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Those Who Knew Dookhan ‘Shocked’ By State Drug Lab Scandal

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Danzig

BOSTON (AP) As a girl and young woman, Annie Dookhan was quiet, unassuming, not one to wear makeup. She was charming but stood out more for her dedication to her studies, and by all accounts appeared headed for success.

The only child of hard-working immigrant parents, she enjoyed their pride as she glided through a prestigious Boston prep school, graduated from college with a degree in biochemistry and appeared headed for medical school.

Now, as she takes center stage in a shocking scandal that has sent the Massachusetts legal system into a tailspin, those familiar with her from school and work are struggling to reconcile the Annie Dookhan they knew with the chemist accused of falsifying criminal drug tests.

I find it hard to believe that she was an individual who decided to falsify lab results that she would turn into someone who did something like that. That isnt the person I remember, said John Warner, an instructor who gave her As and A-minuses in 2000 when she took his biochemistry class as a senior at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

Obviously, things can happen to people, he said. Either something happened in her life that changed the person that she is, or this is a deeper story.

Dookhans struggle with both personal and professional problems in 2009 including a miscarriage and a legal ruling that put new pressures on chemists at the lab may help offer an explanation, one former co-worker said.

Perhaps she was trying to be important by being the go-to person, Elizabeth OBrien told state police, who shut down the lab in August after discovering the extent of Dookhans alleged mishandling of drug samples sent to the lab by local police departments.

In her own interview with police, Dookhan said she had not tested all the drugs she claimed she did, forged initials of her co-workers, and sometimes mixed drug samples to cover her tracks.

I messed up bad; its my fault. I dont want the lab to get in trouble, she said, according to a state police report.

She faces as many as 20 years in prison on obstruction of justice charges. More than two dozen drug defendants are already back on the streets as authorities scramble to figure out how to handle the cases of more than 1,100 inmates whose cases Dookhan handled.

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Those Who Knew Dookhan ‘Shocked’ By State Drug Lab Scandal

Symposium highlights postdoctoral research

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Danzig

Carolyn Lim | DP

Dr. Christine Guthrie, a biochemistry professor at the University of California, San Francisco, delivered the keynote address at Penns biomedical postdoctoral research symposium, which took place on Oct. 9.

Yesterday, the Biomedical Postdoctoral Council and the Office of Biomedical Postdoctoral Programs hosted a symposium to showcase current postdoctoral research.

The symposium, featured about 50 poster exhibits, nine lectures and a keynote address given by Dr. Christine Guthrie, a professor of biochemistry at the University of California, San Francisco.

The event began at noon, ended at 5 p.m. and was followed by a short reception. About 200 people attended the event.

The symposium gave postdocs the opportunity to present their research and to strengthen Penns postdoctoral community, said postdoctoral fellow Melissa Mendez, chair of the BPC Symposium Committee. It gives people who want to present the opportunity to practice and to get communication going, she said. The people who come want to get to know their colleagues.

But the symposium was more than just a postdoctoral mixer. It was an opportunity for the fellows and researchers to practice communicating their ideas to those who do not understand the intricacies of their fields.

It all comes down to communication, said Rohinton Tarapore, BPC co-chair and a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Periodontics. Can postdocs communicate their science in laymans terms? The way we measure the success [of this event] is if you understood a majority of the posters. That means that the postdocs are doing a good job of communicating their ideas.

Postdocs are technically not faculty or staff of the university but are trainees who receive a stipend while conducting research. Their appointments are annual and can be renewed for a maximum of five years. Most postdocs do not see their position as a permanent job, but rather as a stepping-stone toward a larger goal.

Your end goal can be a faculty position, and you can become a professor, or it can be joining and doing industry research in a start-up biotech company like GSK or Pfizer, Tarapore said. You can become a consultant or you can be in policy-making. You can start your own biotech company or [you could go into] writing science articles.

For Mass. lab chemist, an unlikely road to scandal

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Danzig

By BRIDGET MURPHY and DENISE LAVOIE Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) - As a girl and young woman, Annie Dookhan was quiet, unassuming, not one to wear makeup. She was charming but stood out more for her dedication to her studies, and by all accounts appeared headed for success.

"I find it hard to believe that she was an individual who decided to falsify lab results ... that she would turn into someone who did something like that. ... That isn't the person I remember," said John Warner, an instructor who gave her A's and A-minuses in 2000 when she took his biochemistry class as a senior at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

"Obviously, things can happen to people," he said. "Either something happened in her life that changed the person that she is, or this is a deeper story."

Dookhan's struggle with both personal and professional problems in 2009 - including a miscarriage and a legal ruling that put new pressures on chemists at the lab - may help offer an explanation, one former co-worker said.

