Category Archives: Molecular Medicine

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Maine has the highest COVID case rate in the country. This isnt a headline from the height of the delta variant surge this winter. This is a BDN headlinefrom Wednesday, when the state reported more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases.

The sad truth about the COVID pandemic is that it is not over.That means we need to continue with the precautions that have been shown to reduce the transmission of the virus and to lessen the severity of an infection if you do test positive for COVID. That means getting vaccinatedand boosted. People over 50 and those who are immunocompromised as eligible for a third booster shot. It also means wearing a maskin crowded indoor settingsand gathering outdoors as much as possible.

Maine has had the highest case rate in the country for nearly a week. On Sunday, Maine reported 407 cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was by far the highest of any state in the country. Vermont followed with 395 and Rhode Island had 385 cases per 100,000 residents. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have much higher case rates than these states.

The small bit of good news is that Maines case rate hasdroppedfrom the 421 cases per 100,000 that the CDC reported on Friday.

Case numbers nationally are likely an undercountas many people now use at-home tests, which are not reported to state medical agencies.

There has also been an increase COVID hospitalizationsin the state. On Monday, there were 209 Mainersinfected with the virus in hospitals across the state. Last week was the first time hospitalizations surpassed 200since February. Hospitalizations in Maine peaked at 436 in January, during the omicron surge.

Mondays hospitalizations were up from 143 just 10 days earlier, a 46 percent increase.

Because of the nations highest case rate and rising hospitalizations, masks are once again recommendedwhen indoors in halfof the states counties, including Penobscot and Cumberland. Bangor public schools again began requiring masksfor students, staff and visitors on Monday.

We realize that these numbers and warnings are tiring and, frankly, depressing. But, as we continue to learn to live with COVID, heeding public health warningsis one of the best protections we have.

Ignoring the warnings will not make the virus go away, Eric J. Topol is a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, wrote in a recent columnpublished by the BDN. It keeps getting fitter and more transmissible, while our human qualities of fatigue and complacency feed right into the viruss remarkable opportunism.

We are all tired of COVID, and the restrictions and uncertainty that it brings. But, as Topol writes, that fatigue and complacency makes all of us vulnerable to the virus. The precautions that we should all be familiar with masking, gathering outside and getting vaccinated are still essential to reversing the worrying COVID trends.

More articles from the BDN

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Precautions still warranted as COVID hasn't gone away - Bangor Daily News

Keith Yamamoto, Ph.D., a cellular and molecular pharmacologist and biologist and the vice chancellor for science policy and strategy at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), was chosen by the membership of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to serve as the organizations president-elect. Yamamotos term begins immediately, and he will serve as president-elect for one year, followed by one year as AAAS president and then one year as immediate past-president.

During the annual election, held April 7-21, 2022, AAAS members also elected two new members of the AAAS Board of Directors: Susan Rosenberg, Ph.D., the Ben F. Love Chair in Cancer Research at the Baylor College of Medicine, and Jane Maienschein, Ph.D., University Professor and director of the Center for Biology and Society at Arizona State University. Rosenberg and Maienscheins terms also begin immediately, and each will serve for four years on the Board.

Im excited for AAAS to benefit from the expertise of Keith, Susan and Jane as the organizations newest president-elect and Board members. Their perspectives will be instrumental as AAAS continues its essential work to advance science and serve society, said Sudip S. Parikh, Ph.D., chief executive officer of AAAS and executive publisher of theSciencefamily of journals.

Susan Amara, Ph.D., chair of the AAAS Board of Directors, added: I look forward to collaborating with Keith, Susan and Jane as they join the AAAS Board of Directors. The diversity of disciplines and backgrounds they represent echoes the diversity of AAAS membership and will be invaluable as we work together in service of the associations mission.

Outreach to promote scientific literacy and an appreciation for using evidence to understand and solve the worlds problems is not just for scientists. It's for everyone, Yamamoto shared. This is one key area he believes AAAS must continue to promote.

He recounted his early experiences with public outreach while pursuing his Ph.D. in biochemical sciences at Princeton University under his thesis adviser, Bruce Alberts who later became editor-in-chief of Science. Alberts brought area high schoolers onto campus to learn more about science and recruited assistant professors and students, including Yamamoto, to create experiments to share how science can be interesting and fun and important a rewarding experience for all involved.

But when Alberts sought to expand the program, he received pushback. Alberts was told he should be working in the lab. Undeterred, he persisted in his efforts.

The experience, Yamamoto said, Convinced me that scientists have responsibilities that go beyond their work in their laboratories to do things that advance the scientific enterprise.

In his candidacy statement distributed to AAAS Membership in advance of the annual election, he also identified two other priorities for AAAS.

First, AAAS can promote policies and practices that ensure a diverse, equitable and inclusive scientific enterprise. Science is a global enterprise thats going to move forward best if its practiced by a diverse workforce that approaches scientific problems from different perspectives and points of view, Yamamoto said.

Second, AAAS can focus on building a continuum from fundamental discovery to societal impact, so that scientists can visualize the real effects of their work on societal issues, and in so doing, may alter the work we do, or the ways we do it, he said.

Because of the breadth and scope of its transdisciplinary, international membership, AAAS should be a leading voice in these conversations, now more than ever, Yamamoto noted.

Keith will contribute significant experience in science policy to AAAS, both at the federal and state levels, said UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS. He brings a deep knowledge of biology and the transdisciplinary push toward precision medicine. He understands the many roles that scientists play in society. And he is committed to advancing diversity in science.

Yamamoto brings to AAAS a significant background in science policy. He became UCSFs first vice chancellor for science policy and strategy in 2015, but he has held a range of leadership roles there since joining the institution as a faculty member in 1976. In addition to his groundbreaking research on signaling and transcriptional regulation by nuclear receptors, Yamamoto has served as chair of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, vice dean for research in the School of Medicine and vice chancellor for research.

Outside of UCSF, he co-chairs the Science & Technology Action Committee (along with Parikh and others), which brings together nonprofit, academic, foundation and corporate leaders to encourage U.S. investments in science and technology research, development, and education.

A member of AAAS since 1977, he was elected as Fellow of AAAS in 2002 recognized for his scientifically or socially distinguished efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications. He has served two terms on the AAAS Committee on Nominations and has participated in several AAAS forums and roundtables for science and public policy.

Newly elected members of the AAAS Board of Directors Susan Rosenberg and Jane Maienschein bring a wealth of scientific expertise to the governing body, which is responsible for the affairs of the association.

Rosenbergs research at the Baylor College of Medicine focuses on molecular mechanisms of genome instability in evolution, antibiotic resistance, and cancer. Rosenberg served as a Council Delegate for the AAAS Section on Biological Sciences and has conducted extensive work on the AAAS Governance Modernization Working Group. She was elevated to the rank of AAAS Fellow in 2010.

