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Neuroscience

Monash secures more than $13m in NHMRC Ideas Grants in neuroscience and mental research – Monash University

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26 November 2021

Monash Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences has been awarded more than $13 million in funding across 13 neuroscience and mental health projects in the latest round of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Ideas Grants.

Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care the Hon Greg Hunt MP announced the grants as part of $239 million in funding for 248 research projects, which will help advance understanding of a wide range of health and medical issues faced by Australians.

The Ideas Grant scheme is designed to support innovative research projects addressing a specific question, and provide particular opportunities for early and mid-career researchers. Research projects funded include exploring the effects of early exposure from bushfires, sleep, as well epilepsy management.

Overall, the University has received more than $41m across 38 projects.

By bringing together our world-class expertise from across our University, Monash continues to cultivate a culture and environment that supports research excellence in neuroscience and mental health, enabling us to tackle these complex challenges, and ultimately save and transform lives, says Professor Terence OBrien, Chair of Medicine and Head atCentral Clinical School and lead of the Monash Neuroscience Executive team.

Congratulations to all of our neuroscience and mental health researchers who have been awarded funding.

Neuroscience and mental health projects funded under the 2021 Ideas Grants scheme include:

The effects of early exposure to bushfires on adult brain structure and function

Dr Farshad Alizadeh Mansouri from Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute

Artificial Intelligence to Understand and Predict Chronic Subdural Haematoma Evolution

Dr Shalini Amukotuwa from School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health

Top down cortical control of hypothalamic feeding circuits

Professor Zane Andrews from Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute

Circadian clock, sleep, and depression in adolescence: Modelling a novel pathway

Dr Bei Bei from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health

Neuropharmacology of decision-making: causal brain network modelling across species

Professor Mark Bellgrove from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health

Can psychedelics treat anorexia nervosa? Insights into the therapeutic effects of psilocybin in an animal model

Dr Claire Foldi from Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute

Building an Evidence-Base to inform Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Treatment for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities

Associate Professor Laura Jobson from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health

Precursor neurons on standby fast track neural repair

Associate Professor Jan Kaslin from Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute

Machine learning models for personalised epilepsy management

Professor Patrick Kwan from Central Clinical School

Targeting the brain and sympathetic nervous system to improve outcomes in cancer cachexia

Dr Sarah Lockie from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health

Brain injury in intimate partner violence: Insight into a silent pandemic

Associate Professor Sandy Shultz from Central Clinical School.

Glioblastoma - inhibition of P2X7R as a potential therapeutic target for treatment of this aggressive cancer

Dr. Mastura Monif from Central Clinical School

About Monash University

Monash University is Australias largest university with more than 80,000 students. In the 60 years since its foundation, it has developed a reputation for world-leading high-impact research, quality teaching, and inspiring innovation.

With four campuses in Australia and a presence in Malaysia, China, India, Indonesia and Italy, it is one of the most internationalised Australian universities.

As a leading international medical research university with the largest medical faculty in Australia and integration with leading Australian teaching hospitals, we consistently rank in the top 50 universities worldwide for clinical, pre-clinical and health sciences.

For more news, visit Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences or Monash University.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

E: media@monash.edu

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Monash secures more than $13m in NHMRC Ideas Grants in neuroscience and mental research - Monash University

Immunology

OSE Immunotherapeutics Presented the First Positive Preclinical Efficacy Data on CLEC-1, a Novel Myeloid Immune Checkpoint Target For Cancer…

Data presented at the 36th Annual Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Meeting

NANTES, France, November 15, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

OSE Immunotherapeutics SA (ISIN: FR0012127173; Mnemo: OSE) (Paris:OSE) presented the first positive preclinical efficacy data on its novel myeloid cell immune checkpoint target, CLEC-1 (a C-type lectin receptor), at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 36 th Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. held in-person and virtually on November 10 14, 2021.

In the poster entitled: "Preclinical efficacy of CLEC-1 antagonist as novel myeloid immune checkpoint therapy for oncology", OSE Immunotherapeutics and Dr Elise Chiffoleaus research team* reported results from their collaborative program, and for the first time highlighted significant preclinical efficacy of CLEC-1 antagonist antibodies in vivo and in monotherapy in an hepatocarcinoma tumor model in immunocompetent mice.

Nicolas Poirier, Chief Scientific Officer of OSE Immunotherapeutics, commented: "The identification of CLEC-1 and its antagonists is an exciting innovation in cancer immunotherapy, as already presented in recent immuno-oncology events. The latest preclinical efficacy data generated from our teams collaboration opens the development pathway for monoclonal antagonist antibodies targeting CLEC-1 and for further translational clinical development in the coming years as a new myeloid immune checkpoint therapy releasing the breaks on macrophages and dendritic cells. CLEC-1 is a new myeloid checkpoint inhibitor identified and validated for cancer immunotherapy after the CD47-SIRP pathway, which is now a competitive drug development focus."

CLEC-1 is a C-type lectin receptor with demonstrated potential to inhibit the functions of myeloid cells and to block anti-tumor responsiveness of T-lymphocytes. Myeloid cells have the ability to accumulate in the tumor microenvironment and deregulate the immune activation of T-lymphocytes.

Story continues

Previous presentations (AACR 2020 and 2021, SITC 2020) ** featured CLEC-1 antagonist monoclonal antibodies identified as an innovative immunotherapy that releases the brakes on macrophage phagocytosis and dendritic cells and demonstrates synergistic anti-cancer effects, in particular when paired with chemotherapy.

