Category Archives: Cell Biology

Cell Biology

Mina Bissell Awarded International Prize for Her Contributions to Cancer Research – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Mina J. Bissell. (Credit: Marilyn Sargent/Berkeley Lab)

Mina Bissell, distinguished senior scientist at the Department of Energys Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), is one of five recipients of the 2020 Canada Gairdner International Award an annual honor given to scientists who have contributed to transformative human health research.

Bissell was recognized for helping to shift the paradigm in the understanding of cancer by showing that both malignant and normal cells are engaged in a continuous, two-way interaction with their microenvironment within the body. Her pioneering work on this phenomenon, called dynamic reciprocity, revealed that tumor cells grown in culture or otherwise isolated in a lab do not behave the same way they would in a patient.

First proposed almost 40 years ago, Bissells model has since been thoroughly established in cell and cancer biology. According to the Gairdner Foundation, the implications of dynamic reciprocity have permeated every area of cell and cancer biology. Her findings have had profound implications for cancer therapy by demonstrating that tumor cells can be influenced by their environment and are not just the product of their genetic mutations. For example, cells from the mammary glands grown in 2D tissue cultures rapidly lose their identity, but once placed in proper 3D microenvironments, they regain mammary form and function. This work presages the current excitement about generation of 3D tissue organoids and demonstrates Dr. Bissells creative and innovative approach to science.

The Gairdner Foundation was established by businessman and philanthropist James A. Gairdner in 1957, with the goal of recognizing and supporting scientists whose seminal discoveries and major scientific contributions constitute an original and significant achievement in biomedical science. Since then, 387 scientists from 35 countries have received the award. Of these, 92 have gone on to win Nobel Prizes. Past Gairdner International Award recipients include Jennifer Doudna (of UC Berkeley) and Emmanuelle Charpentier, whose collaboration led to the discovery of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system; James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA; Elizabeth Blackburn, who described the function of telomeres and co-discovered telomerase; Anthony Fauci, the current head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and Stanley Prusiner, a neurologist who discovered the cause of prion diseases.

In addition to the recent recognition, Bissell has also received theAmerican Philosophical Societys Jonathan E. Rhoads Gold Medal for Distinguished Service to Medicine, the 2019 Weizmann Women & Science Award, the American Cancer Societys Medal of Honor, the U.S. Department of Defenses First Innovator Award in Breast Cancer, the American Society of Cell Biologys Wilson Medal, and was the inaugural recipient of the Berkeley Lab Lifetime Achievement Prize, among many others. She has been elected to the American Philosophical Society, National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Bissell received a Ph.D. in bacterial genetics from Harvard University in 1969, after which she received fellowships to conduct postdoctoral work at the Department of Virology and Molecular Biology at UC Berkeley. In 1972, she was recruited as a staff biochemist at Berkeley Lab and given the opportunity to lead her own team focused on cancer biology. During her time at Berkeley Lab, she served as the founding Director of the Cell and Molecular Biology Division and the Associate Laboratory Director of Life Sciences (which then included the Human Genome Program). When she stepped down from this role in 2001, she was given the rank of distinguished senior scientist, the highest academic rank at the Lab. Bissell also currently serves as faculty at four graduate groups at UC Berkeley.

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Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest scientific challenges are best addressed by teams,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratoryand its scientists have been recognized with 13 Nobel Prizes. Today, Berkeley Lab researchers develop sustainable energy and environmental solutions, create useful new materials, advance the frontiers of computing, and probe the mysteries of life, matter, and the universe. Scientists from around the world rely on the Labs facilities for their own discovery science. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory, managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energys Office of Science.

DOEs Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visitenergy.gov/science.

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Mina Bissell Awarded International Prize for Her Contributions to Cancer Research - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Cell Biology

Here are the departments accepting S/NC in spring 2020 – The Stanford Daily

On Thursday, the Faculty Senate voted 36-15 to mandate that all spring quarter courses be graded on a satisfactory/no-credit (S/NC) basis. Courses in the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford Law School and Stanford School of Medicines M.D. program were exempt from this decision, but those schools may opt in.

The Senate also approved a measure that strongly urges departments and programs to exclude units of credit earned for a CR or S grade during spring quarter 2019-20 from program unit maximums and/or alter program requirements as appropriate.

The Daily has reached out to all of Stanfords departments, schools and programs that offer undergraduate and/or graduate degrees to compile a list of those accepting courses taken on a S/NC basis this spring for degree requirements. Ways of Thinking/Ways of Doing, Thinking Matters and Program in Writing and Rhetoric courses taken S/NC in the spring will also count toward undergraduate graduation requirements.

No departments, schools or programs have yet said that they will not be accepting courses taken S/NC this spring. The following list will be updated as The Daily receives additional responses.

Graduate School of EducationEducation (Minor)

School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (All degrees)

School of EngineeringAeronautics and Astronautics (Major, Minor)Architectural Design (Major)Atmosphere and Energy (Major)Bioengineering (All degrees)Biomechanical Engineering (Major)Biomedical Computation (Major)Chemical Engineering (Major, Minor)Civil Engineering (Major, Minor)Computer Science (Major, Minor, M.S.)Electrical Engineering (Major, Minor)Engineering Physics (Major)Environmental Systems Engineering (Major, Minor)Management Science and Engineering (Major, Minor)Materials Science and Engineering (Major, Minor)Mechanical Engineering (All degrees)Product Design (Major)

School of Humanities & SciencesAmerican Studies (Major, Minor)Applied Physics (All degrees)Archaeology (Major, Minor)Biology (Major, Minor)Center for Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity (Major, Minor)Chemistry (Major, Minor)Classics (Major, Minor)Communication (All degrees)Creative Writing (Minor)Data Science (Minor)Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages (All degrees)Economics (Major, Minor)English (Major, Minor)Human Biology (Major, Minor)Human Rights (Minor)International Relations (Major, Minor)Linguistics (Major, Minor)Mathematical and Computational Science (Major, Minor)Mathematics (Major, Minor)Music (Major, Minor)Philosophy (Major, Minor)Physics (Major, Minor)Political Science (Major, Minor)Psychology (Major, Minor)Public Policy (Major, Minor)Religious Studies (Major, Minor)Sociology (Major, Minor)Statistics (Minor)Symbolic Systems (Major, Minor)Urban Studies (Major, Minor)

School of MedicineBiochemistry (All degrees)Bioengineering (All degrees)Biomedical Informatics (All degrees)Biophysics (All degrees)Cancer Biology (All degrees)Chemical and Systems Biology (All degrees)Epidemiology & Clinical Research (M.S., Ph.D.)Genetics (All degrees)Health Policy (M.S., Ph.D.)Immunology (All degrees)Microbiology and Immunology (All degrees)Neurosciences (All degrees)Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (All degrees)

Contact Camryn Pak at cpak23 at stanford.edu.

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Here are the departments accepting S/NC in spring 2020 - The Stanford Daily

Cell Biology

What is chloroquine and could it cure the new coronavirus? – ABS-CBN News

Could a pair of decades-old, relatively inexpensive drugs be the solution to the novel coronavirus pandemic?