In addition to serving as a University Professor of History of Science at ASU, Maienschein leads the universitys Center for Biology and Society, which promotesresearch, education and engagementrelated to the study of the life sciences and their interconnections with society. She also serves as a Fellow and runs the history program at the Marine Biological Laboratory. Maienschein has served as Chair and Council Delegate for the AAAS Section on History and Philosophy of Science, as well as Chair of the Section on Societal Impacts on Science and Engineering. She has also served on the History Committee for the 150th year-anniversary and on the Program Committee. She joined the ranks of AAAS Fellows in 1996.

Maienschein noted that her scientist father gave her a AAAS gift membership in 1976, and she has remained a lifelong member, committed to the vision and values. Instead of advocating for science in a vacuum, AAAS promotes science for the benefit of all people, emphasizing education and communication, and recognizing that science exists in a complex and messy society and often has to deal with uncertainty. As AAAS approaches its 175th anniversary, I look forward to helping launch the next 175, she said.

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Election Results Are In: Keith Yamamoto to Serve as AAAS President-Elect - AAAS

Washington University in St. Louis will award five honorary degrees during its 161st Commencement May 20.

During the ceremony, which will begin at 9 a.m. on Francis Olympic Field, the university also will bestow academic degrees on approximately 3,800 members of the Class of 2022.

Mae Jemison, MD, the first woman of color to become a NASA astronaut and to travel into space, founder of two companies and creator of an international science camp to increase science literacy, will deliver the Commencement address and receive an honorary doctor of science degree.

The other honorary degree recipients and their degrees are:

Sotomayor will not be on campus for the Commencement ceremony. A recording of the justice being presented her honorary degree while she visited the university last month will be shown during the ceremony. She spoke before a crowd of more than 3,000 students, faculty and staff during a question-and-answer session April 5 in the Field House.

At age 16, Jemison entered Stanford University, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering and fulfilled the requirements for a bachelor of arts in African and Afro-American studies in 1977.

She then attended medical school at Cornell University and earned a doctor of medicine degree in 1981. During medical school, she volunteered in Kenya and at a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. After completing a medical internship, she volunteered with the Peace Corps as a medical officer in Liberia and Sierra Leone from 1983 until 1985 before working as a general practice physician in Los Angeles.

Pursuing a dream since childhood, she applied for and was admitted into NASAs astronaut training program in 1987, eventually becoming the first woman of color astronaut.

She was a science mission specialist for NASAs space shuttle Endeavour, STS-47 Spacelab, in September 1992. During the eight-day flight that orbited the Earth 127 times, she performed experiments in material science, life sciences and human adaptation to weightlessness and was a co-investigator on a bone cell research experiment.

After leaving NASA in 1993, she started the Jemison Group Inc., a technology consulting firm integrating critical socio-cultural issues into the design of engineering and science projects.

Jemison now leads 100 Year Starship (100YSS), a bold, far-reaching nonprofit initiative to assure the capabilities exist for human travel to another star within the next 100 years.

In 1994, she founded the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, which focuses on building critical thinking skills, experiential teaching methods and science literacy. Through the foundation, she launched an international science camp, The Earth We Share, to engage youth in hands-on, interdisciplinary STEM education.

Washington University has welcomed Jemison to campus on two other occasions. In 2005, she delivered an Assembly Series lecture, Exploring the Frontiers of Science and Human Potential, and in 2015, she participated in Engineers Week, sponsored by the McKelvey School of Engineering.

A world-renowned scientist, Kobilka is known for his discoveries related to G-protein-coupled receptors, key proteins that govern many aspects of hormonal communication between cells in the body. Along with Robert Lefkowitz, MD, of Duke University, Kobilka received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2012 for these discoveries.

Kobilka earned a bachelor of science degree in biology and chemistry, summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, in 1977. He earned his medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine in 1981 and completed his residency in internal medicine at Washington University School of Medicine and what was then Barnes Hospital.

In 1984, Kobilka joined Lefkowitzs lab at Duke as a postdoctoral fellow. There, he conducted the early part of the work that would lead to recognition by the Nobel committee. Kobilka and his colleagues cloned the gene responsible for coding the receptor for the hormone adrenaline. The research helped identify an entire family of receptors called G-protein-coupled receptors. About half of all medications in use today act through this type of receptor.

Kobilkas lab at Stanford has focused on understanding the structure and function of G-protein-coupled receptors at the molecular level. In particular, his lab is known for its work defining and imaging high-resolution 3D crystal structures of this type of receptor using X-ray crystallography.

He also has shown the structure of these receptors when they are bound to the hormone on the outside of the cell and when they are activating the G protein inside the cell. His detailed structural analyses could lead to more precise medications that only activate the specific desired receptor, reducing unwanted side effects.

President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor on May 26, 2009, to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

When she was sworn in Aug. 8, 2009, she became the first Latina justice and the third woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

Sotomayor was born in the Bronx, New York, to Puerto Rican parents. She graduated as valedictorian from Cardinal Spellman High School in New York City. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1976 from Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta. In 1979, she earned a JD from Yale Law School, where she served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal.

She thereafter served as an assistant district attorney in the New York County District Attorneys Office from 19791984. She then litigated international commercial matters in New York City at Pavia & Harcourt, where she was an associate and then partner from 19841992. Sotomayor served on multiple New York City boards that included affordable housing for low-income homeowners, civil rights issues, and public funding for political candidates.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Between 1992 and 1998, she presided over roughly 450 cases at the U.S. District Court.

In 1997, she was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where she served from 19982009. While serving as a federal judge, she lectured at Columbia Law School and was an adjunct professor at New York University Law School.

The first case she heard after assuming the role of associate justice of the Supreme Court was Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, where she dissented from the majority, which held in favor of the rights of corporations in campaign finance.

During her time on the Supreme Court, Sotomayor has become known for her concerns for the rights of defendants; dissenting on issues of race, ethnicity and gender; and calls for criminal justice reform.

Andy Taylor joined Enterprise Holdings Inc., the privately held business founded in 1957 by his father, Jack Taylor, at the age of 16. He began his career by washing cars during summer and holiday vacations and learning the business from the ground up.

Enterprise Holdings owns the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental brands, which include nearly 10,000 neighborhood and airport locations. The company has franchisee locations in more than 90 countries and territories. Enterprise Holdings is the largest car rental company in the world and the only investment-grade company in the U.S. car rental industry.

After earning his bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of Denver in 1970, Taylor opted to gain some initial experience outside of the family business and began working for RLM Leasing, a Ford Motor Co. affiliate in San Francisco.

