman signal scattered from the tissue is especially sensitive to the molecular composition of the tissue.

For this study, the researchers used machine-learning approaches to train hundreds of Raman datasets acquired from colon cancer tumors treated with different immunotherapy drugs. They then tested the data from each tumor against the overall dataset to determine the difference between tumors that had received various types of immunotherapy and tumors that did not receive any therapy.

The Raman technique demonstrated sensitive detection of early changes in the biomolecular composition of tumors and differentiated tumor response to different treatments. Changes picked up by the non-invasive Raman probe were consistent with changes described by detailed tissue analysis, the researchers found.

Unlike other forms of cancer treatment, immunotherapy does not result in an immediate and predictable reduction in tumor size, and there are currently no accurate methods to determine treatment response in patients. Only a small group of patients benefit from immunotherapy, and there are severe side effects associated with specific combinations of immunotherapy.

Rajaram partnered with Ishan Barman, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, and Alan J. Tackett, deputy director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and professor of biochemistry at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Joel Rodriguez Troncoso, graduate student in biomedical engineering at the U of A, and Santosh Kumar Paidi at Johns Hopkins University were lead authors on the paper.

In addition to Rodriguez Troncoso and Kumar Paidi, co-authors of the paper were Paola Monterroso Diaz, Jesse D. Ivers and David E. Lee at the University of Arkansas, Piyush Raj from Johns Hopkins University, and Nathan L. Avaritt, Allen J. Gies, Charles M. Quick, and Stephanie D. Byrum from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

This research was supported by the Society of Laboratory Automation and Screening Graduate Education Fellowship Grant, the Arkansas IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence, the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and grants from the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

Reference:Paidi SK, Troncoso JR, Raj P, et al.Raman spectroscopy and machine learning reveals early tumor microenvironmental changes induced by immunotherapy. Cancer Res. 2021. https://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2021/09/28/0008-5472.CAN-21-1438

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Assessing Early Biochemical Alterations in Tumors - Technology Networks

Biochemistry

Changing the face of science | @theU – @theU

Adapted from a story that originally appeared here in the University of Utah Health newsroom.

When Faith Bowman was deciding where to attend graduate school, the University of Utah wasnt exactly at the top of her list. Coming from Wisconsin, she didnt know much about the school or the state. But during her recruitment visit, an informal gathering with students from the all-inclusive University of Utah SACNAS (Society for Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) chapter helped her see things differently. After talking with them, she knew that if she came, she would be surrounded by a supportive community. She chose the U, and three years later, that prediction has held true.

To me, SACNAS is a community away from home, says Bowman, now president of the U chapter. Its a place that has created a sense of belonging for me on campus while helping me to achieve my professional goals.

Bowmans experience isnt unique. The Bioscience graduate programs have collaborated with the U SACNAS community in its annual recruitment activities since 2017. These efforts, which included hosting the 2017 SACNAS National Conference in Salt Lake City, have resulted in tripling recruitment of students from historically underrepresented (UR) backgrounds. UR students now comprise 33% of the domestic class, and racial and ethnic minorities comprise 28%, reflecting the national talent pool.

Knowing this diverse, all-inclusive community is here helps recruits decide, in parallel to the awesome research, that we are their best fit, says Jeanette Ducut-Sigala, U SACNAS manager.

The ability to make meaningful change in diversity and inclusion has earned U SACNAS national recognition. In a virtual ceremony held on October 13, the national organization designated the U group Chapter of the Year along with six other local chapters of the 133 located in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

U SACNAS officially launched in 2014 with the goal of training and supporting the next generation of diverse STEM talent. From students to professionals, the parent organization fosters success in attaining advanced degrees, careers and positions of leadership within STEM. The U chapter mainly serves graduate students, postdocs and staff while a sub-chapter centered on main campus is open to both undergraduates and graduate students. Ducut-Sigala, biochemistry faculty Minna Roh-Johnson and Paul Sigala and human genetics faculty Clement Chow operate as advisors.