Around the world, countries are expanding access to hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine (CQ), related compounds that are synthetic forms of quinine, which comes from cinchona trees and has been used for centuries to treat malaria.

HQ which is the less toxic of the two, is also used as an anti-inflammatory to treat conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, purposes it is primarily known for outside the tropics.

The medicines have shown early promise against the COVID-19 illness in early studies in France and China, which led US President Donald Trump this week to call them a "gift from God" -- even as experts urge caution until bigger trials validate their effectiveness.

Here is what you need to know.

- Why they might work -

China used CQ on a trial of 134 patients in February, finding it was effective in reducing the severity of the illness, according to officials.

But these results haven't yet been published. Chinese respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan, who leads a government task force in response to the epidemic, said in a press conference last week that the data would be widely shared soon.

In France, a team led by Didier Raoult of the IHU-Mediterranee Infection, Marseille reported last week they had carried out a study on 36 COVID-19 patients, finding that HCQ drastically reduced the viral load in a group which received the drug.

The effects were especially pronounced when it was used with azithromycin, a common antibiotic used to sweep out secondary bacterial infections.

What's more, HCQ and CQ drugs have been proven to act against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in lab settings, and a paper published by a Chinese team last week in Cell Discovery offered a potential mode of action.

Karine Le Roch, a professor of cell biology at the University of California, Riverside, explained that both HCQ and CQ are weak bases that elevate the pH of parts of human cells called organelles -- which are analogous to organs in animals -- and which are normally acidic.

This in turn interferes with the virus' ability to enter the cells -- and also seems to block them from replicating once they are already inside.

But, she added: "While it worked in vitro, I am still waiting to see published results of large blind clinical trials demonstrating the efficacy of HCQ in vivo," she told AFP.

- The case for caution -

Promise doesn't mean proof, and the small studies carried out so far amount to "anecdotal" evidence, according to Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the US National Institutes of Health.

What's more, a small Chinese study on 30 patients that was also published this month found HCQ was no better than standard care -- meaning treating the symptoms via bed rest, fluids and so on -- adding a note of caution to the discourse.

The only way to know for sure is to carry out randomized clinical trials, scientists say. Such experiments are considered the gold standard in the field but last months or years and involve thousands of patients, often from around the world.

Patients are assigned at random to either receive the drug under investigation or a placebo, and the studies are "blinded" meaning the participants and their doctors are unaware which group they are in, to further reduce bias.

Overhyping medicine can have several unintended effects, warn experts.

"One of the unintended consequences are drug shortages of chloroquine, for people that need to manage their rheumatoid arthritis, for example," Peter Pitts, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration told AFP.

A few countries are taking a cautious approach. Spain, for example, announced Monday said that "until further notice" these arthritis and lupus patients would be given priority access to the drug.

French Health Minister Olivier Veran meanwhile said the compounds can be used only to treat the most severe cases of COVID-19.

Another problem is that people may try to self-medicate. A US man from Arizona died this week after ingesting a form of chloroquine intended to fight aquatic parasites.

- Side effects -

Several countries have now embarked on clinical trials, including the United States, where one began in New York this week.

Italy is carrying out a trial on 2,000 people, while scientists are also awaiting the results from bigger trials in China.

But while the drugs are being rolled out for compassionate use, it is critical to bear in mind safety precautions.

About one percent of people are at high risk of blackouts, seizure or even sudden death from cardiac arrest because of heart rhythm issues they may themselves be unaware of, Michael Ackerman, a genetic cardiologist at Mayo Clinic told AFP.

Medical teams must therefore perform electrocardiograms to inform their risk analysis before using these medicines, he said.

"All focus is placed on the hope for therapeutic efficacy of these medications, without any reasonable amount of respect, not fear, but respect for what the potential side effects of these very powerful medications are," said Ackerman.

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What is chloroquine and could it cure the new coronavirus? - ABS-CBN News

Cell Biology

Columbia Starts Screening COVID-19 Survivors for Antibodies That May Save Others – Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Columbia University Irving Medical Center has started screening COVID-19 survivors for antibodies that could be used to treat others.

On March 30, CUIMCs pathology laboratory screened New York states first potential donorDiana Berrent, a resident from Long Island who recently recovered from COVID-19. The lab will determine if the patient has enough antibodiesproteins made by the immune system that can neutralize virusesto serve as a treatment or vaccine against COVID-19.

Antibody-rich plasma from convalescent patients has been used for decades to treat diseases like influenza and even Ebola, says Eldad Hod, MD, associate professor of pathology &cell biology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeonsand lead investigator of the research.

The U.S. FDA on Thursday gave permission for physicians to use antibody-rich plasma to treat coronavirus patients.

In an unparalleled effort to speed the development of treatments for COVID-19, the state has approved our plan to screen potential donors for antibodies, says Kevin Roth, MD, PhD, chair of pathology &cell biology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and pathologist-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. "Thanks to the generosity of this patient, who just recently recovered from COVID-19, we will be among the first to embark on this important mission.

Recovered patients who are interested canvolunteer at CUIMC's Clinical Trials website. People who qualify will need to come to NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center to have their nose swabbed (to confirm they are no longer infectious) and their blood drawn. Blood samples will then be analyzed immediately to look for the presence of antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19.

Volunteers with sufficient levels of antibodies will be referred to theNew York Blood Center, which will perform another blood draw and separate blood cells from plasma (the liquid component of blood that contains antibodies).

A single COVID-19 survivor may be able to provide enough plasma to treat two or three other patients.

We are hearing from many recovered patients who want to give something back to the community and the doctors who cared for them, adds Hod. The sooner we obtain antibody-rich plasmathe faster we can start using the plasma to treat other people with COVID-19.

Anecdotal reports from China where the same approach was used suggest antibody-rich plasma reduces the amount of virus, though it may not reverse course of the disease in very ill patients.

I feel incredibly lucky to have survived COVID-19, but others may not be so lucky, saysBerrent. I strongly encourage people who have already had COVID-19 to consider being screened; its one of the most important ways to help other patients right now.

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Columbia Starts Screening COVID-19 Survivors for Antibodies That May Save Others - Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Cell Biology

2020 Canada Gairdner Awards Recognize World-renowned Scientists for Transformative Contributions to Research That Impact Human Health – Benzinga

TORONTO, March 31, 2020 /CNW/ - The Gairdner Foundation is pleased to announce the 2020 Canada Gairdner Award laureates, recognizing some of the world's most significant biomedical research and discoveries. During these challenging times, we believe it is important to celebrate scientists and innovators from around the world and commend them for their tireless efforts to conduct research that impacts human health.

2020 Canada Gairdner International AwardThe five 2020 Canada Gairdner International Award laureates are recognized for seminal discoveries or contributions to biomedical science:

Dr. Masatoshi TakeichiSenior Visiting Scientist, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Japan; Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

Dr. Rolf KemlerEmeritus Member and Director, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany

Awarded "For their discovery, characterization and biology of cadherins and associated proteins in animal cell adhesion and signalling."

