Cell Biology

Catamaran Bio Launches with $42 Million Financing to Develop OfftheShelf CAR-NK Cell Therapies to Treat Solid Tumors – BioSpace

In assembling the founding team at Catamaran, we saw an opportunity to pioneer a highly differentiated approach to develop allogeneic cell therapies using CAR-NK cells, said Houman Ashrafian, Managing Partner, SV Health Investors and a founder of Catamaran. To date, the success of autologous CAR T-cell therapies in hematological malignancies has opened the door to the breakthrough potential of cell therapies for cancer, and Catamaran is now well positioned to improve upon this groundwork by developing off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapies capable of reaching solid tumors.

A novel approach to developing off-the-shelf cell therapies to address solid tumors

Catamarans TAILWIND Platform integrates proprietary capabilities to create novel, allogeneic CARNK cell therapies by harnessing the natural cancer-fighting properties of natural killer (NK) cells and enhancing them with the power of synthetic biology and innovative NK cell engineering and manufacturing. With the TAILWIND Platform, CAR-NK cells are programmed with NK cell-specific CAR architectures and potency-boosting switches to neutralize the hostile tumor microenvironment and enable efficacy against diverse cancer types, especially solid tumors. Additionally, the TAILWIND Platform includes proprietary, non-viral NK cell engineering technology for efficient modification of NK cells with customized genetic programs enabled by synthetic biology. Catamarans CAR-NK cell therapies use healthy donor cells that are engineered and manufactured for offtheshelf use, unlike current CAR-T cell therapies that use a patients own genetically modified T cells and require a customized, multi-week manufacturing process.

Catamaran is focused on expanding the frontier of cell therapies to treat solid tumors and provide transformative benefit to cancer patients. We are doing this by creating allogeneic cell therapies that harness the innate cancer-fighting power of NK cells and enhancing them with new biologically-powerful attributes from our leading-edge technologies all originating from our custom-built TAILWIND Platform for designing, engineering and manufacturing off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapies, said Vipin Suri, PhD, MBA, Chief Scientific Officer of Catamaran.

During Catamarans stealth period, the start-up team assembled key components of the TAILWIND Platform and related intellectual property, including a set of potency-boosting cellular switches to enable therapeutic action in the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment of solid tumors, and it generated early proof of concept using a non-viral transposon system to efficiently deliver large genetic cargos into NK cells. Based on this early work, the company has rapidly advanced two lead CAR-NK cell therapy programs to lead optimization stage.

With its holistic and cutting-edge approach, Catamaran stands out in the rapidly-evolving NK cell field with a platform that addresses the full complement of capabilities necessary to develop CAR-NK cell therapies, while focusing on the high-impact technologies of synthetic biology and innovative gene delivery systems that can enable these new cell therapies to offer extraordinary value in the field of cancer treatment, said Maina Bhaman, Partner, Sofinnova Partners.

Scientific founders and leadership team

Catamarans scientific founders are pioneers in NK cell biology, engineering, manufacturing and clinical application and are proven innovators in the cell therapy field:

Additional founders of Catamaran are Kevin Pojasek, PhD, and Tim Harris, PhD, through their roles as venture partners with SV Health Investors.

The leadership team at Catamaran Bio has deep expertise in cell therapy research and product development, and the team includes: Vipin Suri, PhD, MBA, Chief Scientific Officer, who has more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical experience, including as a co-founder of Obsidian Therapeutics and Serien (formerly Raze) Therapeutics, and earlier in R&D roles at GSK, Pfizer and Wyeth; Mark Boshar, JD, Chief Operating Officer, who has more than 25 years of leadership experience spanning legal, business development, financings and operations for biotechnology companies, including as VP, Legal Affairs at Rubius Therapeutics, Associate General Counsel at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, a senior advisor to a range of venture-backed start-up companies, and earlier as a life sciences attorney with WilmerHale; Chris Carpenter, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, who has 20 years of clinical and laboratory experience in oncology, including as CMO of Rubius Therapeutics, SVP and Head of Cancer Epigenetics Discovery at GSK, and roles at Merck and Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Celeste Richardson, PhD, Senior VP of Research, who has 16 years of experience in research and drug discovery in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including at Obsidian Therapeutics and Novartis; and Bharat Reddy, PhD, MPhil, MA, Senior Director of Business Development, who has served as director of business development at bluebird bio, as well as roles at SV Health Investors and ClearView Healthcare Partners.