Its clear that across the country there is a great need for organizations like this one. According to SACNAS, the national STEM workforce is only 6% Hispanic, 4.8% Black, and 0.2% Native American, numbers that are significantly lower than in the overall U.S. workforce. A lack of diversity hurts all of us, the organization explains, because diverse voices bring creative solutions to our worlds most pressing scientific problems.

U of U SACNAS helps its members to grow through authentic inclusion: hosting talks by professionals to inspire career aspirations and create connections with role models, supportive peer mentoring, outreach and leadership development. In collaboration with the University Counseling Center, Health and Wellness Center and Center for Student Wellness, they hold sessions where members can talk through troublesome issues and learn strategies for balancing their lives in and outside of science. Knowing that role modeling can make all the difference, particularly in young children, they also perform outreach with local K-12 schools to show that science is for everyone.

The organization has provided a sense of belonging to member Jesse Velasco-Silva, a biochemistry graduate student and the chapters vice president. The SACNASfamiliaalways encourages me to bring, show and celebrate my strength, resilience, culture, traditions and science, he says. He explains that being a first-generation Mexican-American immigrant and college student has come with challenges. The guidance and support hes received from the SACNAS community has helped him to overcome them.

As for Bowman, her experience has come full circle. She benefitted from the openness of the U SACNAS community when she was making the difficult decision of where to get her doctoral degree. Now, she does the same for the next sets of prospective students.

I get to show the recruits, particularly the first-gen BIPOC students, how we belong on campus, belong in our programs, and thrive here because we have a community like SACNAS, she says. We have a supportive, collaborative environment at Utah and really, a university committed to equity and inclusion.

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Biochemistry

Hani Goodarzi, PhD, Awarded Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in the Biomedical Sciences – UCSF News Services

Last month, Hani Goodarzi, PhD, received a $50,000 award for his work in the early detection of cancer and identification of therapeutic targets in cancer metastasis.

Dr. Goodarzi, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics with affiliations in the Department of Urology, Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, earned the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in the Biomedical Sciences in September. The prize is awarded to young immigrant professionals who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in their early careers. Dr. Goodarzi is one of three winners in the biomedical sciences this year.

I was ecstatic to learn I was awarded this prize, Dr. Goodarzi said. This is important to me because there is not really any other award in the biomedical sciences dedicated to immigrants in the US. I have always been very passionate about the issues and challenges immigrants face.

In 2006, Dr. Goodarzi moved to the US from Iran to pursue his doctorate degree in computational biology and genomics at Princeton University. After completing his postdoctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University in cancer systems biology, he started his multidisciplinary lab at UCSF in 2016.

Using modeling and computational methods to study breast cancer metastasis, Dr. Goodarzi regards his lab as an amalgamation of computational and experimental biology. He loves collaborating with a diverse group of scientists who are at the top of their fields to look at cancer from new perspectives.

[Dr. Goodarzi] is absolutely a rising star at UCSF, said Jeremy Reiter, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry. He is choosing his research questions wisely, and having two realms of expertise makes him a particularly effective discoverer of new biology.

Dr. Goodarzi believes it is important to be in an environment that fosters and augments his interests, citing that as the motivation behind his immigration to the US he wanted to surround himself with people dedicating their careers to the pursuit of knowledge. He states that science and technology in the US are really driven by immigrants. Unfortunately, he thinks there are few international students in the graduate programs at UCSF.

That is something we have to change if we want to capture that broader global diversity and enrich our student body, Dr. Goodarzi said. Every single one of my mentors were themselves immigrants.

Going forward, Dr. Goodarzi hopes to advocate for younger generations to make the pursuit of knowledge in a foreign country easier for them. He knows that more diversity among investigators means more vantage points and more opportunities to solve problems.

These vantage points are very much driven by our upbringing, culture, and where we come from, Dr. Goodarzi said. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach in how we think about science.

