Immunology

ImmuneID Launches with $17M Financing to Profile and Modulate Immune Response at Unprecedented Scale and Resolution – BioSpace

Feb. 17, 2021 12:00 UTC

Unlocking precision immunology to treat severe disease

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ImmuneID, Inc., a precision immunology company employing a proprietary platform to identify and therapeutically target antibody interactions that drive immune diseases, announced a $17M financing led by founding investor Longwood Fund, as well as Arch Venture Partners, Pitango HealthTech, In-Q-Tel, Xfund, and others. The company plans to use this funding to develop therapeutic programs in areas including severe allergy, autoimmunity, oncology, and infectious disease.

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Lea Hachigian (Photo: Business Wire)

High-quality therapeutic target identification has remained a vexing bottleneck in drug discovery, said Stephen Elledge, Ph.D., ImmuneID co-founder, Lasker Award winner, and Gregor Mendel Professor of Genetics and Medicine, Harvard Medical School. The ImmuneID platform, including the VirScan technology, relieves this bottleneck by using its massively parallel, multiplexed, and unbiased approach to provide previously unavailable insight into human immune responses throughout the course of disease progression.

ImmuneIDs platform is a robust, patented, and well-validated system that makes use of next generation sequencing, robotic automation, and artificial intelligence to interrogate and ultimately drug the immune system. The Elledge Lab has optimized the platform through years of intensive research and development resulting in multiple articles in leading journals such as Science and Cell.

ImmuneID is committed to therapeutically leveraging the powerful data we have generated to create new medicines for patients with severe allergies, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and infectious disease, said Longwood Funds Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., ImmuneID co-founder and Executive Chair. Lea Hachigian, Ph.D., founding CEO of ImmuneID, and Principal, Longwood Fund, added, We are also applying our platform to generate real-time deep insights into public health risks, and other severe diseases.

The power of the VirScan technology was recently highlighted in Shrock et al., Science 10.1126/science.abd4250 (Sept. 29, 2020), in which deep serological profiling of 232 COVID-19 patients and 190 pre-COVID-19 era controls revealed over 800 epitopes in the SARS-CoV-2 proteome, including 10 high-quality epitopes likely recognized by neutralizing antibodies. ImmuneIDs broader platform was employed in Monaco et al., Nat Commun 12, 379 (2021), to identify strong anti-wheat IgE reactivities in wheat allergic individuals and characterize a key wheat epitope that elicits dominant IgE responses among allergic patients, opening the door to targeted therapeutics.

ImmuneIDs Scientific Advisory Board includes co-founder Stephen Elledge, Ph.D.; co-founder H. Benjamin Larman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Pathology, Johns Hopkins; co-founder Tomasz Kula, Ph.D., Harvard Society of Fellows, Harvard University; and Michael Mina, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

About ImmuneID

ImmuneID is a precision immunology company using its proprietary platform to simultaneously identify and therapeutically target millions of antibody interactions that drive immune diseases. Based on technology developed by scientific founders Stephen Elledge (Harvard), Ben Larman (Johns Hopkins), and Tomasz Kula (Harvard), we are employing our massively parallel, multiplexed, and unbiased systems to develop therapeutics for autoimmunity, severe allergy, oncology and infectious disease. ImmuneID was founded in 2020 by Longwood Fund and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.

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ImmuneID Launches with $17M Financing to Profile and Modulate Immune Response at Unprecedented Scale and Resolution - BioSpace

Immunology

Lilly and Scottish university partner to find new therapies for immunological disorders – BioPharma-Reporter.com

The 4.6m (US$6.4m) research alliance is set to last four years. The partners will work across four diseases psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibrosis, and vasculitis.

The project will be led by Glasgow Universitys Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation.

The collaboration is aimed at identifying first-in-class therapeutics for people suffering with these conditions.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation, primarily of the small joints of the hands and feet.

RA affects approximately 0.31% of the adult population worldwide, and it is estimated that within 10 years of diagnosis, 40% of people will be unable to stay in full-time work.This has major socio-economic repercussions. In the UK, this costs the NHS on average 700m per year and indirectly costs the UK economy an estimated 8bn per year, according to a release from the university.

Professor Iain McInnes, vice principal at the University of Glasgow, said with the current backdrop of the pandemic it is particularly important that its research continues to focus on discovering new ways to treat patients with other diseases that affect peoples quality-of-life.