Catamaran is positioned to open up new territory for cancer treatments with highly potent CAR-NK cell therapies, and we are confident in the experienced leadership team and the scientific expertise that is propelling the companys research and development, said Caroline Gaynor, Principal, Lightstone Ventures.

Concurrent with the Series A financing, Maina Bhaman of Sofinnova Partners, Caroline Gaynor of Lightstone Ventures and Rob Woodman of Takeda Ventures join Houman Ashrafian and Kevin Pojasek on the Catamaran board of directors.

About Catamaran Bio

Catamaran Bio is developing novel, off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapies designed to treat a broad range of cancers, including solid tumors. Our proprietary capabilities enable us to harness the natural cancer-fighting properties of NK cells and enhance and tailor their effectiveness with the power of synthetic biology and innovative non-viral cell engineering. We are using our TAILWINDTM Platform, an integrated suite of technologies, to specifically address the end-to-end methods of engineering, processing and manufacturing NK cells and rapidly advance our pipeline of CAR-NK cell therapy programs.

Our team combines experienced biopharmaceutical leadership with founding scientists who are pioneers in NK cell biology, engineering, manufacturing and clinical application. Catamaran is backed by leading financial and corporate investors, including SV Health Investors, Sofinnova Partners, Lightstone Ventures, Takeda Ventures and Astellas Venture Management. For more information, please visit http://www.catamaranbio.com and follow us on LinkedIn and @CatamaranBio on Twitter.

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Catamaran Bio Launches with $42 Million Financing to Develop OfftheShelf CAR-NK Cell Therapies to Treat Solid Tumors - BioSpace

Cell Biology

Post-doctoral Fellow in Computational Stem Cell Biology job with THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG | 234737 – Times Higher Education (THE)

Work type:Full-timeDepartment:School of Biomedical Sciences (22600)Categories:Academic-related Staff

Applications are invited for appointment asPost-doctoral Fellow in Computational Stem Cell Biology (several posts) in the School of Biomedical Sciences(Ref.:502657), to commence as soon as possible for one to three year(s), with the possibility of renewal subject to satisfactory performance.

The selected candidates will work in a company incorporated by the University of Hong Kong that was established to administer and support the Universitys innovation endeavors. They will conduct research in a computational lab and closely work with experimental lab(s).The specific project will be discussed and determined between each candidate and the Principal Investigator together.

Applicants should have a Ph.D. degree in Bioinformatics, Genetics, Computational Biology or other relevant quantitative disciplines, and in-depth experience in at least one of the programming languages for scientific computing, for example, Python, R, Perl, C/C++ and JAVA.Research experience in stem cells, regenerative medicine, cancer, heart disease, liver disease, immunology or drug screening would be an advantage.Preference will be given to those with expertise in bioinformatics and computational biology, and with strong interests in translational research utilizing next-generation sequencing and single-cell sequencing to study any of the above research areas.The ability to work independently, participate in highly collaborative projects, and contribute intellectually to research development are requisites.Applicants should also be highly motivated individuals with good verbal and written communication skills in English.

A competitive salary commensurate with qualifications and experience will be offered.

The University only accepts online applications for the above posts. Applicants should apply online and upload an up-to-date C.V.Review of applications will start from December 4, 2020 and continue untilDecember 30, 2020, or until the posts are filled, whichever is earlier.

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Post-doctoral Fellow in Computational Stem Cell Biology job with THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG | 234737 - Times Higher Education (THE)

Cell Biology

Prachee Avasthi Honored with 2020 WICB Junior Award for Excellence in Research – Newswise

Newswise Prachee Avasthi was selected by the Women in Cell Biology (WICB) of the American Society for Cell Biology for the 2020 WICB Junior Award for Excellence in Research.Avasthi is an associate professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, though she noted that the work recognized by this award was done at the University of Kansas Medical Center, where she was until recently.

Prachee Avashthis nominator, Wallace Marshall, University of California, San Francisco, called her a star. He wrote: She has proven a willingness to use any approach necessary to pursue the most important questions, and a complete fearlessness to go against prevailing dogma. At the same time, she has proven a highly effective mentor for her trainees, and a role model for both junior and senior investigators alike. In my opinion, she perfectly represents the qualities that the ASCB WICB Junior Award for Excellence in Research seeks to encourage.

Avasthi is an associate professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, though she noted that the work recognized by this award was done at the University of Kansas Medical Center, where she was until recently.