He returned to Enterprise three years later. Enterprise had a fleet of 5,000 cars. In 1976, he became the general manager of Enterprise Rent-A-Cars St. Louis regional operations, was promoted to president and chief operating officer in 1980, chief executive officer in 1991, chairman in 2001 and executive chairman in 2013.

Andy and his wife, Barbara Taylor, are generous supporters of Washington University and other St. Louis institutions. In 2017, they gave $10 million to establish the Taylor Family Scholarship Challenge, which lifted Washington Universitys Leading Together campaigns total for scholarships above $500 million, a record amount.

Altogether, the Taylor family and Enterprise Holdings have given $70 million for the Enterprise Holdings Scholars program, which is the universitys largest scholarship fund.

Last month, the Taylor Geospatial Institute was launched in St. Louis. The institute brings together eight leading Midwest research institutions, including Washington University, to collaborate on research into geospatial technology. Taylor, who provided funding through a legacy investment, said, It is my hope that this institute will cement St. Louis as the worlds true center for geospatial excellence.

Barbara Taylors commitments to the St. Louis community include her long involvement with the Saint Louis Art Museum, for which she is an honorary trustee. She has served as the museums Friends Board president, a museum trustee and vice president and president of the art museums Board of Commissioners a position appointed by the St. Louis County executive.

The first woman to hold the presidents office, she played a key role in the museums expansion, culminating in the opening of the new East Building in 2013.

Barbara Taylor serves on the board and executive committee of Forest Park Forever and has served as a trustee for Webster University, Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School, the Junior League of St. Louis and the St. Louis Childrens Hospital Friends Board.

Barbara and her husband, Andy Taylor, have provided leadership and support to a broad range of St. Louis institutions. In addition to helping fund scholarships, Barbara and Andy Taylor and the Crawford Taylor Foundation committed $20 million to the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in 2012 to fund the Taylor Family Institute for Innovative Psychiatric Research. In 2019, the Taylors committed an additional $10 million to the Taylor Family Institute, which is designed to advance the science underlying the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric illnesses.

In 2016, Andy and Barbara Taylor gave $21 million to the Saint Louis Art Museum to endow the museums directorship, which is named for Barbara. They previously provided $15 million for a new wing and sculpture garden at the museum.

In 2009, the Taylors received the Jane and Whitney Harris St. Louis Community Service Award, which is given annually to a couple dedicated to improving the St. Louis region through service, generosity and leadership. In 2018, the Taylors were recognized with Washington Universitys Robert S. Brookings Award for their dedication to the university.

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Five to receive honorary degrees at Washington University's 161st Commencement - The Source - Washington University in St. Louis - Washington...

By Digital Comms | May 12, 2022

Researchers from UBCs faculty of medicine have been awarded over $2.5 million from Canadas Stem Cell Network (SCN) to advance six regenerative medicine research projects and clinical trials.

The funding is part of a $19.5 million investment by SCN in 32 projects across Canada. The investment is the largest in SCNs history, made possible through increased funding by the Government of Canada in 2021. Stem cells have traditionally fuelled the field of regenerative medicine which is focused on regrowing, repairing or replacing damaged or diseased cells, organs and tissues.

The largest of the UBC-led projects funded by SCN will receive $1M to conduct research and a clinical trial for one of the worlds first genetically engineered cell replacement therapies for type 1 diabetes. The project aims to support the development of a potential functional cure for type 1 diabetes.

The six projects led by UBC faculty of medicine researchers are:

Dr. Nika Shakiba, assistant professor, school of biomedical engineering

Project: Elucidating the competitive advantage of aberrant pluripotent stem cells in suspension bioprocesses

$300,000 Early Career Researcher Jump-Start Awards

Dr. Carl de Boer, assistant professor, school of biomedical engineering

Project: Decoding human cis-regulatory logic in development to treat disease

$300,000 Early Career Researcher Jump-Start Awards

Dr. Sheila Teves, assistant professor, department of biochemistry and molecular biology

Project: Transcription regulation of hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes during maturation and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

$300,000 Early Career Researcher Jump-Start Awards

Dr. Pamela Hoodless, professor, department of medical genetics, school of biomedical engineering

Project: Pathways of cell identity in human liver organoids

$250,000 Impact Awards

Dr. David Thompson, clinical assistant professor, department of medicine

Project: Clinical trial of the first gene-edited cell replacement therapy for type 1 diabetes

$1,000,000 Clinical Trial Awards

Dr. Michael Underhill, professor, department of cellular and physiological sciences

Project: Novel therapeutic strategies to promote liver regeneration

$399,200 Fueling Biotechnology Partnerships

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UBC Medicine researchers awarded over $2.5 million from Canada's Stem Cell Network - UBC Faculty of Medicine

May 13, 2022 By Sherry DiBari

As a young man, Willy Wriggers was fascinated by optical instruments.

Childhood gifts of a microscope and a telescope led to a love of science, especially astronomy and biology.

"I started studying water in dirt puddles outside and was interested in bacteria and also looking at the stars," he said. "I learned all the star constellations when I was 8 or 9."

In high school, Wriggers was active in his high school's astronomy club, edited the club's magazine, "Rosa Ursina," and led tours and presentations on the cosmos.

"That experience became sort of a blueprint for what I did later as a scientist and educator," he said.

Today, his focus is on life at a molecular level.

Wriggers, the Frank Batten Chair of Mechanical Aerospace Engineering and Bioengineering at Old Dominion University, develops 3D computer modeling techniques to help scientists refine and reconstruct electron microscopy (EM) images.

Wriggers has collaborated with Jing He, a professor in ODU's Department of Computer Science, since 2015. His contribution is the application and understanding of deep learning in the computational environment.

The work will "help biological electron microscopists bridge a broad range of resolution levels from atomic to living organism-level," Wriggers said.

Those images can help scientists explain biomolecular structures - complex assemblies made up of nucleic acids and proteins.

"Trying to understand these structures at the atomic detail helps you understand the function of the biological machine - you understand how muscle works at the atomic level, you know how the metabolism of ATP (adenosine triphosphate, the "fuel" of all living things) drives complex cellular processes," Wriggers explained in a recent interview. "How that is actually done with proteins is really fascinating."

Wriggers and He specialize in modeling actin filaments - a fibrous, gel-like material inside a cell or inside muscle that is responsible for cell movements and muscle contraction.

"We are one of only five or six researchers in the world doing this kind of work," he said.

Electron microscopy utilizes a beam of accelerated electrons to view molecular structures - something not possible with a traditional light microscope.

However, in order not to destroy the sample, the electron dose must be very low. This results in a low-resolution image lacking complete detail.

Before computer modeling, scientists would superimpose a model of the complete structure on the EM image by hand - a process that was time-consuming and not reproducible.