"Perhaps she was trying to be important by being the go-to person," Elizabeth O'Brien told state police, who shut down the lab in August after discovering the extent of Dookhan's alleged mishandling of drug samples sent to the lab by local police departments.

In her own interview with police, Dookhan said she had not tested all the drugs she claimed she did, forged initials of her co-workers, and sometimes mixed drug samples to cover her tracks.

"I messed up bad; it's my fault. I don't want the lab to get in trouble," she said, according to a state police report.

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For Mass. lab chemist, an unlikely road to scandal

Four MU professors awarded Curators’ Professorships

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Danzig

Four MU professors were appointed as Curators Professors, the highest educational honor given by the UM System.

Statistics professor Nancy Flournoy, biochemistry professor Gerald Hazelbauer, fisheries and wildlife professor John Jones and geological sciences professor Mian Liu received the award after the UM Board of Curators approved the nominations at its September meeting.

The Curators Professorship is prestigious, and only outstanding scholars with established reputations are considered for appointment, according to the Office of the Provost's website.

The recipients were notified via mail by letters from Chancellor Brady Deaton, Provost Brian Foster and President Tim Wolfe about their nominations. In addition to the award, the recipients receive a raise and a stipend for scholarly activity.

Nancy Flournoy, statistics professor

Flournoy is the former statistics department chairwoman. She currently teaches one undergraduate class and one graduate class. Flournoy was the only woman of the four recognized.

It was really cool, Flournoy said. I was very pleased. Its a great honor.

Her work with statistical theory has been motivated by problems encountered while working with the Seattle bone marrow transplant team, according to her website. Flournoy received her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles before receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Washington. Flournoy has spent 10 years at MU.

The students are a joy, Flournoy said.

Gerald Hazelbauer, biochemistry department chairman

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Four MU professors awarded Curators’ Professorships

Fellowship list

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Danzig

Election to the Fellowship recognises a career that has significantly advanced the world's store of scientific knowledge. The Academy also elects a small fraction of its Fellows by Special Election, recognising conspicuous service to the cause of science.

Fellows elected to the Academy in 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

Adams, Jerry Mckee, PhD, FAA, FRS, NAS Joint Head, Molecular Genetics of Cancer Division, and Director, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Specialized Center of Research, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. Professor of Molecular Genetics, University of Melbourne. Speciality: The genetics of haemopoietic differentiation and malignancy. Year of election: 1986

Allen, David Grant, PhD, FAA Professor of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney. Website: http://www.physiol.usyd.edu.au/~davida Speciality: Cardiac and skeletal muscle physiology. Year of election: 2006

Alpers, Michael, AO FAA FRS Centre for International Health, Curtin University Year of election: 2012

Anderson, Brian David Outram, AO, PhD, DHC (Louvain), Hon Dr ScTech (Swiss Fed Inst Tech), Hon DEng (Syd, Melb, Newcastle), Hon DSc (UNSW), FAA, FRS, FTSE Professor, Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University. Website: http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~briandoa/contact.html Speciality: Control systems; signal processing; telecommunications. Year of election: 1974

Anderson, Jan Mary, PhD, FDhc (Ume), FAA, FRS Adjunct Professor, Division of Plant Science Research School of Biology, ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, Australian National University. Website: http://biology.anu.edu.au/Staff/Profiles/PS/Anderson/index.php Speciality: Thylakoid membranes; photosynthesis; acclimation; photoinactivation; molecular organisation. Year of election: 1987

Anderson, Marilyn FAA, FAICD, FTSE Professor, Department of Biochemistry, La Trobe University. Speciality: Plant defence related proteins. Year of election: 2011

Andrews, Thomas John, PhD, FAA Speciality: Biochemistry and molecular biology of photosynthetic carbon metabolism. Year of election: 1998

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Fellowship list

U of A honours biochemistry professor with University Cup

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Danzig

The highest honour an academic staff member can receive from the University of Alberta was recently awarded to researcher and professor Marek Michalak.

Vice-Dean of Research at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and a professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Michalak was honoured with the University Cup for his successes in teaching, research and community service at the Celebrate! Teaching. Learning. Research ceremony Sept. 27.

Originally from Poland and a faculty member with the U of A since 1987, Michalak has mentored nearly 100 students and post-doctoral fellows in his time at the university. However, he believes working with a vibrant team is far more important that his individual contributions.

If (the team) will bring passion and motivation to their work, what difference does it make if we are the bosses? As long as (we) provide the environment, the mentorship and the supervision, then everything falls into place, he said.

If you really think about it thats what I said to the crowd (at the ceremony) Im just doing my job, so whats the big deal?