Using a unicellular green alga as a model system, her lab uses chemical biology, biochemistry, genetics, and quantitative live-cell imaging to uncover novel mechanisms regulating assembly of the cilium. That work led to investigation of the intersection of the microtubule and actin cytoskeleton, as well as fundamental actin dynamics and function.

She stays busy outside the lab as well. An advocate for improved publication practices, she serves on the boards of directors for ASAPbio and eLife. She also founded New PI Slack, the online peer-mentoring community for junior faculty, and is on the steering committee of Rescuing Biomedical Research.

Avasthi said, I am quite stunned to receive this award! The past winners are leaders in their fields such that none of the previous selections surprised me. Im routinely inspired by the creativity and brilliance of others, so it means a lot to me that the colleagues I so respect see the beauty that I see in the science were uncovering. I am incredibly honored and am thrilled for my lab members, whose hard work is being recognized by this award. They deserve this.

Her talk at Cell Bio Virtual 2020 will be on Cytoskeletal Diversity, Flexibility, and Functions.

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Prachee Avasthi Honored with 2020 WICB Junior Award for Excellence in Research - Newswise

Cell Biology

New study on CRISPR: the stake of unintended consequences in embryos – BioNews

23 November 2020

A recent paper published in the journalCell revealed the cautionary finding that unwanted changes are introduced after modifying genesin human embryos with CRISPR/Cas9. The study, led by Dr Dietrich Egli, assistant professor of developmental cell biology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, tested theeffects of CRISPR-based genome editingon embryos carrying a mutationin a gene called EYS (eyes shut homolog) which could lead to hereditary blindness. It shows that applying this potent approachto repair a blindness-causing gene in the formation of an early embryo discards the whole chromosome, or a considerable portion of it, and that the loss of the chromosome is widespread.

CRISPR-based genome editing has revolutionised molecular life sciences. It allows scientists to perform accurate modifications in the genomes of living tissues and may lead to new medical therapies such as innovative cancer treatments and curing hereditary illnesses. In October 2020, CRISPR discoverers (Professors Emmanuelle Charpentier of Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Germany, and Jennifer Doudna of University of California, Berkeley) were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

However, like most innovative techniques, there are currently technical challenges. For example, it is possible to produce so-called off-target effects, where edits are performed in the wrong area. Researchers are still unsure as to how this might affect patients. Another concern is mosaicism, where some cells carry the edit but others do not. Such changes performed to sperm,egg and embryos can be passed to subsequent generations. In the second international summit on human genome editing, there was broad agreement among the experts in attendance that these risks are high.

Despite these serious concerns, in December 2018, Dr He Jiankui shocked the world by announcing that the first babies had been born with altered genomes (see BioNews 978). His work has attracted a backlash from the international scientific community and various governments. Dr He has been sentenced to three years in jail and fined for performing 'illegal medical practices'.

The new research indicates that CRISPR genome editing is currently not ready for clinical application to correct mutations in this early phase of human development. These findings should deter premature clinical use of genome editing on embryos. Thus, using CRISPR to edit the genomes of embryos is a far-off reality.

Due to the serious ethical concerns, the US government does not allow the use of federal funds to perform research on human embryos. The experiment was sponsored by private funding (the New York Stem Cell Foundation and the Russell Berrie Foundation programme). In Australia, section 15 of the Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002 prohibits a person from altering the genome of a human embryo in such a manner that the change is heritable by its descendantsandthe person intended this to be so. The penaltyfor this offence is imprisonment for 15 years.

We need to guide responsible and ethical research to achieve safe and effective use. In November 2020, the members of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) task force were charged with revising the2016 ISSCR Guidelines (the Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation). The ISSCR is the largest stem cell organisation in the world. As a contribution to the developing and controversial stem cell field, this organisation has developed guidelines that address the global diversity of ethical, legal, ethical, cultural and political perspectives related to stem cell research and its translation to clinical application. The guidelines underscore widely shared principles that call for rigour, oversight and transparency. Strict adherence to these principles assures that such cutting-edge research is being conducted with integrity and that innovative medical treatments are evidence-based. Recent advances in this field include innovations in genome editing, organoidsand chimeras. Responding to these various developments in science, the updates will encompass a broader and more expansive scope of research and clinical endeavour, imposing rigour on every stage of the study, addressing the cost of regenerative medicine products and stressing the need for precise and effective public communication.