Twenty-five years ago - as advances in computing were just beginning - Wriggers saw a potential solution. "I thought to myself, 'Why isn't anyone trying to use computers to do this automatically?'"

In response, Wriggers developed Situs, a software package that could dock the low-resolution EM images to computer-generated 3D models. The program helped fill in missing artifacts caused by deficiencies in electron microscopes and to refine what Wriggers calls "noisy" imaging.

"It put me on the map almost 25 years ago, and essentially drove my entire academic career," he said.

An Introduction to Computers

Wriggers' grew up in Ingolstadt, Germany, headquarters of the Audi car company.

His father and grandfather both worked there, and Wriggers, like many teenagers, worked there in the summers.

That experience would lead to a lifelong love for cars and machinery.

In college, Wriggers gravitated toward physics and emerging computer technologies.

"People were just starting with computers, and I realized that computers could play a big role in physics," he said.

In 1992, he left Germany for a yearlong exchange program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign."The reason why I'm still here is because I didn't exchange back," he said with a laugh.

For Wriggers, it was an exciting time to be at Illinois. The physics department was just one floor down from the research and development arm of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and they were in the process of developing Mosaic, the first commercially available internet browser, and the CAVE, a virtual-reality environment.

"It was really like the center of the universe to be at the Beckman Institute during that time," he said.

Wriggers was one of the first researchers to implement virtual reality for 3D biological structures. It was innovative research for someone whose first experience with a computer was at age 21.

His dissertation focused on the first simulation of newly discovered motor proteins. It was all based on application - other people wrote the software - something Wriggers would eventually do as well.

Wriggers developed Situs as a post-doctoral student at University of California, San Diego and then as an assistant professor at The Scripps Research Institute on the same campus.

Finding a Home at ODU

When he was 32, he received a $1.2 million National Institute of Health grant. The funding has ensured that Wriggers' work would continue - from California to the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the Weill Medical College of Cornell University and now at ODU. The grant has been renewed continuously since 2001.

"Wriggers' work is a model of the quality of research that weaves engineering and medicine here at Old Dominion University and at the College of Engineering," said Khan Iftekharuddin, interim dean of the Batten College of Engineering and Technology. "We value his contributions as a researcher, professor and friend."

Wriggers left academia for a few years to participate in the development of the Anton supercomputer at D.E. Shaw Research in New York City. The privately funded team achieved the first millisecond-length molecular dynamics simulation in 2010, which was a major breakthrough in biomolecular modeling.

Later, when he was looking for a university to renew his own NIH-funded project and lab, biomachina.org, life led him to ODU.

"When I got this offer, I thought, 'Wow, they really believe in me,'" he said. "I'm really super grateful to ODU for enabling me to continue my independent research."

Wriggers also welcomed the multidisciplinary opportunities at ODU - including the opportunity to work with ODU Motorsports.

"I used to ride a motorcycle. I used to fly glider planes," he said. "I liked everything that moved."

"Coming here and seeing that there was an active motorsports lab in this building," he said, "I was really fascinated by that."

As an adviser, Wriggers worked with the students to install sensors on the cars and measure the vehicle's parameters and dynamics. "We used that to improve lap times and better understand the performance of the vehicles," he said.

For Wriggers' next project, the sky's the limit.

"I hope to find time to go back to an aerospace or optical astronomy project where I can apply our computational tools," he said. "I think that would be really exciting.

"One of the great benefits of ODU is that there are no limits here in terms of what I can do."

Away from Campus

Wriggers lives at Chic's Beach in Virginia Beach with his wife Hilary and two sons. The family plays various instruments. In his free time, you may find Wriggers and his sons performing at open mics and on the local blues jam circuit at venues like Froggies or Jerry's Indian River.

A professor in the Biological Sciences Department at ODU, Gaff offered insight on staying safe, diagnosing tick-borne diseases and the impact climate change is having on tick populations. (More)

The Strome College of Business professor was among those recognized at the Faculty and Administrative Service Recognition Luncheon. (More)

Peter Schulman, who was named an Eminent Scholar, and Helen Crompton, who won the A. Rufus Tonelson Award, were among the honorees. (More)

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Computer Modeling is at the Heart of Willy Wriggers' Research - Old Dominion University

Perelman School of Medicine 2022 Teaching Awards Deans Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching (at an Affiliated Hospital)

The Deans Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching was established in 1989 to recognize clinical teaching excellence and commitment to medical education by outstanding faculty members from affiliated hospitals. One or more Deans Awards are given annually, the recipients being selected on the advice of a committee composed of faculty and students.

Judd Flesch is an assistant professor of clinical medicine in the department of medicines division of pulmonary, allergy, and critical care. He graduated from the Perelman School of Medicine in 2006 and subsequently completed his internal medicine residency, chief residency, and pulmonary/critical care fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. During his fellowship, he also served as the Mayock Chief Fellow. He joined Penns faculty in January 2014 and has served as an associate program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program and site director at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC) for the past eight years. In addition to overseeing clinical rotations at PPMC, Dr. Flesch also oversees the mentorship program for residents. He is passionate about clinical teaching, working with residents, fellows, and medical students in both inpatient and outpatient settings. In addition to his educational roles, Dr. Flesch is active in clinical operations leadership at PPMC, serves on the department of medicine Professionalism Committee, and is the co-director of the Penn Medicine Program for LGBTQ Health.

Temitayo Ogunleye is an associate professor of clinical dermatology and the associate director of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the department of dermatology. She received her medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine, completed her residency training in dermatology at the University of Michigan, and trained at the University of Pennsylvania as a clinician educator fellow to further her interests in medical education and develop her current niches of skin color and hair disorders. Dr. Ogunleye received a masters degree in healthcare innovation from Penn in 2021 and was appointed as medical director of the dermatology clinic at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine in January 2022. She plays an active role in medical education, interacting with both medical students and residents in her clinics and on inpatient consultations at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. She is a member of her departments Clinical Competency Committee and serves as a GME Ombudsperson. She is also a faculty leader of the Faculty Forums committee of the Alliance of Minority Physicians, a resident-led organization comprised of residents, fellows, and attending physicians who are underrepresented in medicine and committed to creating a diverse workforce. A former trainee commented, (she) is simply the best. She is kind, courteous, charismatic. She is a great teacher andI love working with her.