Strengthening links with industry is hugely important as we move to translate our research findings into clinical practice which benefits patients.

Professor Carl Goodyear, professor of translational immunology at that university, said the alliance combines Glasgows world-class clinical and translational skills with Lillys therapeutic capabilities and technology platforms for developing novel therapeutics.

This is a highly unique collaboration that is aimed at harnessing not only cross-disease comparison but also intra-disease pathological comparison across different affected tissues. By providing this disease and tissue contextualization it will enable the identification and validation of unique therapeutic targets.

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Lilly and Scottish university partner to find new therapies for immunological disorders - BioPharma-Reporter.com

Immunology

New First-Year Biology Seminar Tackles COVID-19, Vaccinations and Pandemic Misinformation – Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun

As misinformation over COVID-19 vaccine side effects and distribution conspiracy theories continue to flood social media, members of the general public are often left unequipped with the scientific literacy to discern between clickbait headlines and reliable information.

But Prof. Elizabeth Rhoades, microbiology and immunology, is trying to change that.

A researcher and lecturer, Rhoades jumped on the opportunity to mold a more science-informed student body by crafting a new first-year seminar course: Biology 1250: Keep Calm and Be Science Literate in the Pandemic.

As science is politicized and misinformation continues to spread through social media feeds like wildfire, the class teaches students how to ask questions, find reputable sources and make informed decisions and how dangerous it can be when that doesnt happen, Rhoades explained.

How can you distinguish pseudoscience from real science? How can you make well-informed decisions about your health if you dont know immunology? The answer is that you become science literate, the course description reads.

Targeted toward first-year students regardless of their science background, Rhoades is offering this one-credit course in-person during the second half of the semester. Rhoades explained that the course is structured around class discussions and hands-on activities, and will equip students with the tools to distinguish fact from fiction.

I want to teach [my students] how to go find real news, and how you can tell its not fake, Rhoades said. They will learn how to check if the source has any biases or gains, and how to be skeptical when they consider certain sources.

Rhoades said the course will first provide students with a foundational knowledge of the immunology behind the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as how the vaccine can trigger the bodys defense against infection.

According to the course syllabus, students who take this class will be able to evaluate popular scientific claims, explain the biology behind vaccines and COVID-19 tests and engage in productive conversations around sociocultural issues of the pandemic such as healthcare disparities.

Then, the class will shift toward dissecting the social implications of the virus, as well as misinformation across social media and fraudulent news sites.

Students will also gain hands-on experience navigating scientific rhetoric. For one assignment, students will either take the stance of a COVID-19 vaccine skeptic or believer and analyze each sides argument for the impact the vaccine could have on the long-term health of individuals.

This type of exercise highlights the technique of gathering and applying information, and more importantly, it may open students eyes to different perspectives, Rhoades said. I want students to learn enough about vaccines and where to find information about them, so they can make informed decisions if a vaccine is a good decision for them or not.

According to Rhoades, the experience of this class will have a multiplying effect on generating a more scientifically literate public, as students can have informed discussions on vaccine safety with their friends and family.

Ultimately, Rhoades said she hopes the course will empower students with the critical thinking skills that will allow them to draw their own conclusions on scientific issues, even if they dont have extensive knowledge of science.

You dont have to be a science expert to make science decisions, but I want to teach students to track down the facts online when reading the news, and to be able to make educated choices for themselves, Rhoades said. I see this as science communication at its best.

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New First-Year Biology Seminar Tackles COVID-19, Vaccinations and Pandemic Misinformation - Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun

Immunology

Major 2.2m research project aims to improve treatment and understanding of Long COVID – University of Birmingham

Approximately 1 in 10 people with COVID-19 continue to experience symptoms and impaired quality of life beyond 12 weeks

The University of Birmingham today launches a major new 2.2m government-funded research project to improve the treatment, causes and symptoms of so-called Long COVID in non-hospitalised patients.

The two-year project, funded through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), follows a UK-wide joint research call to fund ambitious and comprehensive Long COVID research.

Approximately 1 in 10 people with COVID-19 continue to experience symptoms and impaired quality of life beyond 12 weeks, which is known as Long COVID. Common Long COVID symptoms include, extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, chest pain or tightness, brain fog, insomnia, heart palpitations, dizziness, pins and needles, joint pain, depression, anxiety, tinnitus, earaches, nausea, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite, a high temperature, cough, headaches, sore throat, and changes to sense of smell or taste.