Dr. Takeichi

The Work: The animal body is made up of numerous cells. Dr. Takeichi was investigatinghow animal cells stick together to form tissues and organs, and identified a key protein which he named 'cadherin'.Cadherin is present on the surface of a cell and binds to the same cadherin protein on the surface of another cell through like-like interaction, thereby binding the cells together. Without cadherin, cell to cell adhesion becomes weakened and leads to the disorganization of tissues. Dr. Takeichi found that there are multiple kinds of cadherin within the body, each of which are made by different cell types, such as epithelial and neuronal cells. Cells with the same cadherins tend to cluster together, explaining the mechanism of how different cells are sorted out and organized to form functional organs.

Further studies by Dr. Takeichi's group showed that cadherin function is supported by a number of cytoplasmic proteins, includingcatenins, and their cooperation is essential for shaping of tissues. His studies also revealed that the cadherin-dependent adhesion mechanism is involved in synaptic connections between neurons, which are important for brain wiring.

Dr. Kemler

The Work: Dr. Kemler, using an immunological approach, developed antibodies directed against surface antigens of early mouse embryos. These antibodies were shown to prevent compaction of the mouse embryo and interfered with subsequent development. Both Dr. Kemler and Dr. Takeichi went on to clone and sequence the gene encoding E-cadherin and demonstrate that it was governing homophilic cell adhesion.

Dr. Kemler also discovered the other proteins that interact with the cadherins, especially the catenins, to generate the machinery involved in animal cell-to-cell adhesion. This provided the first evidence of their importance in normal development and diseases such as cancer. It has been discovered that cadherins and catenins are correlated to the formation and growth of some cancers and how tumors continue to grow. Beta catenin is linked to cell adhesion through interaction with cadherins but is also a key component of the Wnt signalling pathway that is involved in normal development and cancer. There are approximately 100 types of cadherins, known as the cadherin superfamily.

Dr. Takeichi

The Impact: The discovery of cadherins, which are found in all multicellular animalspecies, has allowed us to interpret how multicellular systems are generated and regulated. Loss of cadherin function has been implicated as the cause of certain cancers, as well as in invasiveness of many cancers. Mutations in special types of cadherin result in neurological disorders, such as epilepsy and hearing loss. The knowledge of cadherin function is expected to contribute to the development of effective treatments against such diseases.

Dr. Kemler

The Impact: Human tumors are often of epithelial origin. Given the role of E-cadherin for the integrity of an epithelial cell layer, the protein can be considered as a suppressor of tumor growth. The research on the cadherin superfamily has had great impact on fields as diverse as developmental biology, cell biology, oncology, immunology and neuroscience. Mutations in cadherins/catenins are frequently found in tumors. Various screens are being used to identify small molecules that might restore cell adhesion as a potential cancer therapy.

Dr. Roel NusseProfessor & Chair, Department of Developmental Biology; Member, Institute for StemCell Biology andRegenerativeMedicine, Stanford University, School of Medicine.Virginia and Daniel K. Ludwig Professor of Cancer Research. Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Awarded"For pioneering work on the Wnt signaling pathway and its importance in development, cancer and stem cells"

The Work: Dr. Nusse's research has elucidated the mechanism and role of Wnt signaling, one of the most important signaling systems in development. There is now abundant evidence that Wnt signaling is active in cancer and in control of proliferation versus differentiation of adult stem cells, making the Wnt pathway one of the paradigms for the fundamental connections between normal development and cancer.

Among Dr. Nusse's contributions is the original discovery of the first Wnt gene (together with Harold Varmus) as an oncogene in mouse breast cancer. Afterwards Dr. Nusse identified the Drosophila Wnt homolog as a key developmental gene, Wingless. This led to the general realization of the remarkable links between normal development and cancer, now one of the main themes in cancer research. Using Drosophila genetics, he established the function of beta-catenin as a mediator of Wnt signaling and the Frizzleds as Wnt receptors (with Jeremy Nathans), thereby establishing core elements of what is now called the Wnt pathway. A major later accomplishment of his group was the first successful purification of active Wnt proteins, showing that they are lipid-modified and act as stem cell growth factors.

The Impact: Wnt signaling is implicated in the growth of human embryos and the maintenance of tissues. Consequently, elucidating the Wnt pathway is leading to deeper insights into degenerative diseases and the development of new therapeutics. The widespread role of Wnt signaling in cancer is significant for the treatment of the disease as well. Isolating active Wnt proteins has led to the use of Wnts by researchers world-wide as stem cell growth factors and the expansion of stem cells into organ-like structures (organoids).

Dr. Mina J. Bissell Distinguished Senior Scientist, Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Faculty; Graduate Groups in Comparative Biochemistry, Endocrinology, Molecular Toxicology and Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

Awarded "For characterizing "Dynamic Reciprocity" and the significant role that extracellular matrix (ECM) signaling and microenvironment play in gene regulation in normal and malignant cells, revolutionizing the fields of oncology and tissue homeostasis."

The Work: Dr. Mina Bissell's career has been driven by challenging established paradigms in cellular and developmental biology. Through her research, Dr. Bissell showed that tissue architecture plays a dominant role in determining cell and tissue phenotype and proposed the model of 'dynamic reciprocity' (DR) between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and chromatin within the cell nucleus. Dynamic reciprocity refers to the ongoing, bidirectional interaction between cells and their microenvironment. She demonstrated that the ECM could regulate gene expression just as gene expression could regulate ECM, and that these two phenomena could occur concurrently in normal or diseased tissue.

She also developed 3D culture systems to study the interaction of the microenvironment and tissue organization and growth, using the mammary gland as a model.

The Impact:Dr. Bissell's model of dynamic reciprocity has been proven and thoroughly established since its proposal three decades ago and the implications have permeated every area of cell and cancer biology, with significant implications for current and future therapies. Dr. Bissell's work has generated a fundamental and translationally crucial paradigm shift in our understanding of both normal and malignant tissues.

Her findings have had profound implications for cancer therapy by demonstrating that tumor cells can be influenced by their environment and are not just the product of their genetic mutations. For example, cells from the mammary glands grown in two-dimensional tissue cultures rapidly lose their identity, but once placed in proper three-dimensional microenvironments, they regain mammary form and function. This work presages the current excitement about generation of 3D tissue organoids and demonstrates Dr. Bissell's creative and innovative approach to science.

Dr. Elaine FuchsHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor and Head of the Robin Chemers Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Cell Biology; The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA

Awarded"For her studies elucidating the role of tissue stem cells in homeostasis, wound repair, inflammation and cancer."

The Work: Dr. Fuchs has used skin to study how the tissues of our body are able to replace dying cells and repair wounds. The skin must replenish itself constantly to protect against dehydration and harmful microbes. In her research, Fuchs showed that this is accomplished by a resident population of adult stem cells that continually generates a shell of indestructible cells that cover our body surface.

In her early research, Fuchs identified the proteins---keratinsthat produce the iron framework of the skin's building blocks, and showed that mutations in keratins are responsible for a group of blistering diseases in humans. In her later work, Fuchs identified the signals that prompt skin stem cells to make tissue and when to stop. In studying these processes, Fuchs learned that cancers hijack the fundamental mechanisms that tissue stem cells use to repair wounds. Her team pursued this parallel and isolated and characterized the malignant stem cells that are responsible for propagating a type of cancer called "squamous cell carcinoma." In her most recent work, she showed that these cells can be resistant to chemotherapies and immunotherapies and lead to tumor relapse.