*Center for Research in Transplantation and Immunology, UMR1064, INSERM, Nantes University at Nantes University Hospital (CHU).

** AACR 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting II oral presentation details CLEC-1 suppress dendritic cell antigen presentation and is a novel myeloid immune checkpoint target for cancer immunotherapy.Drouin M, Saenz J, Evrard B, Gauttier V, Teppaz G, Lopez-Robles MD, Louvet C, Poirier N, Chiffoleau E

AACR 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting II poster details CLEC-1 is a novel myeloid immune checkpoint for cancer immunotherapy controlling damaged and tumor cells phagocytosis.Gauttier V, Drouin M, Saenz J, Evrard B, Mary C,, Teppaz G, Desalle A, Thpenier V, Wilhelm E , Poirier N, Chiffoleau E

SITC 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting poster details CLEC-1 is a novel myeloid immune checkpoint controlling damaged and tumor cells phagocytosis.Gauttier V, Pengam S, Drouin M, Saenz J, Evrard B, Biteau K, Mary C,, Teppaz G, Desalle A, Thpenier V, Wilhelm E , Poirier N, Chiffoleau E

AACR 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting II CLEC-1 is a novel myeloid immune checkpoint for cancer immunotherapy limiting tumor cells phagocytosis and tumor antigen cross-presentation.Gauttier V., Pengam S., Drouin M., Saenz J., Evrard B., Mary C., Teppaz G., Desselle A., Thpenier V., Wilhelm E., Poirier N., Chiffoleau E.

ABOUT OSE ImmunotherapeuticsOSE Immunotherapeutics is an integrated biotechnology company focused on developing and partnering therapies to control the immune system for immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases. The companys immunology research and development platform is focused on three areas: T-cell-based vaccination, Immuno-Oncology (focus on myeloid targets), Auto-immunity & Inflammation. Its balanced first-in-class clinical and preclinical portfolio has a diversified risk profile:

Vaccine platform

- Tedopi (innovative combination of neoepitopes): the companys most advanced product; positive results for Phase 3 trial (Atalante 1) in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer patients after secondary resistance to checkpoint inhibitors.

In Phase 2 in pancreatic cancer (TEDOPaM), sponsor GERCOR.

In Phase 2 in ovary cancer, in combination with pembrolizumab (TEDOVA), sponsor ARCAGY-GINECO.

In Phase 2 in non-small cell lung cancer in combination with nivolumab, sponsor Italian foundation FoRT.

- CoVepiT: a prophylactic second-generation vaccine against COVID-19, developed using SARS-CoV-2 optimized epitopes against multi variants. Positive preclinical and human ex vivo results. Voluntary and temporary Phase 1 enrollment suspension on-going (July 2021).

Immuno-oncology platform

- BI 765063 (OSE-172, anti-SIRP mAb on CD47/SIRP pathway): developed in partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim in advanced solid tumors; positive Phase 1 dose escalation results of BI 765063 in monotherapy or in combination with ezabenlimab (PD-1 antagonist); Expansion Phase 1 open for screening.

- CLEC-1 (novel myeloid checkpoint target): identification of mAb antagonists of CLEC-1 blocking the "Dont Eat Me" signal that increase both tumor cell phagocytosis by macrophages and antigen capture by dendritic cells.

- BiCKI: bispecific fusion protein platform built on the key backbone component anti-PD-1 (OSE-279) combined with new immunotherapy targets; 2nd generation of PD-(L)1 inhibitors to increase antitumor efficacity.

Auto-immunity and inflammation platform

- FR104 (anti-CD28 monoclonal antibody): Licensing partnership agreement with Veloxis in the organ transplant market; ongoing Phase 1/2 in renal transplant (sponsored by the Nantes University Hospital); Phase 2-ready asset in an autoimmune disease indication.

- OSE-127/S95011 (humanized monoclonal antibody targeting IL-7 receptor): developed in partnership with Servier; positive Phase 1 results; in Phase 2 in ulcerative colitis (OSE sponsor) and an independent Phase 2a ongoing in Sjgrens syndrome (Servier sponsor).

- OSE-230 (ChemR23 agonist mAb): first-in-class therapeutic agent with the potential to resolve chronic inflammation by driving affected tissues to tissue integrity.

For more information: https://ose-immuno.com/en/ Click and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn

Forward-looking statementsThis press release contains express or implied information and statements that might be deemed forward-looking information and statements in respect of OSE Immunotherapeutics. They do not constitute historical facts. These information and statements include financial projections that are based upon certain assumptions and assessments made by OSE Immunotherapeutics management in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current economic and industry conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate.These forward-looking statements include statements typically using conditional and containing verbs such as "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "target", "plan", or "estimate", their declensions and conjugations and words of similar import. Although the OSE Immunotherapeutics management believes that the forward-looking statements and information are reasonable, the OSE Immunotherapeutics shareholders and other investors are cautioned that the completion of such expectations is by nature subject to various risks, known or not, and uncertainties which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of OSE Immunotherapeutics. These risks could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in or implied or projected by the forward-looking statements. These risks include those discussed or identified in the public filings made by OSE Immunotherapeutics with the AMF. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. This press release includes only summary information and should be read with the OSE Immunotherapeutics Universal Registration Document filed with the AMF on 15 April 2021, including the annual financial report for the fiscal year 2020, available on the OSE Immunotherapeutics website. Other than as required by applicable law, OSE Immunotherapeutics issues this press release at the date hereof and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information or statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211114005024/en/

Contacts

OSE Immunotherapeutics Sylvie Dtrysylvie.detry@ose-immuno.com +33 153 198 757

Investor Relations Thomas Guillotthomas.guillot@ose-immuno.com +33 607 380 431

Media U.S. Media: LifeSci Communications Darren Opland, Ph.D.darren@lifescicomms.com +1 646 627 8387

French Media: FP2COM Florence Portejoiefportejoie@fp2com.fr +33 607 768 283

Guillaume van Renterghem LifeSci Advisorsgvanrenterghem@lifesciadvisors.com +41 76 735 01 31

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OSE Immunotherapeutics Presented the First Positive Preclinical Efficacy Data on CLEC-1, a Novel Myeloid Immune Checkpoint Target For Cancer...