Through a partnership with the Clinical Practice Research Datalink using electronic GP records, the University of Birmingham-led team will identify and recruit thousands of non-hospitalised patients with Long COVID who have had symptoms for 12 weeks or longer to a major clinical digital study.

At the heart of the study will be the use of a digital platform, called Atom5 from med-tech company Aparito Limited, which will be configured for the study by experts from the University of Birmingham with patient input. Participating patients will be given access to the digital platform, allowing them to self-report symptoms, quality of life and work capability.

Asub group of patients will receive blood and other biological tests to understand the immunology of Long COVID, and will wear a device that will measure their heart rate, oxygen saturation, step count and sleep quality.

Using their findings, the researchers will co-produce with patients a targeted intervention for Long COVID, tailored to individual patient need. Delivered remotely in the community, via the Atom5TM app, it will provide critical support and information to empower patients in self-managing long COVID. In addition, they will provide tailored resources to support symptom management and nurse-led support for those with the severest symptoms.

The researchers will also use the digital platform to assess whether the treatments and supportive interventions reduce symptoms, improve quality of life, and are good value for money.

All data gathered will be used to help the scientists characterise the symptoms, health impacts, and underlying causes of Long COVID syndromes in non-hospitalised patients providing invaluable insight not currently available.

Principal Investigator Dr Shamil Haroon, Clinical Lecturer in Primary Care at the University of Birmingham, said: Individuals with Long COVID frequently report experiencing diverse physical and psychological symptoms beyond 12 weeks that can be extremely debilitating.

People living with Long COVID have indicated that they feel abandoned and dismissed by healthcare providers, and receive limited or conflicting advice.

Meanwhile, neither the biological or immunological mechanisms of Long COVID, nor the rationale for why certain people are more susceptible to these effects, are yet clear, limiting development of therapies. Its essential we act quickly to address these issues.

Co-Principal Investigator Melanie Calvert, Professor of Outcomes Methodology and NIHR Senior Investigator at the University of Birmingham, added: A large number of individuals that have had COVID-19 experience long-term effects on their health and well-being.

Our study aims to reduce their symptom burden and improve quality of life. Ultimately, people want to be able to enjoy life again and spend time with their friends and family.

It is clear that there is an urgent need for research to help explain the causes that drive the longer-term health effects of COVID-19 so that we can optimise patient care.

Our digital trial platform in primary care will not only facilitate research exploring the underlying cause of Long COVID, but also the evaluation and co-production of suitable interventions.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, said: I am acutely aware of the lasting and debilitating impact Long COVID can have on people of all ages, irrespective of the extent of the initial symptoms.

Fatigue, headaches and breathlessness can affect people for months after their COVID-19 infection regardless of whether they required hospital admission initially.

In order to effectively help these individuals we need to better understand long COVID and identify therapeutics that can help recovery. This funding will kick-start ambitious projects to do just that.

Chief Medical Officer for England and Head of the NIHR, Professor Chris Whitty, said: Good research is absolutely pivotal in understanding, diagnosing and then treating any illness, to ease symptoms and ultimately improve lives.

This research, jointly funded through the NIHR and UKRI, will increase our knowledge of how and why the virus causes some people to suffer long term effects following a COVID-19 infection - and will be an important tool in developing more effective treatments for patients.

Health Minister, Lord Bethell, said:The UK is at the forefront of scientific research and innovation when it comes to the treatment of COVID-19. This work is vital in helping us to build on our knowledge and improve the treatment of the longer-term impacts of the virus.

This research will make the best use of available evidence to help us identify the causes, the consequences and most importantly the best treatments to help people recover from COVID-19 in the long term.

The University of Birmingham-led project will include a Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP), made up of a group of long COVID patients, who will work with researchers and clinicians to develop the research from a patient perspective. LEAP member and long COVID patient Dave Stanton, aged 74, welcomed the research.

The RAF veteran said: COVID-19 has knocked me sideways, with a long and debilitating battle since initially becoming ill in March last year, including having to have surgery to replace my pacemaker following additional damage the virus has caused to my heart.

"Each day is baby steps in terms of recovery, but almost one year on I am still battling a myriad of symptoms from memory loss to difficulties breathing, pins and needles, and immobility.