The research conducted by Michalak and his team includes the analysis and reduction of protein-folding diseases, such as Alzheimers, multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis.

As a leader in the field of molecular cell biochemistry, Michalaks accolades include the awarding of $24 million in research funding for his lab and the publication of more than 200 academic papers.

Michalak explained most of his research discoveries started from asking curiosity-driven questions.

In the past 20 years, weve been asking ourselves very simple, almost trivial questions that led us to huge findings, such as (issues like) complete heart blocking in children. That received quite a lot of attention, he said.

Anything is possible; you just never know what the next discovery brings. Thats the fascinating part of science.

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U of A honours biochemistry professor with University Cup

Pondicherry University to hold conference

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Danzig

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pondicherry University, will hold a two day national conference on current scenario and emerging trends in hepatocellular diseases.

According to a university release here today, the conference will focus on the key aspects of hepatology research, and strategies to explore liver at the cellular and molecular level.

"Liver is a vital organ in our body as it plays a central role in metabolic regulation and toxin excretion.

Liver is constantly exposed to a variety of stress due to our modern lifestyle adaptations, including tendency to avail drugs and substances, alcohol and fatty foods, resulting in liver injury, specifically to liver cells, hepatocytes. This leads to malfunction and disease conditions of the liver," the release said.

"The damage caused to liver worsens with time and hence it is essential to find a cure or treatment option via biocompatible drugs, herbal medicines and drugs at nanomolar concentrations which can help the liver cells to recuperate even at very minute concentrations," the release further added.

The conference would highlight the recent advances in the field of hepatology research and its future perspectives in various angles. (UNI)

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Pondicherry University to hold conference

Omicron has Chemistry

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Danzig

SOUTH BEND -- Anthony Serianni was a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University when he and his adviser, Robert Barker, started Omicron Biochemicals in 1982, the same year Serianni joined the faculty at the University of Notre Dame.

"We had developed some new chemistry that made the synthesis of certain kinds of sugar molecules easier to do," says Serianni, the president and CEO. "At that time, I had intentions of pursuing an academic career. I had already applied to Notre Dame.

"We are a carbohydrate lab, a sugar lab," adds Serianni, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "There's an explosion in the interest in carbohydrates in biology, not just for dietary reasons."

Sugar molecules coat many cells in the human body and interact with other material such as bacteria, viruses and proteins, potentially offering targets for fighting disease, he explains.

"There are lots of molecules that attach themselves to the cell because of the sugars," he says. "Those interactions elicit a whole host of biological responses. Some people believe cancer can be treated by pharmacological intervention on saccharide."

Omicron is not a research laboratory but synthesizes material used in other laboratories.

"We provide the tools, that is, the molecules, that are needed for studies of that type," Serianni says. "When we build these molecules in that lab, we label them. The nuclei of the atoms that compose these molecules are tinkered with slightly," a process called isotopic labeling. "That type of labeling is really valuable."

In some cases, quantities ordered have increased dramatically since the beginning.

"Years ago, a large-scale synthesis of these products might have been 1 to 5 grams," he says, adding that some orders are for thousands of grams. "On the other hand, many of these products are custom-made. They're difficult syntheses. Having a gram or two of material, you're doing pretty well. It varies by the product.

"The need for these kinds of molecules is pretty broad. Lots of different kinds of laboratories doing chemical and biological research might need them."

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Omicron has Chemistry

Abbott says rising exec did not graduate college

Posted on September 30, 2012 by Danzig

WASHINGTON (AP) Abbott Laboratories said Friday it repeatedly misstated the college education of senior executive Robert Gonzalez, who is soon slated to become CEO of its $18 billion-pharmaceutical spinoff.

Company regulatory filings between 2002 and 2007 list Gonzalez as holding a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from the University of Miami and a master's degree in biochemistry from the University of Houston. The North Chicago, Ill., company's current website states that Gonzalez only attended those schools. The change was first reported by Crain's Chicago Business.

"There was an error made when the bio was written many years ago," said Abbott spokeswoman Melissa Brotz. "When we became aware of it we corrected it." Brotz said Abbott doesn't know when the incorrect information was first introduced or corrected.

Abbott announced last October that Gonzalez would lead its spinoff AbbVie, which will market the company's major prescription medicines, including the blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug Humira.

The split-up, schedule to take effect before 2013, is designed to free Abbott from the risks and uncertainty of developing innovative pharmaceutical drugs. Abbott CEO Miles White will lead a trimmed down version of the company built around medical devices, generic drugs and nutritional formula.