Human Behavior

Five Poets Who Find Music in the Personal, the Political or in Music Itself – The New York Times

HOWDIE-SKELPBy Paul Muldoon179 pp. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $27.

Howdie-skelp: the slap a midwife gives a newborn. Poem-sequences dominate Muldoons storm of slaps against piety, prudery, cruelty and greed. American Standard, named after a toilet brand, riffs for pages on lines from T. S. Eliots The Waste Land while churning through contemporary concerns like gerrymandering, immigration, and grotesque politicians and their media platforms. Like Eliot, Muldoons after big, apocalyptic vision; unlike Eliot, Muldoon is willing no, compelled to clown.

In one long sequence Muldoon dives into the human ook that underlies great paintings. His bawdiness is political. Muldoons version of Leonardos Last Supper pictures the tablecloth as Mary Magdalenes bedsheet, the crease in it A gutter filled with candle grease. / The semen stain where Judas spilled his salt. Like many important poets before him, from John Milton to Tim Rice, Muldoon knows that sinners and villains are more interesting, maybe more human, than self-appointed good guys. Poems, for Muldoon, are occasions to plumb the language for a truth thats abysmal: as in appalling, and as in deep. Its clear that underneath the play Muldoon is furious, maybe even terrified, about the state of things.

PLAYLIST FOR THE APOCALYPSEPoemsBy Rita Dove114 pp. Norton. $26.95.

Plenty of poems here address disability, history and quotidian human behavior, but racism and economic oppression are the former poet laureates primary concerns in this book, her first in 12 years. In Aubade West, set in Ferguson, Mo., the speaker might be Michael Brown or anyone subject to poverty and racism in a small town. A day just like all the others, / me out here on the streets / skittery as a bug crossing a skillet. In less fraught poems, Doves affable voice occupies a tonal middle distance. I love the hour before takeoff, / that stretch of no time, no home, she writes in Vacation, observing a bachelorette trying / to ignore a babys wail, and an athlete waiting to board like a seal trained for the plunge. The poem doesnt lift off, and doesnt want to after all, the passengers are still at the gate. But Bellringer, the books first poem, certainly does. Here Dove assumes the voice of Henry Martin, born to slavery at Monticello the day Thomas Jefferson died, who worked as a bellringer at the University of Virginia. Voiced by Dove, Martin imagines that, hearing his bells ring, down in that/ shining, blistered republic, /someone will pause to whisper / Henry!and for a moment / my name flies free. A fitting way to start a book trying to understand saving graces and the things they save us from.

Explore the New York Times Book Review

Want to keep up with the latest and greatest in books? This is a good place to start.

PROGNOSISPoemsBy Jim Moore102 pp. Graywolf. Paper, $16.

I am still so very thirsty, ends one poem in Prognosis. Moore is preoccupied with old age, loneliness, mortality, and also with the American body politics own failure. These are poems of arresting lyric reportage; whimsical, tragic, a touch fantastical. Watching from a window in The Pandemic Halo the poet notices a glow appearing around the nurse who wears a pink cape and parks / in the lot across from me, almost always empty now.

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Five Poets Who Find Music in the Personal, the Political or in Music Itself - The New York Times

Embryology

Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York Presents Innovative Research at ASRM’s 77th Annual Meeting – KKTV 11 News

RMA of New York leads the way with ground-breaking innovative genomics and artificial intelligence research to improve patient care and IVF success rates

Published: Oct. 19, 2021 at 9:00 AM MDT

BALTIMORE, Md., Oct. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --Physicians and scientists at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York (RMA of New York) and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York presented a record 35 original scientific abstracts at the 77th annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) in Baltimore, Maryland. Research topics included single cell DNA sequencing, disparities in health care outcomes, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the patient journey.

"Despite the unprecedented and ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, our team of trainees, care providers, and scientists demonstrated personal resilience, scholarly excellence, and unprecedented scientific ingenuity," stated Dr. Alan B. Copperman, Co-Director of RMA of New York, Vice Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

COVID-19 and its effects on fertility and pregnancy were a focus of this year's academic congress. In a highly anticipated study led by Dr. Devora Aharon and co-authors at RMA of New York, the team explored whether there was any evidence of correlation between the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and the implantation rate of euploid embryos, and determined that vaccinated patients did not demonstrate compromised implantation rates or live birth rates. Further expanding on COVID-19 and fertility, a study by RMA of NY and Generate Life Science (Los Angeles, CA) demonstrated that sperm counts are not affected in healthy donors who test positive for COVID-19.

Dr. Jenna Friedenthal presented novel research focused on gaining greater insights into the development of mosaic embryos. Her research on single cell sequencing of whole human blastocystsexpands our current understanding of the genetic composition of human embryos. Exploring early development, the results demonstrate that some degree of embryonic mosaicism may be part of normal human embryonic blastocyst development.