"I am delighted to be part of this research project, which will give hope to so many out there who are, like me, struggling with the longer term crippling effects of this virus.

The research team consists of multi-disciplinary experts heavily involved in COVID-19 research from the University of Birmingham, including Dr Krish Nirantharakumar, Dr Joht Singh Chandan, Dr Olalekan Lee Aiyegbusi, Professor Janet Lord, Professor David Wraith, Professor Alastair Denniston, Dr Sarah Hughes, Dr Louise Jackson, Dr Grace Turner, Dr Samantha Cruz Rivera, Dr Anuradhaa Subramanian, Professor Georgios Gkoutos, Professor Elizabeth Sapey, Professor Tom Marshall, Dr Christel McMullan, and Professor Steven Marwaha.

It also includes Dr Puja Myles and Dr Tim Williams, of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and Dr Elin Haf Davies, of Aparito Limited.

Project partners will include patient campaign group LongCovidSOS, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium (UK-CIC), and the Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 Study Consortium (PHOSP-COVID). Long COVID patients and their carers have co-developed the research plan, including COVID-19 survivor Gary Price who will also act as a co-investigator.

For more information, please contact Emma McKinney, Communications Manager, University of Birmingham, on +44 7815607157. Alternatively, contact the Press Office out of hours on +44 (0)7789 921165.

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Major 2.2m research project aims to improve treatment and understanding of Long COVID - University of Birmingham

Physiology

Cassidy Announces Nearly $5 Million for LSU Health Shreveport, LSU and A&M College Baton Rouge – Bossier Press-Tribune Online

WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is awarding $4,617,645 to Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Shreveport and LSU and Agricultural and Mechanical (LSU and A&M) College Baton Rouge under the pharmacology, physiology, and biological chemistry research program.

These federal dollars support cutting-edge research in Louisiana to improve the health of all Americans, said Dr. Cassidy. Im proud to announce more than $4.5 million to both LSU Health Shreveport and LSU and A&M College Baton Rouge to advance their research efforts.

Funding for pharmacology, physiology, biological chemistry research was awarded in the following amounts:

$2,150,395 to LSU Health Shreveport for the Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes$2,467,250 to LSU and A&M College Baton Rouge for the Center for Pre-Clinical Cancer ResearchBackground

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) a medical research agency of the National Institute of Health which is a component of HHS supports basic research that increases our understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. NIGMS-funded scientists investigate how living systems work at a range of levels from molecules and cells to tissues and organs, in research organisms, humans, and populations.

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Cassidy Announces Nearly $5 Million for LSU Health Shreveport, LSU and A&M College Baton Rouge - Bossier Press-Tribune Online

Physiology

Timing of exercise impacts men with Type 2 diabetes – Harvard Gazette

Numerous studies have demonstrated the role of physical activity in improving heart health for patients with Type 2 diabetes. But whether exercising at a certain time of the day promised an added health bonus for this population was still largely unknown.

New research published inDiabetes Care reports a correlation between the timing of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and cardiovascular fitness and health risks for individuals who have Type 2 diabetes and obesity or overweight.

The research team fromBrigham and Womens Hospitaland Joslin Diabetes Center investigators, along with collaborators found that, in its study of 2,035 people, men who performed physical activity in the morning had the highest risks of developing coronary heart disease (CHD), independent of the amount and intensity of weekly physical activity. Men most active midday had lower cardiorespiratory fitness levels. In women, the investigators did not find an association between specific activity timing and CHD risk or cardiorespiratory fitness.

The general message for our patient population remains that you should exercise whenever you can as regular exercise provides significant benefits for health, said corresponding authorJingyi Qian of theDivision of Sleep and Circadian Disordersat the Brigham and an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. But researchers studying the effects of physical activity should take into account timing as an additional consideration so that we can give better recommendations to the general public about how time of day may affect the relationship between exercise and cardiovascular health.

The researchers analyzed baseline data from the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes)study, a multi-site, randomized clinical investigation that began in 2001 and monitored the health of more than 5,000 individuals with Type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity. Among them, over 2,000 individuals had objectively measured physical activity at baseline.

The study population was very well characterized at baseline, with detailed metabolic and physical activity measurements, which was an advantage of using this dataset for our work, said corresponding author Roeland Middelbeek of the Joslin Diabetes Center, who is a co-investigator of the Look AHEAD study.