The Impact: All tissues of our body must be able to replace dying cells and repair local wounds. Skin is particularly adept at performing these tasks. The identification and characterization of the resident skin stem cells that make and replenish the epidermis, sweat glands and hair provide important insights into this fountain of youth process and hold promise for regenerative medicine and aging. In normal tissues, the self-renewing ability of stem cells to proliferate is held in check by local inhibitory signals coming from the stem cells' neighbours. In injury, stimulatory signals mobilize the stem cells to proliferate and repair the wound. In aging, these normal balancing cues are tipped in favour of quiescence. In inflammatory disorders, stem cells become hyperactivated. In cancers, the wound mechanisms to mobilize stem cells are hijacked, leading to uncontrolled tissue growth. Understanding the basic mechanisms controlling stem cells in their native tissue is providing new strategies for searching out refractory tumor cells in cancer and for restoring normalcy in inflammatory conditions.

2020 John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health AwardThe 2020 John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award laureate is recognized for outstanding achievements in global health research:

Professor Salim S. Abdool KarimDirector of CAPRISA (Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa), the CAPRISA Professor in Global Health at Columbia University, New York and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

Professor Quarraisha Abdool KarimAssociate Scientific Director of CAPRISA, Professor in Clinical Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York and Professor in Public Health at the Nelson Mandela Medical School and Pro Vice-Chancellor (African Health) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

Awarded"For their discovery that antiretrovirals prevent sexual transmission of HIV, which laid the foundations for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the HIV prevention strategy that is contributing to the reduction of HIV infection in Africa and around the world."

The Work: UNAIDS estimates that 37 million people were living with HIV and 1.8 million people acquired HIV in 2017. In Africa, which has over two thirds of all people with HIV, adolescent girls and young women have the highest rates of new HIV infections. ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful, and use Condoms) prevention messages have had little impact - due to gender power imbalances, young women are often unable to successfully negotiate condom use, insist on mutual monogamy, or convince their male partners to have an HIV test.

In responding to this crisis, Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim started investigating new HIV prevention technologies for women about 30 years ago. After two unsuccessful decades, their perseverance paid off when they provided proof-of-concept that antiretrovirals prevent sexually acquired HIV infection in women. Their ground-breaking CAPRISA 004 trial showed that tenofovir gel prevents both HIV infection and genital herpes. The finding was ranked inthe "Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2010" by the journal, Science. The finding was heralded by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs in AIDS and provided the first evidence for what is today known as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

The Abdool Karims have also elucidated the evolving nature of the HIV epidemic in Africa, characterising the key social, behavioural and biological risk factors responsible for the disproportionately high HIV burden in young women. Their identification of the "Cycle of HIV Transmission", where teenage girls acquire HIV from men about 10 years older on average, has shaped UNAIDS policies on HIV prevention in Africa.

The impact: CAPRISA 004 and several clinical trials of oral tenofovir led tothe WHO recommending a daily tenofovir-containing pill for PrEP as a standard HIV prevention tool for all those at high risk a few years later. Several African countries are among the 68 countries across all continents that are currently making PrEP available for HIV prevention. The research undertaken in Africa by this South African couple has played a key role in shaping the local and global response to the HIV epidemic.

2020 Canada Gairdner Wightman AwardThe 2020 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award laureate is a Canadian scientist recognized for outstanding leadership in medicine and medical science throughout their career:

Dr. Guy Rouleau Director of the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (The Neuro); Professor & Chair of the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University; Director of the Department of Neuroscience, McGill University Health Center

Awarded "For identifying and elucidating the genetic architecture of neurological and psychiatric diseases, including ALS, autism and schizophrenia, and his leadership in the field of Open Science."

The Work: Dr. Rouleau has identified over 20 genetic risk factors predisposing to a range of brain disorders, both neurological and psychiatric, involving either neurodevelopmental processes or degenerative events. He has defined a novel disease mechanism for diseases related to repeat expansions that are at play in some of the most severe neurodegenerative conditions. He has significantly contributed to the understanding of the role of de novo variants in autism and schizophrenia. In addition, he has made important advances for various neuropathies, in particular for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) where he was involved in the identification of the most prevalent genetic risk factors -which in turn are now the core of innumerable ALS studies worldwide.

Dr. Rouleau has also played a pioneering role in the practice of Open Science (OS), transforming the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (The Neuro) into the first OS institution in the world. The Neuro now uses OS principles to transform research and careand accelerate the development of new treatments for patients through Open Access, Open Data, Open Biobanking, Open Early Drug Discovery and non-restrictive intellectual property.

The Impact: The identification of genetic risk factors has a number of significant consequences. First, allowing for more accurate genetic counselling, which reduces the burden of disease to affected individuals, parents and society. A revealing case is Andermann syndrome, a severe neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative condition that was once relatively common in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region of Quebec. Now this disease has almost disappeared from that population. Second, identifying the causative gene allows the development of treatments. For instance, his earlier work on a form of ALS linked to the superoxide dismutase-1 gene (SOD1) opened up studies which are now the focal point of phase 2 clinical studies showing great promise.

Byactingasalivinglabforthelast coupleofyears,TheNeuroisspearheading the practice of OpenScience (OS).TheNeurois alsoengagingstakeholdersacross Canadawiththegoal of formalizinganational OSallianceforthe neurosciences.Dr.Rouleau'sworkinOScontributesfundamentallytothetransformationoftheveryecosystemofsciencebystimulatingnewthinkingandfosteringcommunitiesofsharing.InspiredbyTheNeuro'svision,theglobalsciencecommunityisreflecting oncurrentresearchconventionsandcollaborativeprojects,andthemomentumforOSisgainingafootholdinorganizationsandinstitutionsinallcornersoftheearth.

About the Gairdner Foundation:

The Gairdner Foundation was established in 1957 by Toronto stockbroker, James Gairdner to award annual prizes to scientists whose discoveries have had major impact on scientific progress and on human health. Since 1959 when the first awards were granted, 387scientists have received a Canada Gairdner Award and 92 to date have gone on to receive the Nobel Prize.The Canada Gairdner Awards promote a stronger culture of research and innovation across the country through our Outreach Programs including lectures and research symposia. The programs bring current and past laureates to a minimum of 15 universities across Canada to speak with faculty, trainees and high school students to inspire the next generation of researchers. Annual research symposia and public lectures are organized across Canada to provide Canadians access to leading science through Gairdner's convening power.

http://www.gairdner.org

SOURCE Gairdner Foundation

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2020/31/c7291.html

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2020 Canada Gairdner Awards Recognize World-renowned Scientists for Transformative Contributions to Research That Impact Human Health - Benzinga

Cell Biology

Temple researchers reverse muscle fibrosis associated with overuse injury in animals – News-Medical.Net

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Mar 30 2020

Overuse injuries - think muscle strains, tennis elbow, and rotator cuff tears - are a considerable problem in the United States, especially among young athletes. But while commonly associated with sports, overuse injuries - particularly those involving muscle strains - also affect significant numbers of workers whose jobs involve manual labor.