Dr. Reiter said that Dr. Goodarzi exemplifies some of the many things immigrants bring to our society, including scientific advances. Good-natured, humble, and conscientious, Dr. Goodarzi is deeply devoted to his group members, ensuring they are well-supported in their abilities to do good science.

The department is extremely happy for him and very proud of him to be recognized by the Vilcek Prize.

[Dr. Goodarzi] is a great example of somebody who has followed their curiosity and is making impactful discoveries that are driven by pure love of discovering the new, Dr. Reiter said. There is no one who is better suited to be recognized for his contributions.

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Hani Goodarzi, PhD, Awarded Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in the Biomedical Sciences - UCSF News Services

Biochemistry

Science is Looking at Ways to Self-Heal Cellphones – AZoNano

Almost all cellphone users experience a cracked screen at some point. This frustrating issue can be disappointing and is expensive to fix.

Two scientists from Concordias OH Research Group in the Faculty of Arts and Science are exploring ways to self-heal the cellphone, and their research could have wider implications.

One of the major difficulties in these types of projects is to maintain a balance between the mechanical and self-healing properties.

Twinkal Patel (BSc 17), PhD Candidate and Study First Author, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Concordia University

The study titled Self-Healable Reprocessable Triboelectric Nanogenerators Fabricated with Vitrimeric Poly(hindered Urea) Networks has been reported in the ACS Nano journal.

Patel states this study excels from similar work on the topic due to its focal point on temperature.

Our goal is to not compromise the toughness of the network while adding dynamic ability to self-heal damage and scratches. We focus on achieving complete healing of scratches at just room temperature. This feature sets our research apart from others.

Twinkal Patel (BSc 17), PhD Candidate and Study First Author, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Concordia University

The research group's self-healing polymer networks were made via highly simple synthetic routes. The materials developed showed outstanding results at room temperature.

These materials can quickly repair damages and cracks due to the self-healing mechanism. As a result, these materials save consumers time and money while also extending the lifespan of the material used and reducing environmental burden, stated Pothana Gandhi Nellepalli, Horizon postdoctoral fellow and co-author on the paper.

Patel credits the success of the project to the Oh Research Group, headed by John Oh, professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Nanobioscience in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Oh stated, Working here has been a great experience. During my time here I have met amazing and supportive members who have made this lab feel like a second family. I am very thankful for the mentorship I received from my supervisor to publish my first paper. I feel accomplished to see the hard work Ive done be published.

In the future, I would like to use self-healing polymer networks for improving the battery life of triboelectric nanogenerators. This same technology could definitely be used to extend the lifespan of cellphone batteries. In the future, we would be able to charge them just by walking.

Twinkal Patel (BSc 17), PhD Candidate and Study First Author, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Concordia University

This technology enables a device to store energy and convert it into electricity by applying repeated movement. One can think of LED lights that are activated when they pass by.

Patel, T., et al. (2021) Self-Healable Reprocessable Triboelectric Nanogenerators Fabricated with Vitrimeric Poly (hindered Urea) Networks. ACS Nano. doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c03819.

Source: https://www.concordia.ca/

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Biochemistry

Chemistry Building Renovation, Construction Will Create New Collaborative Learning Spaces – University of Arizona Provost

University Communications

Tuesday

Work is underway on a $42 million renovation to the University of Arizona's historic Chemistry Building and construction of a new building called The Commons that's dedicated to collaborative learning.

UArizona officials welcomed dozens of guests on Tuesday for a groundbreaking ceremony at the work site on the south side of the University of Arizona Mall.

The combined 78,600-square-foot facilities will be the future home of classrooms designed to encourage cooperation, inclusive practices, and active learning to increase student and faculty engagement and help students develop workplace-relevant skills.

Spread between the new building and renovated Chemistry Building, known affectionately as Old Chem, will be seven collaborative classrooms that range in size from 30 to 200 seats.