For theDiabetes Carearticle, the researchers reviewed data from hip-mounted accelerometers that participants wore for one week at the beginning of the Look AHEAD study. The researchers tracked the clock-time of daily moderate-to-vigorous activity, including labor-intensive work that extends beyond more traditionally defined forms of exercise. To assess the participants risk level of experiencing CHD over the next four years, the researchers used the well-known, sex-specificFramingham risk score algorithm.

Sex-specific physiological differences may help explain the more prominent correlations seen in males, who tend to be at risk of CHD earlier in life. However, the researchers note that other factors could also be at play. It remains unclear why time-specific activity may be associated with different levels of health and fitness.

The researchers also could not account for participants varying circadian rhythms: whereas a jog at 6 p.m. for one participant may be evening exercise, another participant prone to waking later in the day may, biologically, consider it to be afternoon, regardless of how the clock-time of the activity was recorded in the study.

Interest in the interaction between physical activity and the circadian system is still just emerging, Qian said. We formed a methodology for quantifying and characterizing participants based on the clock-time of their physical activity, which allows researchers to carry out other studies on other cohorts.

Beyond further integrating circadian biology with exercise physiology, the researchers are also excited to use longitudinal data to investigate how exercise timing relates to cardiovascular health outcomes, particularly among diabetes patients more vulnerable to cardiovascular events.

Other contributors to the research include Michael P. Walkup, Shyh-Huei Chen, Peter H. Brubaker, Dale S. Bond, Phyllis A. Richey, John M. Jakicic, Kun Hu, Frank A.J.L. Scheer, and the Look AHEAD Research Group.

Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (K99HL148500). The Look AHEAD trial was supported by the Department of Health and Human Services through the following cooperative agreements from the National Institutes of Health (DK57136, DK57149, DK56990, DK57177, DK57171, DK57151, DK57182, DK57131, DK57002, DK57078, DK57154, DK57178, DK57219, DK57008, DK57135, and DK56992). The Indian Health Service (I.H.S.) provided personnel, medical oversight, and use of facilities.

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Timing of exercise impacts men with Type 2 diabetes - Harvard Gazette

Genetics

Fulgent Genetics to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Financial Results on Thursday March 4, 2021 – GlobeNewswire

TEMPLE CITY, Calif., Feb. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fulgent Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLGT) (Fulgent Genetics or the company), a technology company providing comprehensive testing solutions through its scalable technology platform, today announced that it will release its fourth quarter and full year 2020 financial results after the market closes on Thursday March 4, 2021. The companys Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ming Hsieh, Chief Financial Officer Paul Kim and Chief Commercial Officer Brandon Perthuis will host a conference call for the investment community the same day at 4:30 PM ET (1:30 PM PT) to discuss the results and answer questions.

The call can be accessed through a live audio webcast in the Investors section of the companys website, http://ir.fulgentgenetics.com, and through a live conference call by dialing (855) 321-9535 using the conference ID 7669989. An audio replay will be available in the Investors section of the companys website or by calling (855) 859-2056 using passcode 7669989 through March 11, 2021.

About Fulgent Genetics

Fulgent Genetics proprietary technology platform has created a broad, flexible test menu and the ability to continually expand and improve its proprietary genetic reference library while maintaining accessible pricing, high accuracy and competitive turnaround times. Combining next generation sequencing (NGS) with its technology platform, the Company performs full-gene sequencing with deletion/duplication analysis in an array of panels that can be tailored to meet specific customer needs. In 2019, the Company launched its first patient-initiated product, Picture Genetics, a new line of at-home screening tests that combines the Companys advanced NGS solutions with actionable results and genetic counseling options for individuals. Since March 2020, the Company has commercially launched several tests for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), including NGS and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) - based tests. The Company has received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the RT-PCR-based tests for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 using upper respiratory specimens (nasal, nasopharyngeal, and oropharyngeal swabs) and for the at-home testing service through Picture Genetics. A cornerstone of the Companys business is its ability to provide expansive options and flexibility for all clients unique testing needs through a comprehensive technology offering including cloud computing, pipeline services, record management, web portal services, clinical workflow, sequencing as a service and automated lab services.