Additionally, Dr. Alan Copperman and RMA of New York's Clinical Embryology Associate Laboratory Director, Richard Slifkin, were selected to host a symposium highlighting the future of fertility with artificial intelligence in the IVF laboratory. Dr. Copperman added, "This is the year we really were able to leverage big data and create personalized predictive models that provide clinical decision support to help patients make more informed decisions.From the molecular to the personal to the community level, we are making tremendous strides towards preventing and treating infertility and enhancing access to care for all."

About Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York, LLP

Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York (RMA of New York) is widely recognized as a global leader in state-of-the-art reproductive medicine. Led by an integrated team of doctors and scientists with extensive reproductive endocrinology, fertility and urology experience and training, RMA of New York consistently reports high success rates in the treatment of infertility to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). RMA of New York is committed to increasing access to care by helping patients optimize their insurance coverage and access financing options for treatment. RMA of New York is sensitive to the needs of the LGBTQ+ community, women choosing single-parent motherhood, and women pursuing fertility preservation for elective indications as well as those in need of oncofertility services. Headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, RMA of New York has six patient care facilities in New York, including four facilities in Manhattan, as well as sites in Brooklyn, White Plains, Mount Kisco, throughout Long Island, and abroad in Mexico City. For more information, please visit http://www.rmany.com .

Media Contact: Agnes Stachnik, astachnik@rmany.com

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SOURCE Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York

The above press release was provided courtesy of PRNewswire. The views, opinions and statements in the press release are not endorsed by Gray Media Group nor do they necessarily state or reflect those of Gray Media Group, Inc.

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Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York Presents Innovative Research at ASRM's 77th Annual Meeting - KKTV 11 News

Cell Biology

Advances in Assisted Reproduction: What Can We Expect? – BioNews

11 October 2021

Digital Media and Content Specialist, International Livestock Research Institute

The UK Government recently announced its intention to extend the maximum storage limit, for frozen eggs, sperm and embryos, to 55 years across the board (see BioNews 1111). Sarah Norcross, director of the Progress Educational Trust (PET), invited the audience at PET's event 'Advances in Assisted Reproduction: What Can We Expect?' to consider where assisted reproductive technologies (ART) stood 55 years ago. The first IVF baby hadn't even been born. Norcross mused: 'Where will ART be 55 years from now?'

First speaker, Rod Mitchell, professor of developmental endocrinology at the University of Edinburgh, talked about current advances in ART for males. Patients who are unable to produce sperm don't have the option of freezing it for future use. Such patients include children who receive medical treatment that also damages their fertility, such as chemotherapy.

Professor Mitchell explained that we might instead preserve spermatogonial stem cells, as these are present in children as well as adults. This could be achieved by removing and freezing small portions of testicular tissue, where the stem cells are located. In the future, the sperm could be transplanted back into the testes, or used to produce mature sperm in the lab. Such tissue transplantation research is currently on the cusp of clinical development, having recently proved successful in primates.

Professor Mitchell called for clinicians to ensure good service for the so-called 'inbetweeners' young people who fall between the stage where only spermatogonial stem cells can be harvested, and the stage where mature sperm are present. There are also avenues of research, currently being pursued in animal studies, which could lead to ways of generating sperm that do not need to start from spermatogonial stem cells at all.

Second speaker, Evelyn Telfer, professor of reproductive biology at the University of Edinburgh, addressed advances in the maturation of human eggs in the lab, an area which has been pioneered by her research group. She put her group's research into context with a striking fact: a woman's full egg reserve is entirely formed before birth, but only 0.1 percent of those eggs will ever be ovulated. The rest are lost. This begs the question of whether it is possible to preserve any of the lost 99.9 percent.

In the 1990s, researchers at the University of Edinburgh developed the cryopreservation of ovarian tissue containing immature egg follicles. Since then, more than 130 babies have been born worldwide following transplantation of such ovarian tissue. However, Professor Telfer cautioned that this approach is not suitable for all patients for example, patients with ovarian cancer cannot risk having ovarian tissue removed and transplanted back into the body following treatment, in case the tissue contains malignant cells. This is why the alternative in vitro growth of eggs is needed.

Professor Telfer's group has shown that human eggs can be brought to full maturity using this approach, and she now intends to ensure that the resulting eggs are viable and safe for use. Studies of lab-grown sheep eggs will begin next year. Professor Telfer's group is also investigating how to adapt the maturation process with ovarian tissue obtained from children, from transgender patients, and from patients with chromosomal conditions such as Turner syndrome. Professor Telfer speculated that patients storing tissue now might benefit from future advances, such as the prospect of making mini-ovaries and new eggs from ovarian stem cells.

Third speaker, Adle Marston, professor of cell biology at the University of Edinburgh, talked about one of the major causes of infertility and miscarriage eggs that have an abnormal chromosome number, a phenomenon known as aneuploidy. Some 30-40 percent of eggs are thought to be aneuploid, in contrast to 2 percent of sperm. The likelihood of aneuploidy increases with age, and this contributes to a greater chance of miscarriage if women become pregnant in their 40s.

Aneuploidy occurs during meiosis, the process of cell division which creates eggs in biological females or sperm in males. Professor Marston outlined the process, explaining that immature eggs are 'held' in an early stage, each with an accompaniment of proteins to eventually help sort and divide the chromosomes. The deterioration of these 'sorting proteins' over a woman's lifetime may be one of the reasons why aneuploidy occurs. Professor Marston expects that research using embryos and gametes donated by ART patientswill help us understand more about aneuploidy, and ultimately that knowledge will be used to provide better choices for patient treatment.