"From the beginning, when we first revealed our strategic plan, we had our sights on renovating and reimagining the Old Chem Building into learning spaces that would support collaborative and flexible teaching," University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins told attendees at the groundbreaking. "We are investing in initiatives that encourage active teaching and learning practices, and this renovation is part of our goal to develop spaces on campus that leverage this interactive and holistic approach to teaching and learning."

In addition to four collaborative classrooms, the renovated Chemistry Building will contain departmental and advising offices and numerous workspaces for Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty; renovated space for nuclear magnetic resonance equipment and electronic and metal shops; a new General Education Office; and three teaching studios for online instruction.

"The renovation of the Old Chem Building will support theCollege of Science, chemistry and biochemistry department, and University of Arizona campus missions to provide high quality education and advance research," said Carmala Garzione, Dean of the College of Science. "The renovation includesstate-of-the-art core research facilities that researchers and students across campus can access.There will be a visualization cave for immersive virtual reality learning.The renovation also will enable the expansion of the world-renowned, award-winning 'Chemical Thinking' education program that transformed chemical education at the University of Arizona and across the country.

The project aligns with the first pillar of UArizona's strategic plan the "Wildcat Journey" by providing additional space for innovative teaching and learning that will prepare UArizona students to find solutions to the greatest challenges facing Arizona and beyond. It also extends the university's Undergraduate STEM Education Project, which since 2014 has transformed dozens of traditional classrooms on campus into collaborative learning spaces, intended to engage students in more active learning with features such as flexible seating arrangements and cutting-edge classroom technologies.

"The University of Arizona is strongly committed to world-class teaching and engaged student learning. The institution supports the Office of Instruction and Assessment and the Office of Digital Learning, and the 60-plus professionals from these units who work with faculty and graduate students to provide professional development in the use of the best teaching practices. Similarly, the university supports technology and classroom renewal, and since 2014, this has included transformation of 37 classrooms for collaborative learning," said Liesl Folks, university senior vice president for academic affairs and provost."Seven collaborative classrooms that facilitate engaged and active learning will be housed in the renovated and new building. In these spaces, faculty members are using innovative teaching and learning strategies that promote higher-order thinking that leads to better understanding and an improved ability to transfer knowledge to other applications."

Tuesday's groundbreaking also included the burial of a time capsule. People at the ceremony were invited to add notes or mementos to a metal container. A plaque will be installed on site when construction is complete, directing future generations where to retrieve the container if and when subsequent construction replaces the new structure.

The renovation and construction project aims to maintain historic elements of the original Chemistry Building, which was designed in 1936 by legendary architect Roy Place, who served as the university's chief architect from 1924 to 1940 and designed eight building on campus, including the Steward Observatory, Administration Building and Gila and Yuma dorms.

"The reimagining of the Chemistry Building and design of the new teaching facility breathes new life into an important building on campus that will evolve with the changing landscape of education and serve the university well through the 21st century," said Alison Rainey, principal architect at Shepley Bulfinch, the firm that designed the new building. "The new design creates flexible and adaptable classrooms for teaching and learning with integrated technology and a variety of collaborative environments."

"Space is an important partner in the teaching and learning experience. The physical layout of a classroom impacts the pedagogy, and when you walk into a collaborative classroom, you realize that something interesting happens in the space," said Gail Burd, senior vice provost for academic affairs, teaching and learning.

"The furniture is arranged for small-group student engagement and for problem solving or creative thinking. In large collaborative classrooms, the best instructors make use of undergraduate learning assistants who have previously taken the course and enjoy helping other students learn the material," said Burd, also a Distinguished Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology. "In turn, the learning assistants gain a deeper understanding of the course concepts. Instructors can also use formative assessment of student learning by engaging in discussion with different groups of students around the classroom and then, can adjust their instruction to improve learning."