The persuasive ISSCR Guidelines have been adopted by some scientists, clinicians and institutions around the world. While mere guidelines do not supersede local laws, they could inform the interpretation as well as the development of local laws and provide guidance for research practices not covered by the law. As these guidelines will be updated soon, it is important that they do not encourage the clinical application of the CRISPR approach on genome-editing human embryos for the time being.

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New study on CRISPR: the stake of unintended consequences in embryos - BioNews

Cell Biology

Basic concepts lay the foundation for personalized immunotherapy – News-Medical.Net

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Nov 23 2020

Personalized Immunotherapy for Tumor Diseases and Beyond introduces personalized immunotherapy with multi-dimensional models of analysis to determine the best plan for the immunotherapy of patients.

The book introduces readers to some basic concepts which lay the foundation for personalized immunotherapy: the development of a major histocompatibility complex (MHC), the genome profile of T cells and tumor cells, and genome-wide association studies. Chapters also cover special topics such as new immunoassay methods related to personalized immunotherapy and targeted immunotherapy which are geared towards familiarizing readers with current research practices.

Focusing on the central theme of personalized immunotherapy, the authors provide a wealth of information about T-cell screening, tumor neoantigen cloning, primary tumor cell culture for T-cell cloning, bioinformatics strategies for understanding T-cell and primary tumor cell biology and function, and new developments in research on adoptive T-cell immunotherapy.

These developments include T-cell gene therapy and T-cell gene editing, transgenic T-cells for increasing affinity to tumor cells such as CAR T-cells and TCR T-cells, and the systematic modeling of polyclonal specific T-cells and biobank technology.

Personalized Immunotherapy for Tumor Diseases and Beyond is an ideal handbook for medical professionals and students involved in personalized medicine, immunology, and oncology. General readers interested in the new developments in these fields will also benefit from the information provided.

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Basic concepts lay the foundation for personalized immunotherapy - News-Medical.Net

Cell Biology

Star-Shaped Brain Cells May Hold the Key to Why and How We Sleep – SciTechDaily

Astrocytes in the brain expressing a fluorescent calcium indicator captured with a two-photon microscope. Credit: Image by Ashley Ingiosi, courtesy of Current Biology

A study published in the journal Current Biology suggests that star-shaped brain cells known as astrocytes could be as important to the regulation of sleep as neurons, the brains nerve cells.

Led by researchers at Washington State Universitys Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, the study builds new momentum toward ultimately solving the mystery of why we sleep and how sleep works in the brain. The discovery may also set the stage for potential future treatment strategies for sleep disorders and neurological diseases and other conditions associated with troubled sleep, such as PTSD, depression, Alzheimers disease, and autism spectrum disorder.

What we know about sleep has been based largely on neurons, said lead author and postdoctoral research associate Ashley Ingiosi. Neurons, she explained, communicate through electrical signals that can be readily captured through electroencephalography (EEG). Astrocytesa type of glial (or glue) cell that interacts with neuronsdo not use electrical signals and instead use a process known as calcium signaling to control their activity.

It was long thought that astrocyteswhich can outnumber neurons by five to onemerely served a supportive role, without any direct involvement in behaviors and processes. Neuroscientists have only recently started to take a closer look at their potential role in various processes. And while a few studies have hinted that astrocytes may play a role in sleep, solid scientific tools to study their calcium activity have not been available until recently, Ingiosi said.

To delve deeper into astrocytes role in sleep, she and her coauthors used a rodent model to record astrocytes calcium activity throughout sleep and wake, as well as after sleep deprivation. They used a fluorescent calcium indicator that was imaged via tiny head-mounted microscopes that looked directly into the brains of mice as they moved around and behaved as they normally would. This indicator allowed the team to see calcium-driven fluorescent activity twinkling on and off in astrocytes during sleep and waking behaviors. Their one-of-a-kind methodology using these miniature microscopes allowed the team to conduct the first-ever study of astrocytes calcium activity in sleep in freely behaving animals.

The research team set out to answer two main questions: do astrocytes change dynamically across sleep and wake states like neurons do? And do astrocytes play a role in regulating sleep need, our natural drive to sleep?

Looking at astrocytes in the frontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with measurable EEG changes in sleep need, they found that astrocytes activity changes dynamically across the sleep-wake cycle, as is true for neurons. They also observed the most calcium activity at the beginning of the rest phasewhen sleep need is greatestand the least calcium activity at the end of the rest phase, when the need for sleep has dissipated.