The final speaker, David Albertini, professor of developmental cell biology at the Bedford Research Foundation, Massachusetts, gave a historical perspective on ART. Before 2010, many fundamental discoveries in fertility science started with research in animals, and new technologies moved steadily from bench to bedside. The past decade, however, has seen a steady rise in the prominence of 'add-ons' optional treatments which purport to improve ART outcomes.

Professor Albertini used this as an example of the science of human reproduction being drawn further into the realm of big business. He also discussed the advent of new frontiers and additional avenues of research, such as genome editing, which in turn give rise to new ethical challenges.

Professor Albertini said that wide-ranging ethical conversations were long overdue, drawing a link between the commercialisation of reproductive technologies, public mistrust of scientists, and fears of a dystopian future society. New technologies could potentially be used for the selection or even the enhancement of human embryos.

Fertility research is now looking at how to make viable gametes from different types of stem cells. Genome editing is set to become more precise. It is now possible to produce embryos containing mitochondrial DNA from a donor. Although this technology was developed to avoid the transmission of mitochondrial disease, some have sought to adapt it into a fertility treatment.

Professor Albertini concluded that ART have much to be proud of nearly ten million babies have born but argued that it is time to think about the future of this technology, and its potential both to help and to harm.

After the speakers had finished, there was no shortage of questions from the audience. Some attendees asked whether it was medically or ethically justifiable to have children at the far end of the 55-year storage limit. Professor Telfer said it was unlikely that people would choose to become parents at advanced ages, while Professor Mitchell reminded the audience that gametes or reproductive tissue from very young patients are sometimes being stored, in which case long storage periods are justified.

It was also asked whether science could help a woman with a low number of eggs generate new eggs. Professor Albertini said that while there research into this possibility, the results so far are not promising. It is more feasible to help immature egg follicles mature in the ovary than it is to produce entirely new eggs.

One attendee asked whether cryopreservation affects chromosome stability and meiosis. Professor Marston responded that we still lack an adequate understanding of what the 'normal' appearance of chromosomes in healthy eggs is. Professor Telfer agreed that the science surrounding egg freezing had not advanced as much as is sometimes assumed there are still many questions to be answered about different techniques, and how freezing affects development.

Further questions covered the low complication rate of egg and sperm collection processes, and what could be done in the future about premature menopause. Professor Albertini reflected that there are now options to preserve fertility that didn't exist 20 years previously, and added that while premature menopause is characterised by substantial and early loss of eggs, ovaries with low egg reserve can still be stimulated to produce eggs for freezing.

As the event drew to a close, a final question concerned whether there is a difference in fertility preservation approaches between the sexes. Professor Mitchell said that there wasn't, except in the sense that research into male fertility lags 20 years behind research into female fertility.

Throughout the event, the speakers struck a careful balance between honest caution and excitement about new possibilities.

PET is grateful to the Scottish Government for supporting this event. Our next online events will be:

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Advances in Assisted Reproduction: What Can We Expect? - BioNews

Cell Biology

Faster healing of wounds can decrease pain and suffering and save lives – WSAZ-TV

Published: Oct. 4, 2021 at 4:02 PM EDT|Updated: 23 hours ago

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --Billions of dollars are spent every year because of complications of wound healing. Researchers at the College of Medicine at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando have discovered a new technology to accelerate wound healing. Their research is published in the Life Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering Journal (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34575027/). The UCF lab's research focus is to develop stem cell therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, wound healing and ALS.

Researchers at the College of Medicine at UCF in Orlando have discovered a new technology to accelerate wound healing.

Dr. Frederick R Carrick, Professor of Neurology at the College of Medicine at UCF, reported that animals with wounds and injured stem cells that were placed on a special ceramic blanket healed much faster than controls. Gladiator Therapeutics manufactured the therapeutic ceramic blanket that was used in this research. The researchers reported that wounds in animals and in stem cells were both repaired significantly faster when they treated them with the ceramic blankets.

This research was designed and accepted for presentation at the USA Department of Defense's premier scientific meeting, the Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS). Dr Carrick stated that the new ceramic blankets do not need a power supply and are ideally suited for use in both combat and civilian wound treatments. Large wounds, such as those suffered in combat are easily infected and may result in increased suffering, disability and death amongst Warfighters. Faster healing of wounds can decrease pain and suffering and save lives.

The UCF College of Medicine research team is conducting ongoing research on the use of the Gladiator ceramic blanket in animal models of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injury and wound care. They have recently developed a new Alzheimer's therapy combining drugs that affect stem cells that increase the development of brain cells and improve brain function. The UCF lab is also the first to transplant stem cells isolated from the human brain to aged rats where they showed increased development of new brain cells and improvement of cognition.

Dr. Kiminobu Sugaya, Professor of Medicine at the UCF College of Medicine is excited about their findings. Dr. Sugaya stated that the benefits of using the Gladiator ceramic blanket are that it can be used anywhere without a power supply or the side effects that are commonly found when injecting chemicals or drugs.

Further information about this study:

drfrcarrick@post.harvard.edu 321-868-6464

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SOURCE University of Central Florida College of Medicine

The above press release was provided courtesy of PRNewswire. The views, opinions and statements in the press release are not endorsed by Gray Media Group nor do they necessarily state or reflect those of Gray Media Group, Inc.