Sundt Construction crews began work in May, demolishing much of the interior of the Chemistry Building to make way for new construction, while leaving untouched the original facade on the north side of the building to retain the aesthetic character of the University of Arizona Mall, and portions of a 1948 buildingexpansion.

Project managers expect the work to run through December 2022.

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Chemistry Building Renovation, Construction Will Create New Collaborative Learning Spaces - University of Arizona Provost

Biochemistry

Job Dekker and Katherine Fitzgerald elected to National Academy of Medicine – UMass Medical School

UMass Chan Medical School scientists Job Dekker, PhD, and Katherine A. Fitzgerald, PhD, have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine for their distinguished contributions to medicine and health.

According to National Academy of Medicine President Victor J. Dzau, MD, who received an honorary degree from the Medical School in 2015, this is the academys most diverse class of new members, comprising approximately 50 percent women and 50 percent racial and ethnic minorities. This class represents many identities and experiencesall of which are absolutely necessary to address the existential threats facing humanity. I look forward to working with all of our new members in the years ahead, said Dr. Dzau.

New members are elected by current members through a process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health.

Dr. Dekker, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, the Joseph J. Byrne Chair in Biomedical Research, professor of biochemistry & molecular pharmacology and systems biology, was recognized for introducing the groundbreaking concept that matrices of genomic interactions can be used to determine chromosome conformation.

The Dekker lab studies how a genome is organized in three dimensions inside the nucleus. Although DNA is composed of a linear sequence of bases, it doesnt exist inside the cell nucleus in a simple, straight line. More like a ball of cooked spaghetti, the genome folds and loops back on itself so it can fit inside the tight confines of the nucleus. The shape it takes has a profound influence on which genes in a cell are turned on or turned off, and as a consequence, on health and disease. Many diseases, including cancer, are characterized by alterations in the spatial organization of the genome. This 3D architecture varies from cell type to cell type and even between cell states.

To study this 3D structure, Dekker developed chromosome conformation capture technologies, biochemical techniques for determining how DNA segments interact and are linked to one another. This technology is the heart of the 3C, 5C, Hi-C and Micro-C tools used by researchers worldwide to map the structure and organization of chromosomes inside cells.

Dekker received his PhD from Utrecht University in 1997 and joined UMass Chan in 2003.

Dr. Fitzgerald, the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair, professor of medicine, vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine and director of the Program in Innate Immunity, was named to the academy for her pioneering work on innate immune receptors, signaling pathways and regulation of inflammatory gene expression.

Research in the Fitzgerald lab is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling the inflammatory process. Fitzgerald and her team use immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics to determine how the immune system discriminates between pathogens and host molecules to both protect the host from infection and avoid damaging inflammatory diseases. Fitzgerald has made numerous novel discoveries, including the identification of Toll-like receptor adapter molecules; TANK binding kinase-1 (TBK1) as the IRF3 kinase; identification of the AIM2 inflammasome; defined key regulators of the NLRP3 inflammasome; and uncovered new evidence for the importance of long-coding RNAs in innate immunity.

Fitzgerald, who joined the faculty in 2004, has a bachelors degree in biochemistry from University College Cork, and a PhD from Trinity College Dublin. She was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology in 2020 and the National Academy of Sciences in 2021.

The National Academy of Medicine, formerly the Institute of Medicine, was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues.

The National Academy of Medicine works together with the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering and medicine.

Related stories on UMassMed News:UMass Chan Medical School establishes new Department of Systems BiologyUMMS scientists to expand 4D nucleome research with $13 million NIH grantsKatherine Fitzgerald and Nikolaus Grigorieff elected to National Academy of Sciences

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Job Dekker and Katherine Fitzgerald elected to National Academy of Medicine - UMass Medical School

Biochemistry

Merck Foundation to fund professorships for early-career physician-scientists Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis – Washington…

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Gift aimed at supporting School of Medicine researchers from populations underrepresented in medicine, biomedical sciences

The Merck Foundation has made a $2 million commitment to Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to establish two endowed assistant professorships each a Roger M. Perlmutter Career Development Professorship to support early-career physician-scientists from populations that are historically underrepresented in medicine and biomedical sciences. The professorships are named for Roger M. Perlmutter, MD, PhD, (pictured), a graduate of Washington Universitys Medical Scientist Training Program and, later, head of research and development at Merck. Monica Chang-Panesso, MD, an assistant professor of medicine, will receive the first such professorship.