Gonzalez joined Abbott in 1977 and held various leadership positions until 2007, when he briefly retired from the company. He returned in 2009 and has been executive vice president for pharmaceuticals since 2010.

Brotz said the company still expects Gonzalez to assume leadership of the spinoff.

"There is no issue with respect to Gonzalez's educational background and his ability to lead AbbVie," she said. "He has had a distinguished 30-year career with the company and a demonstrated track record."

CEOs of public companies who have not graduated college are a rarity, especially in the science and technology industries.

Earlier this year Yahoo dumped CEO Scott Thompson after just four months on the job. His departure was triggered by the revelation that his resume included a college degree in computer science that he never received.

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Abbott says rising exec did not graduate college

The University of California, Santa Barbara's independent, student-run newspaper.

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Danzig

Biochemistry Department Makes Strides in Diagnostic Testing

This month the Journal of the American Chemical Society published findings by chemistry and biochemistry professor Kevin W. Plaxco and his team of researchers that have led to the design of quick and inexpensive medical tests used for the detection of human disease.

The diagnostic tests are based on models in nature and can easily detect antibodies found in a number of human diseases such as autoimmune diseases, sexually transmitted diseases and allergies through a microscopic DNA part. The tests are more convenient and affordable than current ones and can therefore potentially allow for earlier treatment. Treatments administered earlier on in disease development may significantly reduce effects or terminate the pathogen itself.

Plaxco said current tests are not necessary faulty in their accuracy but fail to reveal the presence of diseases soon enough, particularly in the case of sexually transmitted diseases.

Patients typically must wait for days or even weeks to receive the results of most STD tests The blood sample has to be transported to the lab, its content analyzed by trained personnel, and the results sent back to the doctors office, Plaxco said in a press release. If we can move testing to the point of care, it eliminates the lag between testing and treatment, which would enhance the effectiveness of medical interventions and for infectious diseases like STDs reduce transmission.

Co-author and post-doctoral scholar Alexis Valle-Blisle said the tests use of natural occurrences and bioengineering is what gives them their revolutionary efficiency and speed.

All creatures, from bacteria to humans, monitor their environments using amazing molecular nanoswitches that signal the presence of a specific target by changing their structure, Valle-Blisle said in a press release. For example, on the surface of our cells, there are millions of receptor proteins that detect various molecules by switching from an off state to an on state. The beauty of these switches is that they are able to work directly in very complex environments such as whole blood.

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The University of California, Santa Barbara's independent, student-run newspaper.

Research of alligator blood could one day help humans

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Danzig

Researchers at McNeese State University believe alligators could hold thekey to healing humans.

At the helm of the study is Dr. Mark Merchant, professor of biochemistry.

Merchant saidhis interest with gators began at an early age.

"I grew up in the marshes of Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas hunting and fishing and I am still in the marsh a lot pursuing those activities. I've been around alligators most of my life," Merchant said.

Merchant said he realized a long time ago that there was something special about the immune systems of theseprehistoric animals.

"Alligators and crocodiles are very territorial and they fight andat times, inflict great injury on one another butthe fact is it seems they heal rather rapidly despite the fact they live in an environment wherethere are lots of potentially infectious microbes such asbacteria and fungi and things that can infect these massive wounds," Merchant said.

When his research began 11 years ago, Merchantwas able to prove the blood of alligators could kill pathogens. Since then, he has learned more howalligator blood kills bacteria, fungi and viruses, specifically white blood cells.

"What we have found in the last four or five years is that the white blood cells from alligators can and other crocodilians around the world make these tiny peptides that have tremendous antibacterial and antifungal activity," explained Merchant. "We have just recently isolated the small peptides or proteins and are working to determine the exact structure. So we think we potentially may have not only a new antibiotic, but a whole new class of antibiotics for human and veterinary use."

Merchantsaid there is still a lot of researchbeforethe antibioticcan be produced inlabs.

"It could be tomorrow. It could be next month or it could be in 10 years. I hope it is sooner rather than later," he said.

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Research of alligator blood could one day help humans

CEO of Abbott spinoff lacks degrees claimed in filings

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Danzig

SUN-TIMES MEDIA September 27, 2012 6:58PM

Abbott Laboratories gave incorrect education credentials for the executive chosen to lead its pharmaceutical spinoff in regulatory filings between 2002 and 2007, Crains Chicago Business is reporting.

Richard A. Gonzalez, named CEO of AbbVie, did not receive a biochemistry bachelors degree nor a biochemistry masters degree from the universities Abbott filings listed, Crains reported.

According to Crains, Gonzalez did not receive a bachelors degree in biochemistry from the University of Houston, nor a masters degree in biochemistry from the University of Miami, contrary to claims in Abbotts filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission when the longtime company executive was a director.