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Faster healing of wounds can decrease pain and suffering and save lives - WSAZ-TV

Human Behavior

This startup aims to improve workplace conversations with empathy-as-a-service software – GeekWire

(BigStock Image)

Most of us have had the experience of sending a text or email that came across sounding insensitive or angry, even though that wasnt our intent.

Unfortunately, the lack of social cues in such messaging makes it much easier to be misinterpreted. Depending on the communication, this can lead to misunderstandings, hurt feelings or worse. Thats a shortcoming Bellevue, Wash.-based mpathic wants to correct using empathic AI.

Drawing on insights and datasets assembled over the past decade, mpathic has set out to promote human connection and understanding in the workplace.

To do this, theyve created plugins that tie into their cloud-based empathy-as-a-service, or EaaS, to help humans talk to humans using real-time text corrections. This way, texts and emails can be reviewed and changes can be suggested prior to hitting Send. By adding these capabilities into platforms like Slack, or Gmail, mpathic hopes to bring more empathy to the corporate communication landscape.

We realized this could all be mediated with an AI empathy engine, almost like Grammarly for empathy, said co-founder Grin Lord. Weve had amazing developments in AI that allow us to do this now in real time, making this is the first time in human history that we can get real-time empathy correction thats dynamic.

In an example from a recent pitch, the service suggested replacing an inflammatory message like, Why does Nic schedule these meetings always at the last minute? Am I right? with a more open question: How do you feel about the meeting change?

Based on years of research on human interaction, mpathic offers a unique approach to guiding users. Lord, who has a Doctor of Psychology degree, initially based mpathics dataset on insights she gained doing research in the early 2000s at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, the only Level I trauma center in Washington state.

During that time, Lord was part of a group doing research on empathic listening. Following a car crash, DUI drivers would frequently be brought into Harborview. Rather than giving the driver pamphlets or telling them what to do or shaming them, the researchers would listen to them, perhaps for 15 or 20 minutes, following specific protocols. In a randomized controlled trial, they saw a measurable drop in drinking by those drivers that lasted for up to three years, as well as a 48% reduction in hospital readmissions. Not only did this help the subject toward recovery, it led to significant cost reductions, as well as greater public safety.

Since then, Lord has been involved with other startups including Lyssn, a platform for assessing behavioral health provider empathy and engagement during clinical sessions.

Prior to its launch, the team behind mpathic started Empathy Rocks, which builds human connection using empathic AI through a gamified platform. The platform allows practitioners to improve their empathic listening skills while earning continuing education credits.

But it was during the early seed funding stage for Empathy Rocks that Lord and co-founder Nic Bertagnolli became aware they already had a viable product in the underlying empathy engine for that platform. Pivoting, they launched mpathic to make the engine more readily and widely available.

Developing both Grammarly for empathy and an API, mpathic wants to do more than simply promote good relations between employees. Given the expanding globalization of many corporations and the growing pool of employees from other parts of the country and the world, mpathic wants to provide human resources departments with a tool that can help smooth the onboarding of employees. Since different regions have different ideas and attitudes about what constitutes civil and sensitive behavior, mpathic can be used to help integrate new hires into their new team more rapidly.

Lord is quick to point out that mpathic doesnt just suggest text corrections but makes other kinds of behavioral suggestions, too. In this way, the user builds an understanding of empathic communication and behavior through context, use and repetition.

We actually make corrections that are very behavioral, said Lord. So, it may not even be a replacement of a word or transformation of the text. Instead, the AI may suggest calling a meeting or getting on the phone, because certain things dont need to be in an email.

Though mpathic grew out of Empathy Rocks, the gamified training platform continues to provide empathic listening training as it acquires new data thats used to train mpathics EaaS. The platform was designed by the teams empathy designer, Dr. Jolley Paige, who notes the many factors that need to be considered at a time when AI bias is such a concern.

We were thinking about gender, age, culture, where youre located in the country, but also about different abilities, too, Jolley said. So, if somebody has a language processing disorder, how would that impact how they interact with this game?

While some people may have concerns about using AI to modify human behavior, lots of companies see value in such an approach. Some of our early enterprise partners are looking at plugging mpathic into their Slack, Gmail or whatever, primarily because theyre interested in this idea of quickly onboarding cross-cultural and global teams, Lord said. I think it can be useful for unifying mission values language for a company.

Last month, mpathic was one of 14 startups that pitched at PIE Demo Day. PIE (Portland Incubator Experiment) is led by general manager Rick Turoczy and seeks to provide founders often first-time entrepreneurs with access to mentorship and networks.

Empathy Rocks and mpathic intentionally source and curate their data to include underrepresented voices and are part of All Tech is Human as well as other communities committed to ethical AI development.

Empathic AI is part of a much broader field of computer science, originally known as affective computing and more recently referred to as emotion AI or artificial emotional intelligence. Originating out of MIT Media Lab and other research institutes about 25 years ago, emotion AI involves systems that can read, interpret and interact with human emotions. Since emotion and especially empathy are central to the human condition, such work has the potential to make our technologies interact more easily, humanely and responsibly with people, both at home and in the workplace.

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This startup aims to improve workplace conversations with empathy-as-a-service software - GeekWire

Immunology

Cue Biopharma to Present at the 2021 Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) Virtual Annual Meeting – Yahoo Finance

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cue Biopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: CUE), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engineering a novel class of injectable biologics designed to selectively engage and modulate targeted T cells directly within the patients body, announced today it will give a presentation at the 2021 Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) Annual Meeting, which is being held virtually from June 8-11, 2021.