Carla R. Scanzello is an associate professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at the Perelman School of Medicine, and section chief of rheumatology at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center (CMCVAMC) in Philadelphia. Dr. Scanzello received her medical and graduate degrees from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, completed her residency training at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and her rheumatology fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. She joined Penn and the CMCVAMC in 2013, where she established a laboratory focused on osteoarthritis therapeutic development within the Translational Musculoskeletal Research Center, which she now co-directs. In addition to her research pursuits, she is dedicated to education of clinical trainees. She regularly supervises rheumatology fellows in their weekly VA clinics and participates as a faculty member in PSOMs Cell & Tissue Biology and Mechanisms of Disease and Therapeutic Interventions courses. She teaches medical students and trainees from multiple specialties and primary care rotating through the rheumatology clinics at the CMCVAMC. This includes bedside teaching within the CMCVAMC Multi-Disciplinary Osteoarthritis Clinic, which she co-established. In partnership with colleagues in endocrinology and radiology, she co-organizes quarterly conferences in metabolic bone disorders for trainees at the CMCVAMC. In all these settings, she encourages trainees to set educational goals for themselves to foster a lifetime of self-directed learning and to collaboratively engage colleagues from other specialties to optimize inter-disciplinary care for patients. As former trainees have commented, Dr. Scanzello is an outstanding teacher. She regularly helps fellows develop learning goals and then revisits these to check in on progress. I appreciate that she takes into account my learning goals and actively incorporates these into her teaching styleShe is a great role model as a rheumatologist.

Nicole Washington is an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics within the department of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine and an attending physician with the division of general pediatrics at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Dr. Washington received her BA in Spanish and her medical doctorate from the University of Virginia. She completed her pediatric residency training at CHOP. After completing her residency, she served as a pediatric chief resident for the hospital and the pediatric residency program. Dr. Washington remains active in the pediatric residency program, serving as one of the associate program directors and an integral member of the Intern Selection Committee; she also is currently the chair of the American Board of Pediatrics Education and Training Committee. Dr. Washington is one of the faculty mentors of the Alliance of Minority Physicians, a resident-led organization at CHOP comprised of residents, fellows, and attending physicians who are underrepresented in medicine and committed to creating a diverse workforce. Dr. Washington has mentored countless residents, medical students, and undergraduate students with a strong dedication to ensuring their personal and professional growth. Dr. Washington is also committed to her own professional growth and improvement, and is currently enrolled in the College of Liberal & Professional Studies Master in Organizational Dynamics Program. She plans to share this new knowledge and growing expertise with her trainees to further their leadership development.

This award was established by the department of anesthesia in 1984. As a pioneer in the specialty of anesthesia and chair of the department from 1943 to 1972, Dr. Dripps was instrumental in the training of more than 300 residents and fellows, many of whom went on to chair other departments. This award is to recognize excellence as an educator of residents and fellows in clinical care, research, teaching, or administration.

David Aizenberg is an associate professor of clinical medicine in the division of general internal medicine. He came to Penn in 2007 as an intern and stayed on to complete his residency and a chief resident year. He then joined the faculty and continued to have an active role within the internal medicine residency. Dr. Aizenberg enjoys optimizing learning environments and has led several educational innovations, including transitioning the program into a block scheduling system and designing and implementing a theme-based ambulatory curriculum. In 2018, Dr. Aizenberg left Penn to lead the Drexel/Hahnemann University Hospital internal medicine residency as its program director. During the unexpected closure of Hahnemann, Dr. Aizenberg advocated on behalf of all the residents and fellows impacted by this crisis and helped them to find receiving programs. Dr. Aizenberg returned to Penn in 2020 and joined the GME leadership team as director of assessment and professional development. In this role, he helps programs improve their assessment systems and coaches struggling housestaff. Dr. Aizenberg continues to be clinically active in outpatient primary care and the inpatient wards at PPMC.

Created in 1987 by the Blockley Section of the Philadelphia College of Physicians, this award is given annually to a member of the faculty at an affiliated hospital for excellence in teaching modern clinical medicine at the bedside in the tradition of William Osler and others who taught at Philadelphia General Hospital.

Sean Harbison is a native Philadelphian, having spent almost his entire education and professional career within blocks of Broad Street. After earning his BA in biology from LaSalle College, Dr. Harbison attended Temple University School of Medicine and completed general surgery training at the Graduate Hospital and at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He has served as a faculty attending surgeon and professor of surgery at Graduate Hospital, Temple University Hospital and, most recently, in the department of surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine, where he focuses on educational roles at each institution. For the past 8 years he has served as an associate clerkship and sub-internship director in the department of surgery, and he recently earned a masters degree in medical education from Penn. He has had his teaching prowess recognized by multiple teaching awards, including induction into AOA Medical Honor Society (2005), three Penn Pearl Awards (1995, 2017, 2021), and the Deans Award for Clinical Teaching (1997). A former student stated, I hope to emulate your style with patients and students when Im a physician: Thank you for making me feel like a valued team-member and [for] an inspired learning experience.

This award was established in 1981 as a memorial to Leonard Berwick by his family and the department of pathology. It recognizes a member of the medical faculty who in his or her teaching effectively fuses basic science and clinical medicine. It is intended that this award recognize persons who are outstanding teachers, particularly among younger faculty.

Katharine Bar is an assistant professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases and a physician-scientist studying novel approaches to HIV prevention and cure. Her translational research program fuses a virology laboratory studying the basic mechanisms of viral pathogenesis with clinical trials of HIV and SARS-CoV-2 interventions. Dr. Bar is an engaged teacher in both her clinical and research roles at Penn and through her leadership in national scientific organizations. She precepts medical trainees and leads multiple small group sessions for medical students, internal medicine residents, and infectious disease fellows. She is also an active teacher of cell and molecular biology graduate students, for whom she co-directs a journal club format class centered on HIV. Through her laboratory, she serves as a formal mentor for multiple students and an informal mentor to many additional trainees, in particular women pursuing basic and translational research careers. Outside of Penn, she is known as a dynamic speaker who communicates complex concepts in an engaging manner. A physician-scientist trainee mentored by Dr. Bar wrote, Dr. Bar has consistently mentored me through graduate and clinical phases of my development as a physician-scientist, always reminding me of the duality of my training. I have witnessed Dr. Bars tailored mentorship of numerous friends who are graduate students, medical trainees, and budding physician-scientists. She assesses a mentees needs and meets them at their level. Her advice is honest, thoughtful, and based on her wealth of experience as a successful physician-scientist.

This award was established in 2000 by the Penn/VA Center for Studies of Addiction and the department of psychiatry. Scott Mackler is known for his excellence in teaching medical students, residents, post-doctoral fellows, nurses, and other Penn faculty in many different departments in the area of substance abuse.

Subhajit Chakravorty is an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine and a staff physician at the affiliated Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center (CMCVAMC). He completed his medical school training at the University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India. He trained in psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh and completed his sleep medicine training and a master of science in translational research at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, he completed his addiction research and clinical care fellowship at the affiliated CMCVAMC. He is certified in psychiatry, sleep medicine, and addiction medicine. He attends to patients in sleep medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and addiction psychiatry at CMCVAMC.