Next, they kept mice awake for the first 6 hours of their normal rest phase and watched calcium activity change in parallel with EEG slow wave activity in sleep, a key indicator of sleep need. That is, they found that sleep deprivation caused an increase in astrocyte calcium activity that decreased after mice were allowed to sleep.

Their next question was whether genetically manipulating astrocyte calcium activity would impact sleep regulation. To find out, they studied mice that lacked a protein known as STIM1 selectively in astrocytes, which reduced the amount of available calcium. After being sleep deprived, these mice did not sleep as long or get as sleepy as normal mice once allowed to sleep, which further confirmed earlier findings that suggest that astrocytes play an essential role in regulating the need for sleep.

Finally, they tested the hypothesis that perhaps astrocyte calcium activity merely mirrors the electrical activity of neurons. Studies have shown that the electrical activity of neurons becomes more synchronized during non-REM sleep and after sleep deprivation, but the researchers found the opposite to be true for astrocytes, with calcium activity becoming less synchronized in non-REM sleep and after sleep deprivation.

This indicates to us that astrocytes are not just passively following the lead of neurons, said Ingiosi. And because they dont necessarily display the same activity patterns as neurons, this might actually implicate a more direct role for astrocytes in regulating sleep and sleep need.

More research is needed to further unravel the role of astrocytes in sleep and sleep regulation, Ingiosi said. She plans to study astrocytes calcium activity in other parts of the brain that have been shown to be important for sleep and wake. In addition, she would like to look at astrocytes interactions with different neurotransmitters in the brain to start to tease out the mechanism by which astrocytes might drive sleep and sleep need.

The findings of our study suggest that we may have been looking in the wrong place for more than 100 years, said senior author and professor of biomedical sciences Marcos Frank. It provides strong evidence that we should be targeting astrocytes to understand why and how we sleep, as well as for the development of therapies that could help people with sleep disorders and other health conditions that involve abnormal sleep.

Reference: A Role for Astroglial Calcium in Mammalian Sleep and Sleep Regulation by Ashley M. Ingiosi, Christopher R. Hayworth, Daniel O. Harvey, Kristan G. Singletary, Michael J. Rempe, Jonathan P. Wisor and Marcos G. Frank, 24 September 2020, Current Biology.DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.08.052

Support for the study came from the National Institutes of Health.

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Star-Shaped Brain Cells May Hold the Key to Why and How We Sleep - SciTechDaily

Cell Biology

Five Salk professors named among most highly cited researchers in the world – Salk Professors Joanne Chory Joseph Ecker Rusty Gage Reuben Shaw and Kay…

San Diego Community News Group

Salk ProfessorsJoanne Chory,Joseph Ecker,Rusty Gage,Reuben ShawandKay Tyehave been named to theHighly Cited Researchers listby Clarivate. The list identifies researchers who demonstrate significant influence in their chosen field or fieldsthrough the publication of multiple highly cited papers.Professors Chory, Ecker and Gage have been named to this list every year since 2014, when the regular annual rankings began. This is Professor Tyes fourth consecutive time and Professor Shaws second consecutive time receiving the designation. Joseph Nery, a research assistant II in the Ecker lab, was also included on the list.

In the race for knowledge, it is human capital that isfundamentaland this list identifies and celebrates exceptional individual researchers who are having a great impact on the research community as measured by the rate at which their work is being cited by others,says David Pendlebury, senior citation analyst at the Institute for Scientific Information, part of the Web of Science group at Clarivate.

Such consistent production of highly cited reports indicates that the work of these researchers has been repeatedly judged by their peers to be of notable significance and utility, as based on data from the Web of Science, the worlds largest publisher-neutral citation index, with almost 1.9 billion cited references going back to 1900. This years list, which includes 6,167 researchers from more than 60 countries, recognizes researchers across multiple fields whose citation records position them in the highest ranks of influence.

Joanne Chory

Chory is a professor in, and director of, Salks Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, and holder of the Howard H. and Maryam R. Newman Chair in Plant Biology. Chory has won numerous prestigious awards for her work including the Gruber Genetics Prize and the Breakthrough Prize. She also co-directs SalksHarnessing Plants Initiativea bold approach to address climate changeby optimizing a plants natural ability to capture and store carbon and adapt to diverse climate conditions.

Joseph Ecker

Ecker is a professor in Salks Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, director of the Genomic Analysis Laboratory and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. He is also the Salk International Council Chair in Genetics. He was the first to show that the epigenome is highly dynamic in brain cells during the transition from birth to adulthood. Ecker is the recipient of multiple recentNational Institutes of Health BRAIN Initiative grants, and he is charting the epigenetic differences between brain cell types to better understand disorders such as schizophrenia and Alzheimers disease.