He started at the company in 1977 and retired from Abbott as president and chief operating officer in 2007, but returned two years later.

Gonzalez, 58, currently executive vice president, Global Pharmaceuticals at Abbott, was chosen to be chairman and CEO of AbbVie (pronounced Abb-vee), the new research-based pharmaceutical firm, which is projected to have $18 billion in annual sales after it is spun off later this year.

Abbott external communications Vice President Melissa Brotz confirmed to Crains that Gonzalez did not receive degrees from either university.

The inaccurate information about his education was included in SEC filings as a result of an internal administrative error. She told Crains that Abbott learned about the errors some time ago. The company corrected the information on its Web site immediately after the errors were discovered, she said.

According to the companys Web site, Gonzalez is listed as a research biochemist at the University of Miami School of Medicine and attended the University of Houston, majoring in biochemistry,

Theres really no issue here with respect to his educational background and his ability to lead AbbVie, Brotz told Crains. His ability to lead AbbVie is evidenced by his distinguished career over 30 years, culminating in his reaching the highest levels of the company.

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CEO of Abbott spinoff lacks degrees claimed in filings

CEO of Abbott’s spinoff didn’t receive college degrees claimed in filings

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Danzig

September 27, 2012 5:02PM

Updated: September 28, 2012 12:05AM

Abbott Laboratories is shrugging off the fact that the company overstated the education level of the man chosen to helm its pharmaceutical spinoff, which is expected to make $18 billion in sales next year. Longtime Abbott exec Richard Gonzalez didnt receive either a bachelors degree in biochemistry from the University of Houston or a masters in biochemistry from the University of Miami contrary to biographical information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2007 and several years prior while he was a director at the company. There was an administrative error many years ago when the bio was written, said Abbott spokesman Melissa Brotz. When we became aware of it a while back we corrected it promptly I dont have an exact date. Theres absolutely no issues with his educational background or ability to lead. Hes had a distinguished career reaching the highest levels in the company with a proven track record, said Brotz. Gonzalez will take the reigns of the pharmaceutical spinoff AbbVie when the nascent company completes its separation Jan. 1. AbbVie (pronounced Abb-vee) will be the new research-based pharmaceutical firm expected to be launched by Abbott Laboratories by the end of the year. In October 2011, North Chicago-based Abbott said it would separate into two publicly traded firms one in diversified medical products, the other in research-based pharmaceuticals. AbbVie will include Abbotts current portfolio of proprietary pharmaceuticals and biologics. The name is derived from a combination of Abbott and vie, which references the Latin root vi meaning life. The AbbVie logo and graphic identity will be unveiled when the new company is launched. The diversified medical products company, which will retain the Abbott name, will consist of Abbotts existing products portfolio, including its branded generic pharmaceutical, devices, diagnostics and nutritional businesses. AbbVie has nearly $18 billion in annual revenue and will have a portfolio of market-leading brands, including Humira, Lupron, Synagis, Kaletra, Creon and Synthroid. Gonzalez joined Abbott in 1977 and retired briefly in 2007 as the companys No. 2 man before returning in 2009 to head its investment arm and is currently executive vice president of the pharmaceutical products group. A spokesman for the University of Houston confirmed Gonzalez took classes at the school in 1972 and 1973, but did not earn a degree. School administrators from the University of Miami were not immediately available Thursday. Crains Chicago Business first broke the story.

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CEO of Abbott’s spinoff didn’t receive college degrees claimed in filings

Cell death mystery yields new suspect for cancer drug development

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Danzig

Public release date: 13-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Ellen de Graffenreid edegraff@med.unc.edu 919-962-3405 University of North Carolina Health Care

A mysterious form of cell death, coded in proteins and enzymes, led to a discovery by UNC researchers uncovering a prime suspect for new cancer drug development.

CIB1 is a protein discovered in the lab of Leslie Parise, PhD , professor and chair of the department of biochemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The small calcium binding protein is found in all kinds of cells.

Cassandra Moran, DO, was a pediatric oncology fellow at UNC prior to accepting a faculty position at Duke University. She is interested in neuroblastoma, a deadly form of childhood brain cancer. While working in the Parise lab at UNC as a resident, she found that decreasing CIB1 in neuroblastoma cells caused cell death.

Cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth, so the ability to cause cancer cell death in the lab is exciting to researchers but the UNC team couldn't figure out how it was happening.

Tina Leisner, PhD, a UNC research associate in biochemistry, picked up where Dr. Moran left off when she returned to her clinical training.