High-force, high-repetition movements, such as those involved in heavy lifting, create microinjuries in muscle fibers. Muscle tissue responds by making small repairs to the damaged fibers. But over time, with repetition of injury, healing capacity becomes overwhelmed, and microinjuries progress to fibrosis - the replacement of muscle tissue with connective tissue. Fibrosis ultimately weakens muscles and can put pressure on nerves, causing pain.

While long thought to be irreversible, new research by scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) shows for the first time in animals that it may be possible to undo the damage caused by fibrosis and, in the process, restore muscle strength.

The findings, published online March 30 in The FASEB Journal, offer hope for people who have been unable to return to work because of an overuse injury.

The accumulation of scar tissue from muscle fibrosis is the primary cause of muscle weakness that arises following overuse injury, also known as repetitive strain injury."

Mary F. Barbe, PhD, Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology and Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at LKSOM

Dr. Barbe and colleagues, including her primary collaborator Steven N. Popoff, PhD, the John Franklin Huber Chair and Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology at LKSOM, found that this scarring process can be halted and even reversed by a drug known as FG-3019. FG-3019, which works by blocking the activity of a protein called CCN2, was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Dr. Barbe's team carried out their investigation in a rat model of overuse injury in which animals were trained to do a task in a high-force, high-repetition manner for a reward. After 18 weeks, animals trained on the task developed muscle fibrosis characteristic of overuse injury.

The researchers then divided the animals into three groups: one that received no treatment, one that received an inactive "sham" treatment, and one that received FG-3019. The treatment period lasted six weeks, during which all animals were given a rest from the high-force, high-repetition task.

Following the six weeks of rest, analyses of muscle tissue showed that untreated animals and sham-treated animals had significantly elevated muscle levels of fibrosis-related proteins, including collagen and CCN2, which promotes the growth of connective tissue. By contrast, in FG-3019-treated animals, CCN2 and collagen levels were similar to levels in control rats that were not trained to perform the repetitive task. Fibrotic damage was also reversed in animals given FG-3019, and these animals showed significant improvements in grip and other tests of muscle strength.

"FG-3019 is already in clinical trials for other diseases involving fibrosis, including pulmonary fibrosis and kidney fibrosis," Dr. Barbe said. "Our work adds to the relevance of this drug in treating fibrotic diseases, with the novel application for muscle fibrosis associated with overuse injury."

Dr. Barbe and colleagues hope to pursue the use of FG-3019 in clinical trials in human patients.

"If we can successfully reverse muscle fibrosis in humans, we will be able to provide relief and help workers with overuse injury eventually return to their jobs."

Source:

Journal reference:

Barbe, M.F., et al. (2020) Blocking CTGF/CCN2 reduces established skeletal muscle fibrosis in a rat model of overuse injury. FASEB Journal. doi.org/10.1096/fj.202000240RR.

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Temple researchers reverse muscle fibrosis associated with overuse injury in animals - News-Medical.Net

Cell Biology

Weakness in lung and kidney cancer cells could serve as therapeutic target – News-Medical.Net

Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have made an important discovery about how some cancers rely on glucose to survive which could lead to the development of tumor-specific treatments that do not affect healthy cells.

Image Credits: crystal light / Shutterstock.com

The team describes how some cancer cells that have high expression of a certain amino acid transporter and effectively become addicted to glucose could be targeted with glucose transporter (GLUT) inhibitors.

The amino acid transporter is called solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) and examples of cancers that express this at high levels are lung cancer and kidney cancer renal cell carcinoma.

The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Cell Biology aimed to find tumor-specific treatment approaches based on the metabolic reprogramming that cancer cells use to survive.

Study leader Boyi Gan from the universitys Department of Experimental Radiation Oncology says it is this metabolic reprograming that often results in cancer cells becoming extremely dependent on certain nutrients if they are going to have any chance of surviving.

"Limiting the supply of such nutrients or blocking their uptake or metabolism through pharmacological means may selectively kill 'addicted' cancer cells without affecting normal cells. Our understanding of nutrient dependency in cancer cells can provide great insights for targeting metabolic vulnerabilities in cancer therapies," says Gan.

Gan gives an example of how this nutrient dependency can be used as a therapeutic approach in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

This rare disease, which affects white blood cells is aggressive and quick to progress. It can affect adults and children, but it usually develops in children, adolescents, and young adults and is the most common form of leukemia among children. In the majority of cases, it affects children aged 0 to 5 years and is slightly more common among boys than among girls.

Unlike healthy cells, the cancer cells seen in acute lymphoblastic leukemia are unable to make the amino acid asparagine, a nonessential amino acid that is needed to synthesize glycoproteins and other proteins. Since the cancer cells cannot make this amino acid, they rely on extracellular sources for their survival. The treatment Gan describes disrupts this source of extracellular asparagine and once the cancer cells can no longer acquire this important amino acid, they die.

Another example of an amino acid cancer cells rely on is cystine a protein component commonly found in eggs, meat and dairy products that is known to exert potent antioxidant activity.

The majority of cancer cells acquire cystine using the SLC7A11 amino acid transporter. Once the cancer cell has used the transporter to import cystine, it converts cystine into another amino acid called cysteine. This amino acid is used to produce and accumulate glutathione.

As an antioxidant, glutathione prevents essential cellular components from becoming damaged by reactive oxygen species Accumulating stocks of glutathione, therefore, help cancer cells to survive and it is the most abundant amino acid in the body.

"SLC7A11 is frequently overexpressed in cancers and has a well-established role in maintaining glutathione levels which reduce cancer cell death," says Gan.

However, Gan says the current study found that importing cystine actually poses a danger to cancer cells. Since it is one of the least soluble amino acids, an excess build-up of cystine inside cells can be toxic. Cancer cells, therefore, need to quickly change cystine into the related cysteine.

Consequently, cancer cells with high levels of SLC7A11 and high demand for cystine become dependent on glucose for survival.

Boyi Gan, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Gan and team, therefore, demonstrated a metabolic vulnerability among cancer cells that was associated with high levels of SLC7A11 expression a finding that could pave the way for new therapeutic approaches.

The researchers found that using (GLUT) inhibitors to eliminate the glucose supply that cancer cells turn to, led cystine to accumulate inside the cells at a toxic level.

This strategy therefore specifically destroys cancer cells that are rich in SLC7A11 and suppresses tumor growth.

The findings suggest that GLUT inhibitors may represent a promising new approach to treating cancers such as lung and kidney cancer where tumors express high levels of the amino acid transporter SLC7A11.

Sources:

New therapeutic strategies proposed for some lung and kidney cancers. EuerkAlert! 2020. Available at:https://www.eurekalert.org/emb_releases/2020-03/uotm-nts032620.php

Overview-Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. NHS 2019. Available at:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/acute-lymphoblastic-leukaemia/

Asparagine. PubChem. Available at:https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/asparagine

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Weakness in lung and kidney cancer cells could serve as therapeutic target - News-Medical.Net

Cell Biology

How Five Working Parents Are Getting Through Each Day – BuzzFeed News

The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus. To help keep this news free, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Outbreak Today.