Rusty Gage

Gage, a professor in the Laboratory of Genetics and holder of the Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Disease, is the president of the Salk Institute. He discovered that the adult brain continues to produce new neurons throughout the life span in a process known as neurogenesis. Most recently, he, and a team of Salk researchers were awarded anAmerican Heart Association-Allen Initiative in Brain Healthgrant to pursue a new collaborative approach to understanding, detecting and potentially treating Alzheimers disease and age-related cognitive decline.

Reuben Shaw

Shaw, a professor in the Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory and holder of the William R. Brody Chair, is the director of the Salk Cancer Center, a recipient of the National Cancer Institute Outstanding Investigator Award, and leads SalksConquering Cancer Initiative. He discovered direct connections between cancer and metabolism and continues to work on how nutrient deprivation and cellular energy levels control cancer and other diseases.

Kay Tye

Tye is a professor in Salks Systems Neurobiology Laboratory and holder of the Wylie Vale Chair. Sheseeks to understand the neural-circuit basis of emotion that leads to motivated behaviors such as social interaction, reward-seeking and avoidance. Last year, she published a seminal paper describing herdiscovery of a brain circuit that controls alcohol drinkingbehavior in mice and can be used as a biomarker for predicting the development of compulsive drinking later on. This year, she published work furthering her investigation on the neural circuits associated with the experience of loneliness.

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Five Salk professors named among most highly cited researchers in the world - Salk Professors Joanne Chory Joseph Ecker Rusty Gage Reuben Shaw and Kay...

Cell Biology

UCD Post-doctoral Research Fellow Level 1, School of Medicine job with UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN (UCD) | 234707 – Times Higher Education (THE)

Applications are invited for a temporary post of a UCD Post-doctoral Research Fellow Level 1 within the UCD School of Medicine

University College Dublin is seeking applications for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position to work on a collaborative research project in Precision Oncology Ireland (a Science Foundation Ireland Strategic Partnership Programme). The project is in collaboration with AstraZeneca.

Immune Checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have opened a new avenue for cancer therapy. However, responses are variable between different patients and cancer types. For instance, clinical studies of ICIs in epithelial ovarian cancer have yielded low response rates despite being an extremely antigenic tumour, with a very dynamic tumour microenvironment, The objective of this study is to work with AstraZeneca, systems biologists and clinician scientists to improve the efficacy of ICIs in low response cancers such as epithelial ovarian cancer - the most lethal form of female cancer.

The main aims of the project are to:

This project is carried out by an interdisciplinary team at Systems Biology Ireland (SBI) at UCD and AstraZeneca (Cambridge, UK). This post will be located at SBI and jointly supervised by Prof Walter Kolch (systems biology, proteomics) and Prof Donal Brennan (clinician, single cell sequencing). The position may also include opportunities to visit AstraZeneca. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in (onco)immunology and cell biology, a solid working knowledge of signal transduction and omics methods to analyse signalling processes.

This is a research focused role, where you will conduct a specified programme of research supported by research training and development under the supervision and direction of a Principal Investigator.

The primary purpose of the role is to further develop your research skills and competences, including the processes of publication in peer-reviewed academic publications, the development of funding proposals, the mentorship of graduate students along with the opportunity to develop your skills in research led teaching.

Precision Oncology Ireland (POI; http://www.precisiononcology.ie) is a consortium of 5 Irish Universities, 6 Irish Charities, and 8 companies aiming to develop new diagnostics and therapeutics for the personalised treatment of cancer. The consortium is part-funded by Science Foundation Ireland under their Strategic Partnership Programme. The shared vision is to combine cutting-edge genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and imaging technologies integrated through computational analysis and modelling to generate molecular profiles that allow us to better understand cancer pathogenesis, progression and response to therapies. Bringing together experimental and computational advances combined through data integration is a key competitive advantage of the POI consortium. The results will be better diagnostics, personalised cancer therapies, and acceleration of cancer drug discovery and development.