Investor Relations Contacts:The Blueshirt GroupNicole Borsje, 415-217-2633; nicole@blueshirtgroup.com

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Fulgent Genetics to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Financial Results on Thursday March 4, 2021 - GlobeNewswire

Genetics

20% of People Have a Genetic Mutation That Provides Superior Resilience to Cold – SciTechDaily

Almost one in five people lack the protein -aktinin-3 in their muscle fiber. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now show that more of the skeletal muscle of these individuals comprises slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are more durable and energy-efficient and provide better tolerance to low temperatures than fast-twitch muscle fibers. The results are published in the scientific journal The American Journal of Human Genetics.

Skeletal muscle comprises fast-twitch (white) fibers that fatigue quickly and slow-twitch (red) fibers that are more resistant to fatigue. The protein -aktinin-3, which is found only in fast-twitch fibers, is absent in almost 20 percent of people almost 1.5 billion individuals due to a mutation in the gene that codes for it. In evolutionary terms, the presence of the mutated gene increased when humans migrated from Africa to the colder climates of central and northern Europe.

This suggests that people lacking -aktinin-3 are better at keeping warm and, energy-wise, at enduring a tougher climate, but there hasnt been any direct experimental evidence for this before, says Hkan Westerblad, professor of cellular muscle physiology at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet. We can now show that the loss of this protein gives a greater resilience to cold and weve also found a possible mechanism for this.

For the study, 42 healthy men between the ages of 18 and 40 were asked to sit in cold water (14 C) until their body temperature had dropped to 35.5 C. During cold water immersion, researchers measured muscle electrical activity with electromyography (EMG) and took muscle biopsies to study the protein content and fiber-type composition.

The results showed that the skeletal muscle of people lacking -aktinin-3 contains a larger proportion of slow-twitch fibres. On cooling, these individuals were able to maintain their body temperature in a more energy-efficient way. Rather than activating fast-twitch fibres, which results in overt shivering, they increased the activation of slow-twitch fibers that produce heat by increasing baseline contraction (tonus).

The mutation probably gave an evolutionary advantage during the migration to a colder climate, but in todays modern society this energy-saving ability might instead increase the risk of diseases of affluence, which is something we now want to turn our attention to, says Professor Westerblad.

Another interesting question is how the lack of -aktinin-3 affects the bodys response to physical exercise.

People who lack -aktinin-3 rarely succeed in sports requiring strength and explosiveness, while a tendency towards greater capacity has been observed in these people in endurance sports, he explains.

One limitation of the study is that it is harder to study mechanisms in human studies at the same level of detail as in animal and cell experiments. The physiological mechanism presented has not been verified with experiments at, for example, the molecular level.

Reference: Loss of -actinin-3 during human evolution provides superior cold resilience and muscle heat generation by Victoria L. Wyckelsma, Tomas Venckunas, Peter J. Houweling, Maja Schlittler, Volker M Lauschke, Chrystal F. Tiong, Harrison D. Wood, Niklas Ivarsson, Henrikas Paulauskas, Nerijus Eimantas, Daniel C. Andersson, Kathryn N. North, Marius Brazaitis, Hkan Westerblad, 17 February 2021, American Journal of Human Genetics.DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2021.01.013.

The study was a collaboration with research groups at the Lithuanian Sports University in Kaunas, Lithuania, and the University of Melbourne in Australia. It was supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish National Centre for Research in Sports, the Research Council of Lithuania, the Swedish Society for Medical Research, the Jeansson Foundations, the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation and Australias National Health and Medical Research Council. Co-author Volker Lauschke is the founding CEO and shareholder of HepaPredict AB and has been a consultant for EnginZyme AB.

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20% of People Have a Genetic Mutation That Provides Superior Resilience to Cold - SciTechDaily

Genetics

Technology and Health Leaders Join Myriad Genetics, Advance in Senior Roles to Drive Key Enterprise Functions, Transformation and Growth Initiatives -…

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN), a leader in genetic testing and precision medicine, today announced several new technology and healthcare leaders who recently joined the company as well as key promotions to drive critical business functions, transformation and growth initiatives.

With the addition of new leaders from other industry leading enterprises, we continue to augment our strong bench of talent across a range of functions that will accelerate the execution of our strategy with disciplined process management and proven expertise, said Paul J. Diaz, president and CEO of Myriad Genetics. We are pleased to welcome new teammates who share the passion for our mission to improve health and wellbeing for all as we continue to recruit and promote top talent from outside and inside our company.