"It was a mystery how loss of CIB1 was causing cell death. We knew that it wasn't the most common mechanism for programmed cell death, called apoptosis, which occurs when enzymes called caspases become activated, leading to the destruction of cellular DNA. These cells were not activating caspases, yet they were dying. It was fascinating, but frustrating at the same time," said Leisner.

What Dr. Leisner and her colleagues found, in the end, is that CIB1 is a master regulator of two pathways that cancer cells use to avoid normal mechanisms for programmed cell death. These two pathways, researchers believe, create "alternate routes" for cell survival and proliferation that may help cancer cells outsmart drug therapy. When one pathway is blocked, the other still sends signals downstream to cause cancer cell survival.

"What we eventually discovered is that CIB1 sits on top of two cell survival pathways, called PI3K/AKT and MEK/ERK. When we knock out CIB1, both pathways grind to a halt. Cells lose AKT signaling, causing another enzyme called GAPDH to accumulate in the cell's nucleus.Cells also lose ERK signaling, which together with GAPDH accumulation in the nucleus cause neuroblastoma cell death. In the language of people who aren't biochemists, knocking out CIB1 cuts off the escape routes for the cell signals that cause uncontrolled growth, making CIB1 a very promising drug target," said Dr. Parise.

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Cell death mystery yields new suspect for cancer drug development

Penn Medicine Researcher Receives New Innovator Award from National Institutes of Health

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Danzig

PHILADELPHIA Rahul M. Kohli, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Medicine and Biochemistry & Biophysics, is one of the recipients of a New Innovator Award from National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The NIH Directors New Innovator Award, totaling $1.5 million over five years, supports highly innovative research and creative, new investigators who exhibit strong potential to make great advances on a critical biomedical or behavioral research problem.

Kohlis lab will use the grant to study the enzymes that drive bacterial evolution, aiming to devise new methods to combat the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria.

The ability of pathogens to quickly build up resistance to the best available antibiotics leads to potentially devastating consequences to human health. Past responses to this concern have largely focused on modifying existing drugs, which can offer a brief reprieve, but eventually fosters more drug resistance. Kohlis research seeks to change the paradigm of attacking drug resistance, by targeting the very pathways that allow the pathogen to mutate.

Rather than focusing on drugs that kill bacteria, understanding and targeting bacterias ability to adapt could be an effective new approach to drug resistance, said Kohli. Given the clinical importance of the problem, Im excited about the opportunities we can pursue with this award.

###

Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine is currently ranked #2 in U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $479.3 million awarded in the 2011 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2011, Penn Medicine provided $854 million to benefit our community.

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Penn Medicine Researcher Receives New Innovator Award from National Institutes of Health

Acceleron Founder Dr. Tom Maniatis To Receive The 2012 Lasker Award in Medical Science

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Danzig

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing protein therapeutics for cancer and orphan diseases, announced that Tom Maniatis, Ph.D., an Acceleron co-founder and Professor and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is to be honored with the 2012 Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science. The Albert and Mary Lasker foundation award is considered to be one of the most prestigious scientific prizes and the Special Achievement Award recognizes its recipients for exceptional leadership and citizenship in biomedical science. Dr. Maniatis will be presented with the Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science on September 21st in New York City.

Dr. Maniatis is a pioneer in the development of gene cloning technology, and he has published extensively in the field of eukaryotic gene regulation. In particular, he identified numerous genetic defects that underlie the inherited human illness -thalassemia. Dr. Maniatis is widely known for his seminal work developing gene cloning technologies and applying those methods to discovering the genetic bases of human diseases. His book, The Cloning Manual, has become a world-wide resource.

In addition to these scientific accomplishments, Dr. Maniatis has been instrumental in creating successful biotechnology companies. He was a co-founder of Genetics Institute, where he chaired the scientific board and served on the board of directors for more than 17 years. During this time, Genetic Institutes gained FDA approval for several protein-based drugs, including recombinant human erythropoietin, Factor VIII and Factor IX, as well as bone morphogenic proteins. Dr. Maniatis was also a co-founder of ProScript Inc., which discovered the drug Velcade (bortezomib). Dr. Maniatis is currently a member of the board of directors at Acceleron.

Mark Ptashne, Ph.D., the Ludwig Chair of Molecular Biology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, a co-founder of Genetics Institute and Acceleron, and a previous Lasker awardee said, Ive worked with Tom for many years in both basic science and biotechnology,he is simply the best.

Tom has had an enormous impact on the scientific community and an equally impressive contribution to the discovery and development of innovative medicines at several biotechnology companies, said John Knopf, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Acceleron. I have had the distinct pleasure of knowing and working with Tom since I joined Genetics Institute 30 years ago. I personally continue to benefit significantly from his involvement at Acceleron as does our entire team of world-class scientists.