Systems Biology Ireland (SBI, http://www.ucd.ie/sbi), established in 2009, has successfully developed an integrated mathematical modelling and experimental research programme focusing on the design of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to diseases, primarily cancer, based on a systems level, mechanistic understanding of cellular signal transduction networks. To accomplish these goals, SBI uses mathematical and computational modelling approaches in combination with cutting edge experimental technologies in genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, advanced microscopy and flow cytometry as well as cell biology and molecular biology methods. SBI's expertise, particularly in the area of modelling in systems pharmacology and therapeutics, strategically position it at the crossroads between biology and medicine. The purpose-built SBI facility sits in the space between the UCD Conway Institute and the Health Sciences Centre (UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology and School of Medicine). It is physically linked to both buildings, providing access to existing technology platforms, educational and conference facilities and ideally placed to train allied healthcare professionals. The facility houses a multidisciplinary team of some 50 researchers including bioinformaticians

Salary: 38,631 - 41,025 per annumAppointment on the above range will be dependent on qualifications and experience

Closing date: 17:00hrs (local Irish time) on 27th November 2021

Applications must be submitted by the closing date and time specified. Any applications which are still in progress at the closing time of 17:00hrs (Local Irish Time) on the specified closing date will be cancelled automatically by the system. UCD are unable to accept late applications.

UCD do not require assistance from Recruitment Agencies. Any CV's submitted by Recruitment Agencies will be returned.

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UCD Post-doctoral Research Fellow Level 1, School of Medicine job with UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN (UCD) | 234707 - Times Higher Education (THE)

Cell Biology

A New Future Market Insights Study Analyses Growth of Incubator Analyzer Market in Light of the Global Corona Virus Outbreak – The Courier

Incubators are used to cultivate and preserve microbiological cells and microbiological cultures in scientific labs. The incubators maintain optimum humidity, temperature, and other states of affairs such as the carbon dioxide and oxygen content of the inside atmosphere. Incubators are essential for various experimental work in molecular biology, cell biology, and microbiology. Incubators are used to culture both eukaryotic cells as well as bacterial cells. Incubators are produced in a variety of sizes, from warm rooms to preserve and cultivate a large number of samples to bench-top models for small experiments.

The Incubator Analyzer is designed to examine and perform anticipatory maintenance on incubators as well as radiant warmers. Incubator analyzer simultaneously measures the airflow, sound, relative humidity, and also varied range of autonomous temperatures. It can be used with open infant warmers, closed as well as forced-convection incubators including air-controlled, transportable, and baby-controlled units.

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Market Dynamics Global Incubator Analyzer Market

Infant incubation analysis and growth in incubation for hatching eggs are key driving factors

Incubators are most widely utilized in incubation of microbes as well as in the preservation of plant and animal cell lines. The growth in the field of microbiological research is increasing the requirement to maintain the perfect environmental conditions in the incubator, thereby supporting the demand for incubator analyzers, for measuring and managing the optimum incubator environment throughout the experiment.

Incubator analyzer also plays a vital role in the infant incubation for creating a healthy environment for infant care. A surging number of premature births demanding critical infant care will continue to generate the need for infant incubation. The incubator analyzer plays a crucial role here by recording the test results, creating and maintaining the right environment, recording every detail in long term testing and analyzing the complex test records. These are the key driving factors for incubator analyzer market. The increasing use of incubation for various purposes like infant incubation, microbiological incubation, egg-hatching, insects incubation, and others is giving rise to the demand of incubator analyzer in the market.

The advanced research facilities and high focus on inventions in the field of biology, are boosting the growth of incubator analyzers

Increasing research and development activities in the industries like biotechnology, clinical research, pharmaceutical, hospitals, and research laboratories are stimulating the growth of global incubator analyzer market. Furthermore, the presence of numerous incubator analyzers and intensifying application of incubators for hatching eggs, and incubating insects are driving the incubator analyzer market.

Introduction of neonatal incubator analyzer for a newborn infant suffering from particular disease or disorder further triggers the growth of incubator analyzer market. However, the high cost of incubators, as well as incubator analyzers and lack of awareness in developing countries, are some of the restraints for the growth of the incubator analyzer market.

Key Players- Global Incubator Analyzer Market

The market is centralized with a finite number of manufacturers and is mostly dominated by big players like FLUKE. Some of the key players operating in the incubator analyzer market worldwide are-

Regional Outlook- Global Incubator Analyzer Market

North America, the earliest adopter of technological advances, to represent a key market for incubator analyzer

North America has been a prominent consumer region of incubator analyzers, and in the forecast period, it is anticipated to remain dominant. Owing to high expenditure on healthcare sector and substantial investments in the biological and clinical research sector. Europe is also an important market for manufacturers of incubator analyzer as the region has been raising high demand for neonatal incubator analyzers over the recent past. Asia Pacific is estimated to witness significant growth in incubator analyzer market owing to strong presence of majority of manufacturers in the APEJ region along with booming hatching egg industry. The Middle East and Africa is expected to experience moderate growth in the incubator analyzer market in coming years.