Michelle, 36, small city in the middle of a whole lot of corn in the Midwest

Im an ER resident doctor and mom to a 9-month-old baby, currently under quarantine because a patient I admitted was later found to be positive for COVID-19. I am in my final few months of training, and Im on the front lines in the worst pandemic of the century.

6:16 a.m.: My first pump of the day. This is usually my best or most productive pump. My schedule is usually crazy, but I realized my little one likes an early breakfast. I put on my gloves, mask, and wash my hands thoroughly. I follow that up with some hand sanitizer for good measure. I get my phone out and look at pictures of my daughter to get the milk flowing. Im self-isolated in a different bedroom; my husband and daughter are sleeping in the office next door. While its possible they have been exposed already, Im terrified that I will be the one bringing this virus home to them. I put the milk away and Clorox wipe anything Ive touched. I go back to sleep for a couple hours.

2:40 p.m.: I have been down the Reddit rabbit hole for too long reading about the coronavirus reading studies from China, firsthand accounts from Italy and I need a break. I read an article about rationing ventilators in Italy, and I cant imagine being in that position, but I know its a possibility in my near future. Baby is napping in the other room. Im on my laptop and watching her baby cam on my phone all day. I can at least see her sweet smile sometimes. I get out the yoga mat and try to do 20 minutes.

6:35 p.m.: My husband brings me dinner. Disposable plate, silverware that I can shove in the dishwasher when I wash the pump parts later. I can hear him trying to feed our baby dinner. Baby loves food and is babbling while eating. My heart hurts when I hear her. Its so clich, but they really do grow up fast.

9:17 p.m.: Im washing the pump parts for the day and setting them in the drying rack. Its the only time Im allowed out of the bedroom except the bathroom. Baby has been asleep for an hour or so now. I do one final pump and sleep for the night. My quarantine will be over next week. Im scared. I want to take care of people, but we are already rationing PPE (personal protective equipment). I want to take care of people. Its what I am trained to do. Its what I went into medicine for. But being a mom changes things. I want to take care of people, but my ultimate responsibility is to my daughter and husband. They didnt sign up for this. I didnt sign up to practice in a resource poor environment. I want to help.

Kat, 28, New York City

My name is Kat, otherwise known as Ms. Li to my students. I am an English teacher at a public school in central Brooklyn, where I also live. I am a single mom to a preschooler, also in the public school system in our neighborhood. These past couple weeks have been a whirlwind as we transition our students from gearing up for the state exams (which would have been administered this week) to making sure every family has a computer and internet access so they can continue learning from home. I'm also a graduate student in a master's in teaching program.

9:15 a.m.: Right after teaching my 8:10 a.m. online class to over 60 students, I scarf down some "dinner for breakfast" (lentil soup with yogurt) while putting up assignments and calling families to guide them through the online assignments. This is my time to squeeze as much work in as possible before [my] kid wakes up.

10 a.m.: We threw some banana muffins in the oven. While they bake, my son writes his name and draws. My version of homeschooling isn't that advanced yet give me a couple weeks of this and I'll get more creative.

11 a.m.: Finished decorating the banana muffins with strawberry cream cheese frosting.

3 p.m.: In an all-staff Zoom conference with schoolteachers and administration. Of course my kid has to be making all kinds of noise onscreen the entire time. Hit mute.

Jay, 39, suburbs of a major Midwestern city

I work for a large company at a large office complex, and my wife works for a small firm with fewer than 50 employees. Both of our employers had flexible remote work policies prior to the pandemic but since the declaration, my company required remote work and my wifes firm allows any employee to work remotely (after much convincing), but has not closed its offices. We have two children, a son (2) and a daughter (4 months) who attend an in-home daycare that chose to close soon after schools were ordered closed by the governor. My wifes been back from maternity leave for three weeks. Our daughter was hospitalized for a week in January with RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and has been on a lactose-sensitive baby formula since she was a few weeks old. We still use a humidifier nightly and a nebulizer infrequently to battle lingering respiratory effects of the RSV. We live in the first house we bought together, which is large enough for a family of four but does not allow for a dedicated office space with a lockable door, nor does it provide enough space for any of our retired parents to move in with us and stay for an extended period of time to watch the children. Neither of our retired parents nor siblings live in our state.

6:15 a.m.: I was up feeding the baby at 2 a.m. He's been sleeping through the night for the past two weeks. I'm really glad I got trapped in a Facebook black hole for an hour last night 🙁 Alarm went off at regular 5:15 a.m. time. Got up and showered. Coffee is brewing and I'm logged into my work VPN. Received notice in my work email that someone who works in the same building as me tested positive for COVID-19. I'm glad my state's governor shut everything down last week and my employer forced everyone to start working remotely beginning this week. Looks like good, proactive decision-making in hindsight.

7:24 a.m.: Baby is up and has woken up my wife. I managed to get a decent amount of work done while everyone else is asleep. While we warm up a bottle, we discuss today's plans: My calendar is free of meetings; she has a 2 p.m. and needs to put together the agenda. Toddler will be stirring soon. I will handle morning duties so she can put together her agenda.

10 a.m.: Put the toddler in front of the TV with his snack so I can feed the baby and get a few emails done. Both my wife and I ended up spending the last half hour looking for baby formula online. We have a delivery subscription through the manufacturer for the allergy formula the baby needs, but our subscription has an error, and the call center has been closed both times I've called in the last two days. Most places are out of stock or only have one left. All online deliveries from Target, Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS are on hold.

4 p.m.: Spent two hours at lunchtime driving around to local CVS stores to find formula. Managed to score 11 bottles after visiting five stores and our pediatrician's office while still leaving one or two on the shelf at each store for other parents like us. Managed to scarf down some lunch before changing a poopy diaper. Our toddler woke up from his nap while my wife took a 2 p.m. conference call. Somehow made a grilled cheese for my toddler after his nap, but had to let him eat it in the living room while watching TV (usually we try to make sure he eats at the dinner table and no TV) just to keep him quiet during the conference call. Finally getting back to work while my wife and kids go for a walk. I'm frustrated with not having gotten any work done since 8 a.m., but we have to share time. Also frustrated with emails I'm reading from team members asking for status updates from meetings held last Wednesday or Thursday. Were I in the office yesterday and today, I would have probably made progress on those things. Is no one else struggling to balance? WTF? No, they're not. Only one other person on my team has children under 19.

11:04 p.m.: I got in about two more hours of work from 46 p.m. before everyone got back from their walk and I had to start dinner. I had planned to make shrimp fried rice for dinner this morning. Ended up warming veggie burgers and fries in the oven. *shrug emoji* I did get the toddler to eat a lot before getting up and running around every five minutes, and then I got him to bed on time tonight. Cleaned the kitchen and then tried to get primary results off Twitter before giving up on getting any more work done. I scheduled four follow-up meetings for this week during regular business hours. I'm a bit concerned I wont be able to hold myself to all of them. Fingers crossed that I don't get woken up in three hours like last night. The most exhausting thing is that I truly haven't realized until today that 2-year-olds only have a 15-minute interest in anything besides TV and electronic devices. In order to entertain him for an hour, you have to have four things planned or put him in front of the TV, which we're not yet comfortable doing, even during this pandemic.