About Acceleron

Acceleron is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company committed to discover, develop, manufacture and commercialize novel protein therapeutics for orphan diseases and cancer. Accelerons scientific approach takes advantage of its unique insight to discover first-in-class therapies based on the TGF- protein superfamily. Acceleron utilizes proven biotherapeutic technologies and capitalizes on the companys internal GMP manufacturing capability to advance its therapeutic programs rapidly and efficiently. The investors in Acceleron include Advanced Technology Ventures, Alkermes, Avalon Ventures, Bessemer Ventures, Celgene, Flagship Ventures, MPM BioEquities, OrbiMed Advisors, Polaris Ventures, QVT Financial, Sutter Hill Ventures and Venrock. For further information on Acceleron, please visit http://www.acceleronpharma.com.

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Acceleron Founder Dr. Tom Maniatis To Receive The 2012 Lasker Award in Medical Science

BYU breakthrough targets birth defects – BYU biochemistry professor Emily Bates has made recent discoveries that may …

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Danzig

BYU biochemistry professor Emily Bates has made recent discoveries that may revolutionize medicine

BYU research has shed light on the cause and prevention of birth defects as well as cancer.

BYU biochemistry professor Emily Bates and a few of her students recently preformed and published research that may lead to a permanent answer for birth defects and impact how cancer is treated.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome anda rare condition called Andersen-Tawil Syndrome both cause birth defects like cleft palates, small or missing teeth andmisshapedor connected fingers and toes. Andersen-Tawil Syndrome is caused by genetic changes in a potassium channel, which is also the same channel blocked by consumption of alcohol.

Bates and her students made the revolutionary discovery that potassium channels help cells receive instructions that tell them what they are and where they should be.

Dr. Bates in the research lab

The instructions for cells to divide and move need to be sent during pregnancy while a baby is developing, but those signals should turn off after the baby is born so the cells stay where they are. In cancer cells, the signal has turned back on, allowing cells to metastasize or invade other tissues and allow for growth of new tumors.

Not only are Bates and her students excited to have found some information about the causes of Andersen-Tawil and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, they are also excited to test a possible therapy to stop the spread of cancer cells throughout the body.

What happens later on in life if someone gets cancer, is that this pathway turns on when its not supposed to turn on anymore, Bates said. The cancer cells start to metastasize, or invade another tissue causing more tumors. What we hope is that blocking this channel will block a signaling pathway that drives metastasis.

In other words, if Bates and her students can eventually find a way to block the channel after it opens back up, cancer cells will not spread throughout the body once the original tumor is removed.

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BYU breakthrough targets birth defects - BYU biochemistry professor Emily Bates has made recent discoveries that may ...

Novel non-antibiotic agents against MRSA and common strep infections

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Danzig

Public release date: 12-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jessica Studeny jessica.studeny@case.edu 216-368-4692 Case Western Reserve University

Menachem Shoham, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has discovered novel antivirulence drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Streptococcus pyogenes, commonly referred to as strep, harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease. The promising discovery was presented this week at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco.

MRSA infections are a growing public health concern, causing 20,000 to 40,000 deaths per year in the United States alone. It is the most prevalent bacterial pathogen in hospital settings and in the community at large, with about one million documented infections per year nationally, costing an estimated $8 billion annually to treat.

The problem has become increasingly severe as the bacteria have developed a resistance to antibiotics. As result, health care providers are running out of options to treat patients suffering from antibiotic-resistant infections, like MRSA and strep, creating a dire need for alternative treatments and approaches.

"Staph bacteria are ubiquitous and normally do not cause infections, however, occasionally these bacteria become harmful due to their secretion of toxins," says Dr. Shoham. "We have discovered potential antivirulence drugs that block the production of toxins, thus rendering the bacteria harmless. Contrary to antibiotics, these new antivirulence drugs do not kill the bacteria. Since the survival of the bacteria is not threatened by this approach, the development of resistance, like that to antibiotics, is not anticipated to be a serious problem."

Dr. Shoham identified a bacterial protein, known as AgrA, as the key molecule responsible for turning on the release of toxins. AgrA, however, needs to be activated to induce toxin production. His goal was to block the activation of AgrA with a drug, thus preventing the cascade of toxin release into the blood that can lead to serious infections throughout the body.

The screening for AgrA inhibitors was initially carried out in a computer by docking libraries of many thousands of "drug-like" compounds and finding out which compounds would fit best into the activation site on AgrA. Subsequently, about 100 of the best scoring compounds were tested in the laboratory for inhibition of the production of a toxin that ruptures red blood cells. Seven of these compounds were found to be active. Testing compounds bearing chemical similarity to the original compounds lead to the discovery of additional and more potent so-called "lead" compounds.