The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, and inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators, and governing factors, along with market attractiveness as per segment. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.

The report covers exhaustive analysis on:

Regional analysis includes:

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Segmentation- Global Incubator Analyzer market

Global incubator analyzer market is segmented on the basis of product type, test type, and region.

Global Incubator Market by Modularity

Global Incubator Analyzer Market by Equipment Type

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Cell Biology

Emergex Vaccines Raises US$11 million to Advance Pipeline of Synthetic T-Cell Vaccines for Infectious Diseases – GlobeNewswire

PRESS RELEASE

Emergex Vaccines Raises US$11 million to Advance Pipeline of Synthetic T-Cell Vaccines for Infectious Diseases

Abingdon, Oxon, UK, 18 November 2020 Emergex Vaccines Holding Limited (Emergex), a company tackling major global infectious disease threats through the development of synthetic set point vaccines which prime the T-cell immune response, today announces that it has raised $11 million in a funding round supported by new and existing investors. This round follows a successful $11 million Series A completed in January 2020.

The proceeds of this funding round will, among other things, enable Emergex to further advance and execute its vaccine development strategy, producing vaccine candidates for some of the worlds most threatening and virulent diseases such as COVID-19, Dengue Fever and pandemic flu.

Emergexs next generation vaccines have been designed to expand the bodys natural immune response by programing CD8+ T-cells to rapidly recognise and respond to pathogens. This approach is aimed at providing effective prevention of disease while eliminating the allergic, autoimmune or antibody mediated side effects associated with traditional vaccines. Emergexs vaccines are 100% synthetic - requiring no biology for manufacturing - thus having the potential to be rapidly produced and cost-effectively scaled. They are delivered through a microneedle system which allows for convenient administration and require no cold chain in storage or distribution.

Storme Moore-Thornicroft, co-founder and COO of Emergex, commented: The current COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing threat of pandemic flu and the global challenge of Dengue Fever demonstrate the urgent need to rethink traditional approaches to vaccine development. This new funding round demonstrates our investors confidence in the Company to meet that need and belief that our unique technology can play a critical role, creating safe, effective vaccines that can be rapidly developed and deployed.

We welcome our new investors to the Company and appreciate the continued support of our existing investors and look forward to rapidly advancing the clinical development of our novel vaccine candidates.

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For further information, please contact:

Phone: +44 (0) 1235 527589

Email: smt@emergexvaccines.com

Phone: +44 (0)20 3709 5700

Email: Emergex@consilium-comms.com

About Emergex

Emergex, a UK-based biotechnology company headquartered in Abingdon, UK, is pioneering the development of synthetic set point vaccines which prime the T-cell immune response to address some of the worlds most immediate health threats such as COVID-19, Dengue Fever, Zika, Ebola, pandemic flu and serious intra-cellular bacterial infections.

These set-point vaccines modify the initial immune status of recipients in a way that primes their immune systems to recognise subsequent infectious agents much like a natural infection would do, preventing an acute or severe manifestation of the disease.

Emergex combines validated technologies together with the very latest scientific insights to develop its vaccines, including using synthetic peptide codes determined on actual infected cells and using a proprietary gold nanoparticle carrier system for programming.

The Company has a growing pipeline of vaccine candidates. The most advanced development programme is a vaccine for Dengue Fever, which may also be disease modifying for other Flaviviruses such as the Zika and Yellow Fever viruses. Emergex also has programmes in development for a universal Influenza vaccine and a universal Filovirus vaccine (including viruses such as Ebola and Marburg) and discovery programmes for a Yellow Fever Booster vaccine and a Chikungunya vaccine.

Emergex has partnered with the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) of Singapore to develop a vaccine for the emerging threat of Hand, Foot and Mouth (HFM) disease and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Brazil-based Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Fiocruz for the development of viral vaccines. This initially covers the development of a vaccine that universally targets diseases within the flavivirus family such as Dengue Fever, Zika and Yellow Fever but could be expanded to include the development of vaccines to target other viral families that are endemic to the region.

Find out more online at http://www.emergexvaccines.com.

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Emergex Vaccines Raises US$11 million to Advance Pipeline of Synthetic T-Cell Vaccines for Infectious Diseases - GlobeNewswire