The Merck Foundation has made a $2 million commitment to Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to establish two endowed assistant professorships supporting early-career physician-scientists from populations that are historically underrepresented in medicine and biomedical sciences.

Named for Roger M. Perlmutter, MD, PhD, a graduate of Washington Universitys Medical Scientist Training Program who later went on to lead research and development at Merck, the professorships will help advance the work of assistant professors pursuing promising medical research.

Chang-Panesso

The first Roger M. Perlmutter Career Development Professorship will be awarded to Monica Chang-Panesso, MD, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Nephrology. Another School of Medicine faculty member will be chosen for a second Perlmutter professorship in the near future.

The experience that I had at Washington University School of Medicine was transformational; the six years that I spent there made all the difference in terms of my ability to pursue a career in science and in drug discovery, Perlmutter said. Time and again, Washington University School of Medicine, in its teaching mission, its research mission and its mission of clinical translation, has done more than other academic medical centers to advance the cause of medical practice. I am deeply honored to have this gift from the Merck Foundation, which bears my name, to help further the cause of this great academic medical center.

The new career development professorships will provide support for faculty from populations underrepresented in medicine as they build their research programs. Once a recipient achieves tenure and transitions to the next career level, the professorship will be awarded to another faculty member.

Helping to create opportunities for physician-scientists to focus on research and develop as investigators is deeply important to the School of Medicine and is one of the core values that has distinguished WashU for many decades, said David H. Perlmutter, MD, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of the School of Medicine, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor. By providing support in the critical early phases of the career,these professorships, which are also enhanced by the prestige of Dr. Roger M. Perlmutters many career accomplishments as a physician-scientist, will better position us to addressthe urgent need for more physician-scientists from populations that historically have been excluded from medicine.

Li

Dean Y. Li, MD, PhD, Merck executive vice president and president of Merck Research Laboratories, and successor to Roger M. Perlmutter at Merck, explained that the Merck Foundation decided to honor Roger M. Perlmutters career by making a gift in his name to an institution with which he holds a long and proud association. Providing support to boost the careers of young physician-scientists seemed more than fitting.

The physician-scientist is critical for an academic medical center such as WashU, said Li, also a graduate of the universitys Medical Scientist Training Program. You have the science, and you have your clinical mission. The person who ties that together is the physician-scientist. Focusing on young scientists, especially physician-scientists at the early stages, is where the need is.

Chang-Panesso, the first faculty member named to a Perlmutter professorship, studies molecular mechanisms that impair the regenerative response after acute kidney injury, particularly when, in older people, the kidneys suddenly stop working as they should. Her current research, supported by a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), seeks new therapeutic targets and clinical interventions to improve the success of kidney repair in older patients.

I am very honored to be the recipient of the Roger M. Perlmutter Career Development Professorship, Chang-Panesso said.It is an amazing initiative supporting the career development of underrepresented physician-scientists, and I am very grateful to have been chosen.

Born and raised in Colombia, Chang-Panesso completed her undergraduate and postgraduate training in the United States, including a bachelors degree in biochemistry from the University of Texas at Arlington and a medical degree from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Lubbock, Texas.

She completed her residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and a nephrology fellowship at the Brigham and Womens Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital program in Boston. She joined Washington University as a postdoctoral research scholar in 2015 and was promoted to assistant professor of medicine in 2018.