The following Myriad Genetics leaders are assuming broader roles:

Kevin R. Haas is promoted to Chief Technology Officer, reporting directly to Diaz, responsible for engineering, data and analytics, genetic laboratory software, and improving the customer experience through tech-enabled, customer-centric commercial capabilities. Since joining Myriad in 2013, Haas has served in senior level leadership roles across research and development, bioinformatics, engineering and technology.

Faith Zaslavsky is promoted to president of Myriad Oncology which offers genetic testing for patients who have cancer and companion diagnostic tests that work with corresponding drugs. Since 2019, Zaslavsky has served as general manager of this business unit, overseeing products including Myriad myRisk Hereditary Cancer, myChoice CDx companion diagnostic, and EndoPredict breast cancer tests. Over her 21-year career at Myriad, Zaslavsky has held progressively responsible sales, strategic account management and leadership roles.

New leaders recently joining Myriad include:

Maggie Ancona, senior vice president, Enterprise Transformation and Program Management Office. She reports directly to Diaz, managing a broad range of enterprise-wide transformation initiatives and workstreams with a focus on operational excellence. Ancona previously led Global Transformation and Program Management at Hewlett Packard (HP) and Dell Technologies where she oversaw business transformation strategy, executed large-scale programs and cost management efforts, while retooling digital infrastructure for the future.

David Hammer, senior vice president, Revenue Cycle Management, has overall accountability for the process, including functions that contribute to the capture, management, and collection of diagnostic-service revenue and related areas designed to improve the customer experience. He previously held senior revenue cycle management roles at RGP Healthcare, MedAssets, and Accenture. Hammer also serves on the Board of Advisors of the University of Florida's College of Public Health and Health Professions.

Chris Williamson, senior vice president, Information Systems and Security. Williamson previously led all facets of information technology, infrastructure, business intelligence and operations for Data2Logistics, a leading data-driven freight, audit and payment services company. A retired Naval Officer, Williamson served in the White House (executive office of the President) for the Technology Assessment Center and Information Technology Working Group.

Edward Gala, senior vice president, Enterprise Marketing Communications, responsible for strategic public relations, employee and executive communications, and overall brand marketing. Gala previously held global marketing and communications leadership positions at Xerox and Philips where he played a key role in brand transformation and positioning, business-to-business and consumer marketing across corporate, business, market and product groups.

Karen Renner, vice president, Digital Marketing, responsible for digital infrastructure, patient lead nurturing, conversion and support for products including Myriads myRisk Hereditary Cancer test and related digital initiatives across Womens Health and Oncology. Karen previously served as the global digital and eBusiness leader at Nestle Purina and brings prior digital agency experience with leading consumer product accounts at VMLY&R.

Jackie Zou, vice president, Business Development, responsible for supporting new growth opportunities, including the development and execution of transactions such as divestitures, potential mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and new partnerships. Zou held senior roles in strategy and finance, at Western Digital Corporation (WD), a global data technology, storage and digital content company, where she planned and executed merger, acquisition and divestiture transactions, joint venture initiatives, strategic partnerships and business development. Zou previously worked at Symantec, ZS Associates and Goldman Sachs.

Justin Hunter, vice president, Corporate Legal Affairs, responsible for providing legal counsel and support for corporate governance, SEC reporting, M&A, and related matters. Hunter previously served as senior legal counsel for Parsley Energy where he was responsible for SEC reporting and compliance, acquisitions and divestitures, and corporate governance. Previously he worked at Vinson & Elkins LLP and as a law clerk to Vice Chancellor Noble on the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Top Place to WorkMyriad Genetics recently was named among the Top Places to Work in Energages Top Workplaces USA list for 2021. The company ranked number one in the Health Industry category and earned additional awards in Cultural Excellence and Innovation & Leadership. Myriad employs more than 2,800 people across the United States and in several countries around the globe. To learn more about career opportunities at Myriad, visit our website.

About Myriad GeneticsMyriad Genetics Inc., is a leading genetic testing and precision medicine company dedicated to transforming patient lives worldwide. Myriad discovers and commercializes genetic tests that determine the risk of developing disease, accurately diagnose disease, assess the risk of disease progression, and guide treatment decisions across medical specialties where critical genetic insights can significantly improve patient care and lower healthcare costs.