His program of research focuses on developing personalized treatment interventions for insomnia comorbid with alcohol use disorder and their underlying mechanisms for change. Additionally, he is interested in understanding how alcohol use interfaces with sleep-related disorders.

The Deans Award for Excellence in Basic Science Teaching was established in 1988 to recognize teaching excellence and commitment to medical student teaching in the basic sciences. One or more Deans Awards are given annually, the recipients being selected on the advice of a committee comprised of faculty and students.

Rahul Kohli is an associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious disease, with a secondary appointment in the department of biochemistry and biophysics. Dr. Kohli obtained his MD and PhD from Harvard Medical School, after which he completed his internal medicine residency at Penn and his post-doctoral fellowship and clinical infectious disease training at Johns Hopkins University. The chief objective of his research group has been to probe DNA modifying enzymes and using approaches rooted in enzymology and chemical biology. The enzymes targeted by his groups studies catalyze the purposeful modification of the genome and are central to host-pathogen interactions or to epigenetics. Dr. Kohlis work has been recognized through support from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Doris Duke Foundation, the Rita Allen Foundation and an NIH Directors New Innovator Award, among others. He has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigators (ASCI) and has received the American Chemical Society (ACS) Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry. At Penn, Dr. Kohli is dedicated to the mission of training the next generation of physician-scientists grounded in basic science. Since 2014, he has served as an associate program director of the Penn MD/PhD program. His roles in the program include supporting combined degree students in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Graduate Group and being the course director for Topics in Molecular Medicine, a course aimed at introducing all first-year combined degree students to cutting edge basic science work with medical implications.

This award was established in 1997 to recognize outstanding teaching by allied health professionals (e.g.; nurses, physicians assistants, emergency medical technicians). The recipient is selected on the advice of a committee composed of faculty and students.

Michelle Jackson has nearly 15 years of experience as a clinician working in the field of individual, couple, and family therapy. She holds a BA in womens studies and philosophy from Temple University and an MSS in clinical social work from the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. Currently, Ms. Jackson is an attending faculty member in the Psychiatry Residency Assessment Clinic for third-year residents at Penn. She adds family and systems perspectives to the overall discussion of patients presenting for care and also ensures that residents consider race, gender, sexual orientation, social class, and cultural background for all of their new and on-going patients. Ms. Jackson was on the clinical faculty of the Center for Couples and Adult Families in the department of psychiatry at Penn Medicine until 2019. In that position, she collaborated with the clinical director and other colleagues to provide therapy for a wide variety of family life cycle transitions, adjustment and mood disorders, and relationship concerns. In addition to her work at Penn, Ms. Jackson has been a valued instructor for undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students since 2014. She has taught in the department of psychology at Philadelphia University (now part of Thomas Jefferson University), in the Rutgers University School of Social Work, in the Couple and Family Therapy program at Thomas Jefferson University, and in the post-graduate certificate program at Council for Relationships. Known for her enthusiasm and dynamism in the classroom, Ms. Jackson is sought after as a student advisor, professional mentor, and clinical supervisor.

This award was established in 2015 to recognize clinical teaching excellence and commitment to medical education by outstanding housestaff. One award is given annually. The recipient is selected on the advice of a committee composed of faculty and students.

Stphane Vie Guerrier is a senior internal medicine resident at the University of Pennsylvania. She graduated from the Perelman School of Medicine in 2019. After she completes her residency in June of 2022, she will join Penns department of endocrinology as a fellow. She enjoys working alongside Penns hardworking and inquisitive medical students, who teach her unexpected lessons every day.

The Michael P. Nusbaum Graduate Student Mentoring Award was established in 2017 to honor Mikey Nusbaum as he stepped down from his role as Associate Dean for Graduate Education and director of Biomedical Graduate Studies.

Christopher Hunter is the Mindy Halikman Heyer Distinguished Professor of Pathobiology in Penns School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Hunter has been a mentor far beyond the borders of his own laboratory, through the T32 grant he leads, the courses he directs, and the regular connection with students across several graduate groups. Dr. Hunters thoughtful advice has guided several generations of biomedical graduate studies (BGS) students through their PhD education and beyond. His dedication to mentoring students and guiding them in reaching their scholarly potential exemplifies the type of scientist and mentor that Mikey Nusbaum represents.

The Jane M. Glick Graduate Student Teaching Award was established in 2009 by the Glick family in remembrance of Jane Glick and her dedication to the Biomedical Graduate Studies (BGS) programs.

Dan Beiting is an assistant professor of pathobiology in Penns School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Beitings creation of a new teaching model within Biomedical Graduate Studies through the development of the CAMB 714 DIY Transcriptomics course and his innovative approach to deliver biostatistics training with the BIOM 610 course will have a lasting impact on quantitative training for BGS students for years to come. His dedication to these efforts exemplifies the type of scientist/educator that Jane represented.

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Perelman School of Medicine 2022 Teaching Awards | University of Pennsylvania Almanac - Almanac

Description

A research assistant position is available in the Magzoub lab at NYU Abu Dhabi (https://www.magzoub-lab.com). The research will focus on developing novel inhibitors of cancer-associated mutant p53 amyloid aggregation.

We are looking for highly motivated candidates with an interest in working in the areas of biophysics, molecular medicine and chemical biology, and hold a Bachelor of Science (BSc). The ideal candidate will have experience in protein misfolding diseases or amyloid research, and a strong background in developing and testing amyloid inhibitors. Experience inin vivomodels of amyloid diseases is highly desired.

NYU Abu Dhabi offers a stimulating research environment led by a distinguished research community and supported by state-of-the-art research facilities.

The terms of employment are very competitive. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and candidates will be considered until the position is filled. To be considered, all applicants must submit in PDF format: a cover letter summarizing research experience and specifying the interests in this position; a curriculum vitae (including a full list of publications); a statement of research interests; and the names and contact details for three references. If you have any questions, please emailmazin.magzoub@nyu.edu

About NYUAD:

NYU Abu Dhabi is a degree-granting research university with a fully integrated liberal arts and science undergraduate program in the Arts, Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Engineering. NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU New York, and NYU Shanghai, form the backbone of NYUs global network university, an interconnected network of portal campuses and academic centers across six continents that enable seamless international mobility of students and faculty in their pursuit of academic and scholarly activity. This global university represents a transformative shift in higher education, one in which the intellectual and creative endeavors of academia are shaped and examined through an international and multicultural perspective. As a major intellectual hub at the crossroads of the Arab world, NYUAD serves as a center for scholarly thought, advanced research, knowledge creation, and sharing, through its academic, research, and creative activities.

EOE/AA/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disabled/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity Employer

UAE Nationals are encouraged to apply.