Kiani, 34, Spanish Fort, Alabama

Im a mother to two young sons (Ethan is 6, Nolan is 3). I am a scientist by training (PhD in cell biology from Duke University) and was a college professor for six years. Last year, I quit my job and announced my candidacy for the US House of Representatives in Alabamas 1st Congressional District.

On March 16, I suspended face-to-face campaign events out of an abundance of caution. On March 18, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced the runoff election would be postponed until July 14. However, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill decided that absentee ballots would be mailed immediately, creating a four-month voting window that is currently open. Since people are voting, I am not able to fully suspend my campaign. As such, I am a congressional candidate, attempting to run a fully digital campaign that respects the guidelines of social distancing while managing my team and caring for my two young children from home.

9:15 a.m.: We had a busy weekend, so we are starting the day later than usual. Breakfast is my time to wrap my head around the day. I start a to-do for the day its a fluid document, but in this time of uncertainty I am thankful for any semblance of order. Today, my goal is to start to tackle what Ive started calling The Document Problem. With people shut in and public libraries closed, and with much of my district having limited access to technology, Im worried about my constituents abilities to produce vital documents during this time: printing and mailing in absentee ballot applications, producing and notarizing advanced medical directives, completing the US census, etc. So Im planning to spend the day calling various offices to brainstorm. The boys are enjoying the fruits of my stress baking: bread pudding made with Wednesdays homemade bread.

11:30 a.m.: The pandemic has forced us to close down the campaign office, so Ive cobbled it back together in my upstairs office. To keep the campaign alive, weve gone almost fully digital, with frequent emails and social media posts. Since I have a PhD in cell biology, weve started a series of videos called #QuarantineWithKiani so I can help explain the current situation to my worried constituents. I put a movie on for the kids so I can sneak upstairs and record a short video about getting tested for COVID-19. It requires five takes because the sound of the kids yelling at each other is audible on the video. A six-minute video took one hour to record.

1:30 p.m.: After lunch, the boys are having imaginative playtime while Im on the phone with my campaign manager. We plan the weeks communications schedule. It seems like having unlimited access to me these past few days has made the boys clingier than usual. They insist on being within 3 feet of me at all times. They have a pirate/knight sword fight right next to me and spill a glass of water all over my computer and notebook. I lose my cool for a minute, and then we clean it up. Realistically, the countdown of productive minutes has begun. Within 30 minutes, they will demand my full attention for the rest of the day. Its frustrating that I only got a few of my goals done today.

8 p.m.: Bedtime. The boys have always been calmed by physical affection, so my husband and I take turns lying with each boy at night, talking about the day, and tucking them in. Since social distancing started, we have noticed that the boys are increasingly needy for me theyve probably become used to spending the entire day with me. Tonight, Ethan cries because its daddys turn to put him to bed. I lay Nolan down, and we wont settle until I lie with him and hold his hand. He wont sleep unless I hold his hand. My husband is feeling rejected; Im feeling claustrophobic.

Courtney, 41, Durham, North Carolina

I work from home in freelance communications, and my husband is a clinical psychiatric pharmacist in a local hospital. I've been trying to work from home while caring full time for Jane, 4, because we want to keep her preschool, which is still open, safe for those who need it most. My husband's patient population is really vulnerable to disease, so we do wonder each day if he's been exposed and just doesn't know it. His stress level is really taking its toll, and I'm more stressed each day about not getting enough work done for my clients who also have pressing communications issues and need me to be dependable, not screaming at my child during a Zoom call.

10 a.m.: We get up early, watch some Sesame Street, and then I work with clients for as long as Elmo and coloring books will hold Jane. I'm in higher education communications, so there are a lot of pressing COVID-19 needs. Janes school is still open, but it's important to save their capacity for the children of first responders and health care workers, grocery store workers, those folks providing necessities. Because my husband works in a hospital, we worry about bringing germs there. At 10 a.m., I usually schedule an outside activity and work break with Jane. We were collecting rocks, and she asked a neighbor in his yard if he knew the guy who got a cold and closed her movie theater. Labyrinth (her favorite movie) was supposed to show and got canceled. #priorities

12:30 p.m.: Im used to working from home, but Im not used to working from home with a kid. I feel guilty in every way. I feel guilty for ignoring Jane, for rushing her through activities, for not savoring the marvelous and unique way she explores the world like everyone says to Im trying to cram in work. Then I feel guilty because I have dependable, steady work when there are those who suddenly do not. Ive never felt stress like this in my whole life Im simply failing in every direction. This is week two, and its just not sustainable.

2 p.m.: Im working on a proposal for an important new client. I work as much as I can during the day while somehow managing some form of routine real routines with crafts or books, and emergency routines like chaotic mischief that I tune out because I know whatever shes doing both exhausts and delights her. I have to finish what Im working on because shell need my laptop for a Zoom lesson with her preschool ballet class. Ms. Caroline is a lovely, bendy saint who brings my child a lot of joy, and Jane deserves that time with her and her other baby ballerinas she hasnt had it in weeks.

4 p.m.: The dishes. I cannot. My exhausted, hardworking, bighearted husband will be coming home to these dishes to his silent chagrin, Im sure. He'll take off his shoes outside, strip off his scrubs in the kitchen, and wash off as much as he can in this awful sink, and then I will throw our sticky child at him so I can either finish all my work, spend real brainpower on a feature due soon, or, to be honest, drink a bunch of wine, ignore texts from all my well-meaning friends and family, and crash doing crosswords. I feel like he deserves better. At least I prepared a very simple dinner in the fridge tempeh and broccoli.

8 p.m.: Speaking of crashing, Ive felt tired all day, with a tickle in my throat, but now Im fully coughing and running a low-grade fever. Im breathing fine, but coughing hurts. I cant work tonight Im too tired, too worn-out, and worried. Now my husband is worried too and wants me to get in bed which means he inherits the mess, the overtired, wound-up kid, the unwalked dogs, the lingering mess of it all, until he crashes and it begins again. Tomorrow we'll see if I need a COVID-19 test. What if I have it and he carries it to his hospital, or he's walking around with it, asymptomatic?

Update from Courtney: After a long struggle involving multiple online and phone screenings and an initial rejection at the hospital, Courtney was able to get tested for COVID-19 and the results came back negative. Most poorly timed bronchitis EVER, she told me over email.

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How Five Working Parents Are Getting Through Each Day - BuzzFeed News

Cell Biology

Scailyte Announces Its New Advisory Board, Composed of World Leading Clinicians and Scientists – EconomyWatch.com

SURSEE, Switzerland-March 31, 2020- (Newswire.com)

Scailyte is an ETH Zurichspin-off and Top 100 Swiss Startup applying artificial intelligence to discover novel and ultra-sensitive biomarkers from single-cell data. Over the past threeyears, it has established ScaiVision, a proprietary data analytics platform for clinical research, which enables it to achieve groundbreaking discoveries in multiple disease areas. Scailyte has validated its approach by discovering its first single-cell biomarker for the detection of skin T-cell lymphoma, which it iscurrently translating into an in vitro diagnostics application that will radically improve the diagnosis and survival chances for thousands of patients suffering from this disease. Scailyteisscaling up its efforts by applying itsbiomarker discovery approach for multiple indications in oncology and womens health. In order to strengthen Scailytes discovery potential and provide strategic guidance, ithasappointed a scientific advisory board consisting of world-leading clinicians and scientists. The scientific advisory board is being led by Scailyte's co-founder, Professor Dr. Manfred Claasen.