As a bilingual physician with Hispanic and Chinese roots, she is well aware that the rate of kidney disease is higher among racial and ethnic minorities. She hopes her career as a physician-scientist will help her identify treatments that will make a beneficial impact in these communities.

Roger M. Perlmutter earned his medical and doctoral degrees from Washington University in 1979. A member of the School of Medicine National Council since 2005, he received the universitys Distinguished Alumni Award in 2018.

Perlmutters family includes two more Washington University graduates. His wife, Joan Kreiss, an infectious diseases specialist, earned a medical degree in 1978. His son, Noah, earned an undergraduate degree from Arts & Sciences in 2020.

Before assuming leadership roles in industry, Perlmutter was a professor in the departments of immunology, biochemistry and medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle. He also served as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and chaired the Department of Immunology there. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and past president of the American Association of Immunologists.

Perlmutter joined Merck Research Laboratories in 1997 as executive vice president of basic and preclinical research. From 2001 to 2012, he served as executive vice president and head of research and development at Amgen. He returned to Merck in 2013, serving as executive vice president and president of Merck Research Laboratories until his retirement in 2020. He became chief executive officer of Eikon Therapeutics, a company that employs super-resolution microscopy to pursue the discovery of new medicines, in 2021.

During his academic and corporate careers, Perlmutter has supervised the discovery, development and subsequent approval of novel medicines addressing major inflammatory and endocrinologic diseases, as well as a breakthrough oncology therapy that works with the immune system to help fight certain types of cancer.

Under his leadership, Merck received more than 100 regulatory approvals for its medicines and vaccines globally, including more than 15 novel vaccines and therapeutics for multiple cancers, diabetes and infections caused by Ebola virus, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C virus and cytomegalovirus.

Washington University School of Medicines 1,700 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, consistently ranking among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

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Merck Foundation to fund professorships for early-career physician-scientists Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis - Washington...

Biochemistry

Radioactive metals for medicine get a boost from recently discovered protein | Penn State University – Penn State News

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. A protein can be used to recover and purify radioactive metals such as actinium that could be beneficial for next-generation drugs used in cancer therapies and medical imaging, according to new research from Penn State and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).

Radioactive metals are used in a variety of medical imaging and therapeutic applications. Actinium is a promising candidate for next-generation cancer therapies, and actinium-based therapies have treatment efficacy hundreds of times higher than current drugs. However, the chemistry of this metal is not well understood, and there are several limitations in the supply chain that have kept actinium-based drugs from reaching the market.

In this study, our team took advantage of a protein my lab previously discovered called lanmodulin and showed that it can be used to improve and simplify the recovery and purification of actinium, said Joseph Cotruvo Jr., assistant professor of chemistry at Penn State and an author of the paper. The research team presents their results in a paper appearing Oct. 20 in the journal Science Advances.

A protein can be used to recover and purify radioactive metals such as actinium, pictured here, that could be beneficial for next-generation drugs used in cancer therapies and medical imaging.

IMAGE: Oak Ridge National Laboratory/Wikimedia Commons

Radioactive metals used in medical applications must be purified to extremely high levels through lengthy processes and, to minimize toxicity in the patient, they must form complexes with molecules called chelators that are tailored to bind the radioactive metal ions. The vast majority of these chelators are synthetic molecules that are arrived at through trial and error. In addition to these challenges, the actinium supply chain faces several difficulties. Actinium is extremely rare and must be produced in nuclear reactors or other large instruments, and knowledge of the elements chemistry, which is necessary to develop optimal chelators, is limited.

These challenges exist even for medical isotopes in relatively widespread use, such as radioactive yttrium, but they are even more taxing in the case of actinium, said Gauthier Deblonde, a scientist at LLNL and lead author of the paper.