Application Process

This institution is using Interfolio's Faculty Search to conduct this search. Applicants to this position receive a free Dossier account and can send all application materials, including confidential letters of recommendation, free of charge.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

For people in the EU, click here for information on your privacy rights under GDPR:www.nyu.edu/it/gdpr

NYU is an equal opportunity employer committed to equity, diversity, and social inclusion.

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Research Assistant in the Division of Science, Biology, Magzoub Research Group job with NEW YORK UNIVERSITY ABU DHABI | 291896 - Times Higher...

Nancy Carrasco

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences announced today that Dr. Nancy Carrasco, Joe C. Davis Professor of Biomedical Science and professor and chair of molecular physiology and biophysics, has been elected as one of its new members. Carrasco was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2015 and to the National Academy of Medicine in 2020.

Carrasco is an internationally recognized scientist known for her study of membrane transporters. Her pioneering research has had a significant impact on numerous fields, including molecular endocrinology, gene transfer, diagnostic imaging, cancer therapy and public health.

I offer my warmest congratulations to Professor Carrasco on this prestigious and much deserved honor, Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said. In making extraordinary contributions toward the study of membrane transporters and how they affect public health, she has advanced the good of both our university and society as a whole. Vanderbilt is fortunate to have her as an ambassador.

Carrasco was the first to isolate the coding DNA for NIS, the iodide transporter protein that pulls iodide from the bloodstream into the thyroid gland. Iodide (a form of the element iodine) is required for the production of thyroid hormones, which regulate metabolism in almost all tissues and play crucial roles in the development and maturation of the nervous system, skeletal muscles and lungs. Infants who do not have the correct levels of thyroid hormones may have impaired cognitive development and intellectual disability.

Carrascos findings also include key mechanistic details about how the protein works, that it actively transports the pollutant perchlorate, and that it is functionally expressed in lactating breast tissue and in breast cancer. Her studies have suggested that NIS-mediated transport of radioactive iodidea mainstay in the treatment of thyroid cancermight be a useful therapy for breast cancer.

I am delighted that Professor Carrasco has earned this important recognition, said C. Cybele Raver, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. Her election attests to our collective excellence as a university and research institution as the number of Vanderbilt faculty in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences continues to grow across disciplines.

Carrasco is among AAA&Ss 261 new members in 2022. She joins 17 current or former Vanderbilt faculty members who have been elected in the past.

Founded in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock and other leading figures of the American Revolution, AAA&S is one of the countrys oldest and most distinguished honorary societies. In addition to recognizing the scholarly work of its members, it serves as an independent research center, convening leaders from across disciplines to address significant challenges.

This is a great tribute to the impact of Dr. Carrascos research contributions, said Lawrence Marnett, dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences and Mary Geddes Stahlman Professor of Cancer Research. She not only elucidated how iodine is transported across biological membranes in precise molecular detail, she also discovered that certain environmental pollutants block the transport. Since iodine is critical for thyroid hormone formation, her discoveries have profound physiological and pathophysiological significance. She is a wonderful colleague, and we are very fortunate to have her as a member of our faculty.

Carrasco has received numerous national and international awards, including a Pew Award in the Biomedical Sciences, the Beckman Young Investigators Award from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, the Maria Sibylla Merian Prize (Germany), the European Thyroid Associations Merck-Serono Prize, the Noun Shavit Award in Life Sciences (Israel), and a Light of Life Foundation award. She also has served as president of the Society of Latin American Biophysicists.

Carrasco received her M.D. and masters degree in biochemistry from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in her native Mexico City and completed her postdoctoral training at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology. Before joining Vanderbilt in 2019, she was a member of the faculty at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Yale School of Medicine.

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Similar to itch, pleasant touch transmitted by specific neuropeptide and neural circuit

Mice engage in grooming behavior, experiencing a phenomenon researchers call pleasant touch. Researchers from the Washington University Center for the Study of Itch and Sensory Disorders have identified a specific neuropeptide and a neural circuit that transmit pleasant touch from the skin to the brain. The findings eventually may help scientists better understand and treat disorders characterized by touch avoidance and impaired social development.

Studying mice, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a neural circuit and a neuropeptide a chemical messenger that carries signals between nerve cells that transmit the sensation known as pleasant touch from the skin to the brain.

Such touch delivered by hugs, holding hands or caressing, for example triggers a psychological boost known to be important to emotional well-being and healthy development. Identifying the neuropeptide and circuit that direct the sensation of pleasant touch eventually may help scientists better understand and treat disorders characterized by touch avoidance and impaired social development, including autism spectrum disorder.

The study is published April 28 in the journal Science.

Pleasant touch sensation is very important in all mammals, said principal investigator Zhou-Feng Chen, PhD, director of the Center for the Study of Itch & Sensory Disorders at Washington University. A major way babies are nurtured is through touch. Holding the hand of a dying person is a very powerful, comforting force. Animals groom each other. People hug and shake hands. Massage therapy reduces pain and stress and can provide benefits for patients with psychiatric disorders. In these experiments with mice, we have identified a key neuropeptide and a hard-wired neural pathway dedicated to this sensation.

Chens team found that when they bred mice without the neuropeptide, called prokinecticin 2 (PROK2), such mice could not sense pleasant touch signals but continued to react normally to itchy and other stimuli.

This is important because now that we know which neuropeptide and receptor transmit only pleasant touch sensations, it may be possible to enhance pleasant touch signals without interfering with other circuits, which is crucial because pleasant touch boosts several hormones in the brain that are essential for social interactions and mental health, he explained.

Among other findings, Chens team discovered that mice engineered to lack PROK2 or the spinal cord neural circuit expressing its receptor (PROKR2) also avoided activities such as grooming and exhibited signs of stress not seen in normal mice. The researchers also found that mice lacking pleasant touch sensation from birth had more severe stress responses and exhibited greater social avoidance behavior than mice whose pleasant touch response was blocked in adulthood. Chen said that finding underscores the importance of maternal touch in the development of offspring.

Mothers like to lick their pups, and adult mice also groom each other frequently, for good reasons, such as helping emotional bonding, sleep and stress relief, he said. But these mice avoid it. Even when their cagemates try to groom them, they pull away. They dont groom other mice either. They are withdrawn and isolated.

Scientists typically divide the sense of touch into two parts: discriminative touch and affective touch. Discriminative touch allows the one being touched to detect that touch and to identify its location and force. Affective, pleasant or aversive, touch attaches an emotional value to that touch.

Studying pleasant touch in people is easy because a person can tell a researcher how a certain type of touch feels. Mice, on the other hand, cant do that, so the research team had to figure out how to get mice to allow themselves to be touched.

If an animal doesnt know you, it usually pulls away from any sort of touch because it can view it as a threat, said Chen, the Russell D. and Mary B. Shelden Professor in Anesthesiology and a professor of psychiatry, of medicine and of developmental biology. Our difficult task was to design experiments that helped move past the animals instinctual avoidance of touch.