Anish Suri, president and chief scientific officer of Cue Biopharma, will discuss preclinical data on CUE-401, the Companys most recent autoimmune drug product candidate. CUE-401, part of the CUE-400 series designed for differentiation and expansion of induced regulatory T cells (iTregs), is a bispecific molecule engineered to deliver the two signals, transforming growth factor beta (TGF-) and interleukin 2 (IL-2), required to induce iTregs in vivo.

Presentation DetailsSession Title: CUE-401: A Novel IL-2/TGF-beta Fusion Protein for the Induction of CD4+ FOXP3+ Regulatory T cellsPresenter: Anish Suri, Ph.D., president and chief scientific officer of Cue BiopharmaSession: Late Breaking Abstracts (Part II)Date and Time: Thursday, June 10, 2021 from 3:45 p.m. 4:00 p.m. PDT

The recorded presentation and poster will be available in the Investor & Media section of the Companys website under Scientific Publications and Presentations, following the presentation at FOCIS 2021 annual meeting.

Presentation data highlights include:

In vivo data show that CUE-401 can effectively induce FOXP3-expressing iTregs from T cells obtained from healthy donors as well as patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases.

CUE-401 induced iTregs suppressed effector T cell responses.

A single dose of CUE-401 was shown effective at inducing Tregs in mice with active and ongoing autoimmunity.

Dr. Suri commented, We are very excited to share these promising preclinical data demonstrating CUE-401 has the ability to induce and expand regulatory T cells in vitro and in vivo. We believe this is an innovative and potentially effective means of suppressing chronic inflammatory diseases and may provide a more meaningful and lasting benefit to patients suffering from numerous autoimmune diseases, graft versus host disease (GVHD) and even transplant rejection.

About FOCIS Annual Meeting The Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies is a key forum where opinion leaders come together to chart the path to the next major breakthrough in disease therapy. Through FOCIS, researchers and clinicians share knowledge across traditional disease borders, and identify commonalities between treatments and therapies that are life-changing for those impacted by immune-mediated diseases. The FOCIS Annual Meeting educates clinicians, researchers and trainees in the broad discipline of clinical immunology. FOCIS is the worlds leader in immunology education and in training future generations of clinical immunologists. Initially established as a cross-disciplinary meeting, FOCIS held its first Annual Meeting in 2001. After two successful consecutive meetings, FOCIS was incorporated as a 501(c)3 organization in 2003. Today, FOCIS has 58 Member Societies, representing roughly 65,000 clinician scientists.

About Cue BiopharmaCue Biopharma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, is engineering a novel class of injectable biologics to selectively engage and modulate targeted T cells directly within the patients body to transform the treatment of cancer, infectious disease and autoimmune disease. The companys proprietary Immuno-STAT (Selective Targeting and Alteration of T cells) platform, is designed to harness the bodys intrinsic immune system without the need for ex vivo manipulation.Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company is led by an experienced management team and independent Board of Directors with deep expertise in immunology and immuno-oncology as well as the design and clinical development of protein biologics.

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For more information, visit https://www.cuebiopharma.com and follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/CueBiopharma.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by those sections. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those regarding: the companys estimate of the period in which it expects to have cash to fund its operations; the companys belief that the Immuno-STAT platform stimulates targeted immune modulation through the selective engagement of disease-relevant T cells; and the companys business strategies, plans and prospects. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe the companys future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as believe, expect, may, will, should, would, could, seek, intend, plan, goal, project, estimate, anticipate, strategy, future, likely or other comparable terms, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding the companys strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause the companys actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the companys limited operating history, limited cash and a history of losses; the companys ability to achieve profitability; potential setbacks in the companys research and development efforts including negative or inconclusive results from its preclinical studies, its ability to secure required U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or other governmental approvals for its product candidates and the breadth of any approved indication; adverse effects caused by public health pandemics, including COVID-19, including possible effects on the companys trials; negative or inconclusive results from the companys clinical trials or preclinical studies or serious and unexpected drug-related side effects or other safety issues experienced by participants in clinical trials; delays and changes in regulatory requirements, policy and guidelines including potential delays in submitting required regulatory applications to the FDA; the companys reliance on licensors, collaborators, contract research organizations, suppliers and other business partners; the companys ability to obtain adequate financing to fund its business operations in the future; operations and clinical the companys ability to maintain and enforce necessary patent and other intellectual property protection; competitive factors; general economic and market conditions and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of the companys most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequently filed Quarterly Report(s) on Form 10-Q. Any forward-looking statement made by the company in this press release is based only on information currently available to the company and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Investor ContactGeorge B. Zavoico, Ph.D.VP, Investor Relations & Corporate Development Cue Biopharma, Inc. gzavoico@cuebio.com

Media ContactDarren Opland, Ph.D.LifeSci Communicationsdarren@lifescicomms.com

Originally posted here:
Cue Biopharma to Present at the 2021 Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) Virtual Annual Meeting - Yahoo Finance

Human Behavior

NSBORO Roundup: Masks not required outdoors; Studying the Holocaust; Start Time Reminder; and No to School Choice – mysouthborough

Im rounding up some of the school related news I missed sharing recently. Some stories are from the media and others from school announcements.