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Genetics

People with ADHD and DBDs share genetic variants associated with risky behaviors – News-Medical.net

People with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) combined with disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) share about 80% of genetic variants associated with aggressive and antisocial behaviors.

This is one of the conclusions of a study published in the journal Nature Communications which counts on the participation of professor Bru Cormand, from the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), Sant Joan de Du Research Institute (IRSJD) and the Rare Diseases Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERER), and researchers Marta Ribass and Josep Antoni Ramos Quiroga, from Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) and the Mental Health Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERSAM).

The study -the most ambitious one published to date on risk genetic factors shared between people with ADHD and DBDs- is based on the study conducted to about 4,000 affected people by these pathologies and 30,000 control individuals, within the frame of the European project Aggressotype, from the Horizon 2020 program, aimed at doing research on the neurobiological basis of the aggressive behavior.

The study is led by Ditte Demontis and Anders D. Brglum (Aarhus University, Denmark) and Stephen V. Faraone (State University of New York, United States).

ADHD: a psychiatric disorder that does not always come alone

ADHD is a common behavior disorder -it affects about 5% of children and 2.5% of adult people- and features hyperactivity, impulsiveness and attention deficit. This disorder usually comes with other psychiatric alterations, mainly disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs), which can be associated with antisocial and aggressive behaviors.

ADHD and DBD are caused by genetic and environmental factors. Regarding ADHD, it is estimated that genetics account for a 75%, while in DBDs, it would oscillate between 40 and 70%. These clinical pictures are more frequent in boys than girls, and when they come together, people are more likely to fall into risky behaviors, addictive substance use, and premature death."

Bru Cormand, Professor, Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics and Head of the Research Group on Neurogenetics, University of Barcelona

"Certain people feature two or more psychiatric disorders, and this coexistence continues, in many cases, in a chronological axis, in which suffering from a psychiatric disorder such as ADHD involves opening the door to other comorbid pathologies that aggravate the life quality of those who suffer from the disorder", notes Marta Ribass, head of the Laboratory of Genetic Psychiatry of Vall d'Hebrn Research Institute (VHIR).

Through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), researchers analyzed the genetic contribution of changes in a single DNA nucleotide (SNP) -the most abundant ones in the human genome- to these psychiatric disorders. As part of the study, VHIR and UB experts brought samples of patients with ADHD diagnosed at Hospital Vall d'Hebron and took part in the analysis of genetic data.

The research team identified a genomic segment in chromosome 11 which increases the risk of having ADHD combined with DBD. "This region has the STIM1 gen, which is involved in the regulation of calcium cell levels, neuronal plasticity and learning memory", notes Bru Cormand, who coordinated the international working group on genetics in the Aggressotype project.

"Our study shows that genetics are more determining in people with ADHD and DBD than those who only suffer from ADHD", highlights Bru Cormand.

"If we compare the genome of patients with ADHD and DBD to that of those patients with the only ADHD, we see that people affected by both disorders have a higher genetic correlation with risk genetic variants. These extra correlations of ADHD and DBD patients would probably correspond to alterations other authors had related to aggressive-related behaviors", notes Cormand.

"If we consider ADHD to be an open door to a negative trajectory, using genetic information to identify those individuals who are more vulnerable will have a strong impact on prevention, early detection and treatment, and will shed light on new research studies to find efficient therapies that can be specific for the disorder or shared between several disorders", notes Marta Ribass.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, is a new science advance that will contribute to broadening the genetic landscape of ADHD comorbidities (that is, the series of pathologies that are correlated with this disorder).

From a clinical perspective, knowing the psychiatric alterations that share genetics is a step forward, because it will enable the prediction of potential secondary complications over the life of those individuals with ADHD.

"These results allow us to better understand the origins of DBDs associated with ADHD and provide better information to the family members about this disorder", concludes Josep Antoni Ramos Quiroga, head of the Psychiatry Service of Hospital Vall d'Hebron and the Research Group on Mental Health Psychiatry and Addictions at VHIR.

Source:

Journal reference:

Demontis, D., et al. (2021) Risk variants and polygenic architecture of disruptive behavior disorders in the context of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20443-2.

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People with ADHD and DBDs share genetic variants associated with risky behaviors - News-Medical.net