To get the mice to cooperate and to learn whether they experienced touching as pleasant the researchers kept mice apart from cagemates for a time, after which the animals were more amenable to being stroked with a soft brush, similar to pets being petted and groomed. After several days of such brushing, the mice then were placed into an environment with two chambers. In one chamber the animals were brushed. In the other chamber, there was no stimulus of any kind. When given the choice, the mice went to the chamber where they would be brushed.

Next, Chens team began working to identify the neuropeptides that were activated by pleasant brushing. They found that PROK2 in sensory neurons and PROKR2 in the spinal cord transmitted pleasant touch signals to the brain.

In further experiments, they found that the neuropeptide they had homed in on wasnt involved in transmitting other sensory signals, such as itch. Chen, whose laboratory was the first to identify a similar, dedicated pathway for itch, said pleasant touch sensation is transmitted by an entirely different, dedicated network.

Just as we have itch-specific cells and peptides, we now have identified pleasant touch-specific neurons and a peptide to transmit those signals, he said.

Liu B, Qiao L, Liu K, Piccinni-Ash TJ, Chen ZF. Molecular and neural basis of pleasant touch sensation. Science, April 29, 2022. DOI 10.1126/science.abn2749

This work is supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Grant numbers 1R01 AR056318-06 and R01 NS094344.

Washington University School of Medicines 1,700 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, and currently is No. 4 in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

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Neural pathway key to sensation of pleasant touch identified Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis - Washington University School of...

Summary: Newly identified nerd cells code for speed, direction, and position all at once.

Source: University of Oslo

Are you impressed when NASA manages to calculate the time and speed of a rockets trajectory? A new study from the University of Oslo shows that your brain has a nerd center capable of even more complex calculations.

If, late on your way to work, you see the bus coming and run to catch it while carrying your cup of coffee, you have probably beaten NASA. Nerve cells in yourbrainperform billions of complicated mathematical calculations to work out your speed, position and direction. For years, this ability of the brain to calculate such parameters has been a mystery.

After five years of research into the theory of the continuous attractor network, or CAN, Charlotte Boccara and her group of scientists at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences at the University of Oslo, now at the Center for Molecular Medicine Norway (NCMM), have made a breakthrough.

We are the first to clearly establish that thehuman brainactually contains such nerd cells or super-calculators put forward by the CAN theory. We found nerve cells that code for speed, position and direction all at once, says Boccara.

1,400 nerve cells

Boccara analyzed 1,400 nerve cells recorded in rats in a distributed manner across severalbrain areas. Together with Ph.D. fellow Davide Spalla and researcher Alessandro Treves, she recently published an article inNature Communicationstitled Angular and Linear Speed Cells in the Parahippocampal Circuits.

We equipped rats with small brain probes holding very thin electrodes that could read theirbrain activity. Afterwards, they were free to move around in a maze to search for goodies. We could follow their movements with a camera and thus correlate their actions with the activity of the many nerve cells we were recording from, explains Boccara.

Boccaras research group used an advanced form of data analysis to thoroughly investigate what was happening in all the cortical layers of several brain areas. This involved systematic examination of vast datasets.

This new research is in the continuation of the ground breaking work of John OKeefe, May-Britt and Edvard Moser (Nobel Prize in Medicine, 2014), which show that individual nerve cells can code for a navigation coordinate systemthe brains GPS system.

A missing puzzle piece that could be important for research into Alzheimers

The CAN theory that Boccara studies had been widely popular among scientists for decades. In a nutshell, it proposes that when we move around, our mental map or representation of the place in which we find ourselves constantly updates itself according to our new position.

The CAN theory hypothesizes that a hidden layer of nerve cells perform complex math and compile vast amounts of information about speed, position and direction, just as NASAs scientists do when they are adjusting a rocket trajectory.

Previously, the existence of the hidden layer was only a theory for which no clear proof existed. Now we have succeeded in finding robust evidence for the actual existence of such a brains nerd center,' says the researcher,and as such we fill in a piece of the puzzle that was missing.

The area where Boccara and her team found this hidden layer is precisely the part of the brain that is first impaired at the onset of Alzheimers disease.

Our findings are important because these cells tell us where we are and how we are moving. If they stop working, one gets lost, explains Boccara.

To understand the inner mechanisms of brain coding can later be applied for developing new therapeutics.

Why are thenervecells discovered by Boccara spread over different parts of the brain? And can they perhaps perform several different tasks?

Here, we have a number of theories: Do some cells function as a back-up, or do they perform separate calculations, i.e., do some cells plan while others react to previous experiences? she asks.

At all times, the brain is bombarded with sensory experiences (sight, feelings, hearing). It must make sense of this chaos to create an image coherent with memories of similar situations previously experienced in order to adjust ones actions. For example, I see that the bus is coming, I can feel that the coffee is hot; at which speed can I run to reach the bus without burning myself?

In recent years, theresearch communityhas proven that the brain areas Boccara is interested in is involved in many more tasks beyond mapping spatial position. Thenerve cellsthere can also map sounds and rewards. Now, she wonders whether the cells they found are capable of performing other tasks, in addition to calculating speed and direction.

But how such phenomena are perceived changes depending on the experiences you have. For instance, the way you perceive the name Ola will change significantly if you meet an Ola who becomes your partner. The process of categorization must therefore be updated as time goes on and the nerd center may also be involved in this process. This is an interesting field for further research, says Boccara.

Boccara now wants to find out how bad sleep affects the nerd cells ability to calculate.

I am wondering whether the reason why the brain works more slowly when we have had too little sleep has something to do with abnormal activity in these cells, she says.

Author: Press OfficeSource: University of OsloContact: Press Office University of OsloImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Angular and linear speed cells in the parahippocampal circuits by Davide Spalla et al. Nature Communications

Abstract

Angular and linear speed cells in the parahippocampal circuits

An essential role of the hippocampal region is to integrate information to compute and update representations. How this transpires is highly debated.

Many theories hinge on the integration of self-motion signals and the existence of continuous attractor networks (CAN). CAN models hypothesise that neurons coding for navigational correlates such as position and direction receive inputs from cells conjunctively coding for position, direction, and self-motion. As yet, very little data exist on such conjunctive coding in the hippocampal region.

Here, we report neurons coding for angular and linear velocity, uniformly distributed across the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC), the presubiculum and the parasubiculum, except for MEC layer II. Self-motion neurons often conjunctively encoded position and/or direction, yet lacked a structured organisation.

These results offer insights as to how linear/angular speed derivative in time of position/direction may allow the updating of spatial representations, possibly uncovering a generalised algorithm to update any representation.

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