Because actinium is so rare, research efforts to understand and harness actinium chemistry have thus far focused on reusing or adapting similar known synthetic molecules used in the nuclear chemistry field, but results have been limited. The new research took a drastically different approach, leveraging the natural protein lanmodulin, which is exceptionally good at binding to valuable metals called rare Earth elements. This new strategy not only improves and simplifies the purification processes for actinium but can also be used to recover and detect other radioactive elements, even at extremely low levels.

The team showed how lanmodulin can be used to bind to, recover, and purify actinium (at least 99.5% purity obtained in a single step), as well as another medically relevant radioisotope, yttrium-90, which is used in cancer therapies and diagnostics. The unprecedented efficiency and simplicity of the protein-based approach also allows preparation of actinium at much lower cost and makes probing its chemistry more convenient. The process is likely extendable to many other radioactive isotopes used in radiation therapy and imaging.

Our new technique represents a paradigm shift not just in the development of actinium chemistry and actinium-based pharmaceuticals, but also in nuclear medicine more generally, said Cotruvo.

This study marks the first time actinium has been characterized bound to a protein important knowledge if it may eventually be used inside humans. The researchers found that lanmodulin is so efficient compared to classic molecules that it specifically binds to actinium even in the presence of large quantities of impurities, like radium and strontium, or elements that are common in the body like calcium, zinc and copper. The study also demonstrates that the protein is more effective at binding actinium than binding rare earth elements, the metals it binds to in nature.

Lanmodulins tight and specific binding allowed us to easily access minute quantities of radioactive metals, where traditional technologies based on synthetic chelators fail, Deblonde said. What we accomplished here was simply unfathomable a few years ago. The unique combination of skills in radiochemistry, metal separation, and biochemistry at LLNL and Penn State made this possible.

The research not only offers insights into the fundamental chemistry of actinium but also suggests that the actinium-lanmodulin complex could be the basis for new actinium pharmaceuticals, as lanmodulin in some ways outperforms the synthetic chelators currently used with radioactive metals in the clinic and clinical trials.

We believe that our results unify the fields of metal separations and biochemistry and have strong potential to revolutionize several critical steps in medicinal chemistry from purifying isotopes to delivering therapeutic doses to patients, Cotruvo said.

In addition to Cotruvo and Deblonde, the research team includes Joseph Mattocks, a graduate student at Penn State, and Ziye Dong, Paul Wooddy and Mavrik Zavarin at LLNL. The work is funded by LLNLs Laboratory Directed Research and Development program and the Department of Energy Office of Science.

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Radioactive metals for medicine get a boost from recently discovered protein | Penn State University - Penn State News

Genetics

Genetics and the link to breast cancer | Mobile County Alabama News | fox10tv.com – FOX10 News

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Genetics and the link to breast cancer | Mobile County Alabama News | fox10tv.com - FOX10 News

Genetics

What’s Going on With Fulgent Genetics? – The Motley Fool

Fulgent Genetics' (NASDAQ:FLGT) sales soared thanks to its COVID-19 tests. Its stock more than quadrupled in 2020 and is up over 50% so far this year. In this Motley Fool Live video recorded on Sept. 29, 2021, Motley Fool contributors Keith Speights and Brian Orelli discuss what's going on now with Fulgent.

Keith Speights: Your thoughts on Fulgent Genetics, ticker is FLGT?

Brian Orelli: The company is still developing genetic tests, which was what they were doing before the pandemic. They're still doing COVID-19 testing, which is what they pivoted or added during the pandemic. Then they are using all that cash that they're getting from the COVID-19 to expand fairly quickly.

They bought a company that does more other types of tests for cancers, looking at imaging the tumors and that thing and looking at the chromosomes. I think that they are using that to expand their offerings, so now that they will be able to do genetic testing on the tumors, but also offer other services. That should make them a one-stop-shop for tumors.

They also did a deal with another company that has a predictive test, I believe, for cancer. They're partnering with that company. The other one was an acquisition where they just bought the whole testing facility to expand their offerings in cancer.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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What's Going on With Fulgent Genetics? - The Motley Fool