Outdoor Mask Requirement lifted for elementary schools NSBORO District:

When the district announced on May 19th that masks would still be required during recess at NSBORO elementary schools, some parents objected. At the time, the Medical Advisory Team noted that they would continue to look at the data weekly and make adjustments. It appears that they did just that.

The Districts website includes the following messageto parents of PreK-5 students of a new policy that went into effect yesterday:

Beginning on June 1, 2021, and in alignment with Governor Bakers shifting the states mask mandate to a mask advisory, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Educations updated mask guidelines, the Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough will no longer require that masks be worn by students when outdoors during recess, physical education or outdoor classroom environments, even when social distance can not be maintained. Masks are required on the bus at all times and inside the school buildings, except when eating.

In alignment with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines*, The Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough strongly encourages all non-vaccinated persons to wear masks outdoors when they are with individuals from outside their household and unable to maintain social distance. The Medical Advisory Team supports mask wearing for non-vaccinated students. (read more)

Northborough HS Class Takes Deep Dive Into What Led To The Holocaust CBS Boston:

Local broadcast news covered a Social Studies elective at the high school. (Although, the headline ignores the Regional part of Algonquins name.)

Most kids learn about the Holocaust in school, but Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough is taking it one step further with lessons on human behavior.

I think its really helped me to understand why my family was killed, said Jordan Chastanet, a senior at Algonquin.

The course is called Holocaust & Human Behavior. The elective, which is offered to juniors and seniors, is more than just a class. Its personal.

My grandmother was actually a Holocaust survivor, and two of her sisters and her escaped from the Warsaw ghetto. And Ive heard so much about my history, said Chastanet. (read and view more)

(You can also find the full course description in Algonquins Program of Studies.)

Start Time Update Planning forthe 2021-2022 School Year NSBORO District:

Recent updates from the Superintendent remind parents and students to prepare for changing start times for schools this fall.

The initiative to allow Algonquin students sleep later resulted in a radically revised 2-tiered bus schedule. Most students schools times will start and end later, except for Trottier Middle School. (The 6th-8th graders will actually start and end 13 minutes earlier.) Below is an excerpt from the update in the May newsletter with the table of Southborough start times:

Northborough & Southborough School Districts opt-out of school choice Community Advocate:

It looks like there were no surprises in the school committee votes on School Choice. As usual, all three NSBORO districts chose not to accept students from outside the district:

The Northborough-Southborough Regional School Committee unanimously voted to opt-out of the inter-district school choice program at their meeting May 19.

This decision aligns with the vote of both the Northborough K-8 and Southborough K-8 School Committee.

Although there are some advantages to school choice, such as a means to generate revenue and allow for flexibility in enrollment declines, Superintendent Greg Martineau cited disadvantages.

He explained the $5,000 in tuition the district would receive for each student would be far less than the districts per-pupil expenditure of $18,621.13 based on fiscal year (FY)2020.

The fall reopening of schools was also a concern for Martineau.

Theres no need to add another variablein terms of what the fall may look like, he said. (read more)

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NSBORO Roundup: Masks not required outdoors; Studying the Holocaust; Start Time Reminder; and No to School Choice - mysouthborough

Anatomy

Slow Motion And Sentiments: The Anatomy Of Mother’s Day Ads – Forbes India

Indian actress Nirupa Roy

This Mothers Day was very harsh on me. I realised that I am adopted. When I called my mom to wish her on the day, she didnt cry and I didnt sense a wide smile showcasing her new molars nor a nod in slow motion. In fact, she mumbled something about me not calling her often, and that if Bill Gates had sat for CAT after engineering and completed his MBA, he wouldnt have gotten divorced. In other words, my mother just failed the advertising maternity test.

Every year, every brand decides to stand out with the same mothers day campaign mom works hard but goes unnoticed, the son/daughter decide to do something special, but always in slow motion. Mom is moved, again in slow motion. Background music picks up, to accentuate the slow motion effect, just in case there are people in the world who are living their life in 0.5x and they happen to miss the whole slow-mo thing. All parties hug, again, in slow motion.

Literally every brand almost does the same damn Mothers Day ad. This year was no different. I saw so many of them but two stood out for me. One was from Prega News. It was brave of them because you can assume there is one big portion of their target group that uses their product hoping they dont become mothers. Then, there was another brand for lumbar support. Even they made a sentimental ad of a son helping his mom fix her posture by sending her a lumbar support. There were violins playing as the mother took her seat. She teared up, but I think that was probably because her back was hurting.

I am not saying dont do Mothers Day ads. All Im saying is not every brand should exploit my feelings for my mom on the same day. Only I have the right to exploit my mom for social media content with throwback pictures once in a while.

With this in mind, I would like to request the senior folks at Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) to introduce four to five mothers' days across the calendar year. So that all brands get more than one day to exploit big data for my moms affection. We can separate these days based on themes so that the advertising can be different.

Angry Mothers Day aimed at moms who just found out five minutes ago that their kids are joining the media business; Mothers Day For Moms Who Need Lumbar Support so our friends in the lumbar support business dont have to slug it out with the likes of Prega News for a mothers attention; and one award oriented Mothers Day for creative directors and copywriters in ad agencies where we can dedicate it to mothers who are suffering from Alzheimer's or any other such Cannes Lion-friendly ailment. With these steps AAAI could truly revolutionise Mothers Day advertising in India forever. This, and imposing lifetime bans on the usage of slow motion shots using mothers.

The writeris a co-founder of All Things Small. Views are personal

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Slow Motion And Sentiments: The Anatomy Of Mother's Day Ads - Forbes India