Scailytes mission is to provide better healthcare and transform diagnostics, with particular focus on diseases with high unmet diagnostic need. With the rise of novel single-cell technologies, we are now in the unique position to leverage the potential of high dimensional single-cell data, and Scailyte is at the forefront of turning this potential into clinical applications, says Prof. Claassen

Prof. Dr. Manfred Claassen has been recently appointed as full professor in Clinical Bioinformatics at the University Hospital of Tubingen,with a focus on machine learning for single-cell biology and precision medicine. Prof. Claassen is an alumnus of the University of Tubingen and obtained his PhD from ETH Zurich. He did postdoctoral studies at Stanford University, where he pioneered research in single-cell data analysis and subsequently started his independent research group at ETH Zurich. This activity resulted in the key developments of an algorithm that paved the way for Scailytes innovative implementation of deep learning approaches for cell identity biomarker discovery.

Prof. Dr. Emmanuella Guenova is a dermatologist, specialist in cutaneous lymphoma and laboratory diagnostics of skin diseases, and appointed professor at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne. She is a senior physician-scientist, leading the specialized cutaneous lymphoma clinic at the Department of Dermatology of the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). Prof. Guenova is supporting Scailyte as a clinical advisor and principal investigator in its clinical development program for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

Prof. Dr. Michael Mueller is a renowned gynecologist and gynecological oncologist, and managing director of the Women's Health Clinic at the University Hospital of Bern (Inselspital). Prof. Mueller is supporting Scailyte as a clinical advisor and expert in endometriosis and womens health.

Prof. Dr. Tomas Kalina is a physician and a cytometry expert currently leading a research group focused on disorders of adaptive immunity at the Charles University in Prague. Professor Kalina is supporting Scailyte as a clinical diagnostic advisor with his expertise in cytometry standardization.

Prof. Dr. Petter Brodin is a pioneer in single-cell analysis and is advising Scailyte in immunology and the application of single-cell technologies for clinical research. Prof. Brodin is based at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and heads a research group that focuses on systems level analyses of the human immune system. Prof. Brodin is a consultant pediatrician working at the Karolinska University Hospital

Dr. Michael Stadler received training in immunology and bioinformatics from the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva. He is a scientific advisor supporting Scailytes with the development of itsdata analytics platform.After postdoctoral studies in Bern and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he joined the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) Basel, where he is a staff scientist and leads the computational biology group.

About Scailyte

Scailyte AG is a data-driven biomarker discovery company, founded in Luzern, Switzerland in 2017. The ETH Spin-off is using cutting edge technologies within the single-cell space and a proprietary biomarker discovery platform to develop clinical diagnostic applications in oncology and womens health. Scailyte is ranked among the Top100 Swiss Startups since 2019 and has won the MassChallenge Switzerland in 2018.

http://www.scailyte.com

Scailyte and ScaiVision are registered trademarks proprietary to Scailyte AG.

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Scailyte Announces Its New Advisory Board, Composed of World Leading Clinicians and Scientists - EconomyWatch.com

Cell Biology

Professors learn to adapt and innovate with online classes – Harvard Gazette

Because this is a Gen Ed course, it combines studio work with conversations and lectures about painting as a language that engages with the world, said Saunders. One of the [original] assignments was that we would go paint all together in Mount Auburn Cemetery, but now I am asking students to start scouting out where they are, thinking about this dislocation in place, finding themselves suddenly in a different situation, and creating a work about the psychological space of that new location.

In the course An Integrated Introduction to the Life Sciences: Genetics, Genomics, and Evolution, which is required for life sciences concentrators, Hopi Hoekstra and her colleagues revised in-person lab components and recorded some elements of discussion and lecture for wider availability to students scattered across the globe.

We are trying to keep the flow of the course very similar to how it was before spring break, said Hoekstra, Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology in the Departments of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology and Molecular & Cellular Biology, curator of mammals at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. We still have pre-lab quizzes and post-lab assignments. Its a balance between trying to keep everything similar to the rhythm that the students have gotten used to, while making these tweaks to try to keep that rhythm as engaging and interesting as possible.

But how exactly can this done if students dont have access to labs? One assignment called for students to collect biological sample from their environments, extract the DNA, and analyze the resulting data. Instead, Hoekstra and her team collected samples from items including a cellphone, a boot sole, and a dogs toy, and recorded a teaching fellow modeling the DNA extraction process. The team sent the samples to an external lab for sequencing and sent the resulting data to students for analysis. They were then assigned to match each samples DNA profile to one in a database.

Online teaching is very different from face-to-face teaching, and what I love about it is that you can layer in archival and visual materials in a way that is engaging and vibrant.

Elisa New

With remote lab work, even though [students] miss the part of doing the field biology, they still get to do part of the scientific process, which is very fun, because the answer is unknown and theyll get to discover that themselves, said Hoekstra. Were trying to make sure that they get the foundational information that they need [for future courses]. It is also a pretty exciting time to be thinking about genetics and evolution in the middle of a viral outbreak, because what theyre learning is being talked about in the news all the time and theyre learning how it works.

For some, the online classroom was a more familiar environment. Elisa New, Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literature, used spring break to retool the syllabus for her course Migrations: Fictions of America to include more of the resources she had developed over the past seven years as creator of the digital platform and TV series Poetry in America and as an instructor at Harvard Extension School and HarvardX.

In my experience of teaching online, I have discovered that making asynchronous learning the foundation of a course, and layering in synchronous learning that is, everybody together on a Zoom session is a much more reliable way to make sure the whole class participates, said New, who will be combining live conversations with videos, recorded lecture content, and Canvas prompts for class discussion. New also incorporated episodes from Poetry in America into weekly course content on topics including Civil War poetry and Midwestern modernism as seen in Willa Cathers novel My ntonia, and other cultural products.

Online teaching is very different from face-to-face teaching, and what I love about it is that you can layer in archival and visual materials in a way that is engaging and vibrant, she said, noting that even if other faculty dont have established online teaching resources to use in their courses, flexibility in content and schedule can be useful in successfully adapting courses to a digital environment.

Professor of the Practice of Molecular and Cellular Biology Robert Lue echoed this sentiment. Lue, who is also faculty director of the Harvard Ed Portal, UNESCO chair on life sciences and social innovation, Richard L. Menschel Faculty Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, and faculty director and principal investigator of LabXchange, combines live and recorded class meetings for his course Cell Biology in the World. He estimated that, so far, the Bok Center has reached more than 350 faculty members through online seminars and individual consultations to prepare for online teaching.

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Professors learn to adapt and innovate with online classes - Harvard Gazette