Optimization of the initial "lead" compounds was performed by chemical synthesis of 250 new compounds bearing small but important chemical modifications on one of the initial leads. More than a dozen active compounds have been discovered by this method. The best drug candidate reduces red blood cell rupture by 95 percent without affecting bacterial growth.

Beginning this fall, Dr. Shoham and colleagues will begin testing the drug candidate in animal models.

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Novel non-antibiotic agents against MRSA and common strep infections

Two Columbia Professors Win Lasker Foundation Awards for Their Work in Biological Sciences

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Danzig

Two Columbia professors have won prestigious Lasker Foundation Awards for their work in biological sciences.

Tom Maniatis, the Isidore S. Edelman Professor of Biochemistry and chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University Medical Center, will receive the 2012 Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science. Maniatis is known for both his research on the mechanisms of gene regulation and his Molecular Cloning Manual. The award, which he will share with the Carnegie Institutions Donald Brown, is given to scientists for exceptional leadership and citizenship in biomedical science.

I am deeply honored to receive the Lasker Special Achievement Award in Medical Science, said Maniatis. I became a scientist because of the excitement of making discoveries, but to see the impact of these discoveries on the treatment of human disease has been particularly gratifying.

On the Morningside campus, Michael Sheetz, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Biological Sciences, won the Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for his part in discoveries concerning cytoskeletal motor proteins, machines that move cargos within cells, contract muscles, and enable cell movements. The basic research award is given to those scientists whose techniques or concepts to the elimination of major causes of disability and death, according to the Lasker Foundation.

He won it with two other scientists, Stanford Universitys James Spudich and Ronald Vale of the University of California, San Francisco, with whom hes been working for many years. I am deeply honored to receive the Lasker with friends and wish to thank the many people in my lab and our collaborators who contributed so much to the overall effort, said Sheetz.

The Lasker Awards, which carry an honorarium of $250,000 for each category, will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, September 21, in New York City. Since the inception of the Lasker Awards in 1945, 81 Lasker laureates have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, 29 in the last two decades.

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Two Columbia Professors Win Lasker Foundation Awards for Their Work in Biological Sciences

Dr. Tom Maniatis honored with 2012 Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Danzig

Public release date: 10-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Karin Eskenazi ket2116@columbia.edu 212-342-0508 Columbia University Medical Center

NEW YORK (September 10, 2012) Tom Maniatis, PhD, the Isidore S. Edelman Professor of Biochemistry and chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University Medical Center, is to receive the 2012 Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science. Dr. Maniatis is known for both his research on the mechanisms of gene regulation and his Molecular Cloning Manual. Dr. Maniatis will receive the award on Sept. 21 in New York City.

"I am deeply honored to receive the Lasker Special Achievement Award in Medical Science," said Dr. Maniatis. "I became a scientist because of the excitement of making discoveries, but to see the impact of these discoveries on the treatment of human disease has been particularly gratifying."

"Tom Maniatis' work is the quintessential example of the path from basic science to clinical applications," said Lee Goldman, MD, executive vice president of Columbia University and dean of the faculties of health sciences and medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. "His cloning manual is used by researchers worldwide, while his research contributions are at the foundation of current thinking about genetics."

In 1980 James Watson, PhD, director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), asked Maniatiswho was on the Harvard faculty at the timeto teach new genetic engineering techniques during a summer course at CSHL and then to produce a manual. The resultant Molecular Cloning Manualpublished in 1982 and often referred to as "the Bible" by students and researcherscontained practically every technique biologists needed to manipulate DNA.

Scientists could now identify genes that cause disease and then produce new drugs such as human insulin; and the techniques were indispensable for the success of the Human Genome Project. Dr. Maniatis' laboratory developed many of the techniques in the manual, which he coauthored with his postdoctoral fellow Ed Fritsch, PhD, and Joe Sambrook, PhD, the scientific director at CSHL.

Using the new techniques, Dr. Maniatis was the first to isolate a human gene and to use the cloned gene to identify deletion and substitution mutations that cause disease. The gene beta globin, for example, is part of the hemoglobin complex, and the mutations Dr. Maniatis identified cause a blood disease called beta thalassemia.

Maniatis also created the first complete human "genomic" DNA librarya collection of DNA containing every human genewhich made it possible to isolate and study any human gene. As with his genetic engineering techniques, Maniatis freely shared this library with other researchers.

In other research, Dr. Maniatis and his students uncovered important details of how information in genes is turned into proteins, including the mechanisms of transcription and RNA splicing.

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Dr. Tom Maniatis honored with 2012 Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science

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