McGowan Institute?
December 2006 | VOL. 5, No 12 | www.McGowan.pitt.edu
McGowan Institute Distinguished Lectureship
The McGowan Institute Distinguished Lecture Series will begin on January 11, 2007 and will highlight the research of some of the nation’s most gifted, creative, and innovative scientists whose work will hold great interest for McGowan Institute Faculty. In addition to providing the opportunity to showcase their pioneering work here, these lectures also provide an opportunity for these distinguished guests to meet with some of our own preeminent scientists. We all recognize that great science does not occur in a vacuum and the networking and possible collaboration that these visits offer is of benefit to all of the participants.
For the Spring Term, the lectures are as follows:
January 11, 2007
Art Coury, Ph.D.
Vice President Biomaterials Research-Genzyme
Topic: Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine: Perceptions, Realities and Implications
February 8, 2007
Nicholas Peppas, Sc.D.
Fletcher Pratt Chair of Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmaceutics at the University of Texas at Austin
Topic: Nanostructured Biomaterials and Surfaces for Biological Recognition
We encourage you to participate in the lecture series, and to have your trainees and staff to attend as well. If you have an interest in personally meeting with any of the lecturers, please contact Lindsay Lawry (lawryle@upmc.edu or 412-235-5117) so that we can work to accommodate all interested faculty in the itinerary for each guest.
All of the lectures, which are free and open to the public, will take place at 4 PM on the designated day in the Public Health Auditorium, Parren Hall.
For Additional Information, please click here.
McGowan Institute Retreat - Please Save The Date
On-Line Registration Will Be Available in January
McGowan Institute - 2007 Scientific Retreat
March 5 and 6, 2007
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort - Farmington, PA
A promising collaboration has been developed between Professor Joerg Gerlach and Professor Ian Nettleship. Professor Gerlach’s lab focuses on the development and application of bioreactors, used to grow cells. Professor Nettleship’s lab focuses on the development of porous ceramics that can mimic the structure of bone marrow.
Working with the undergraduate and graduate students in these labs, the Nettleship Lab has prepared specially configured porous ceramics to mimic the structure of bone marrow and these ceramics will be used as cores in the bioreactors that have been developed by the Gerlach Lab for the growth of adult bone marrow stem cells. Such stem cells are of great interest for the production of blood cells for the human immune system. Initial cell compatibility tests for aluminum oxide and hydroxyapatite ceramics are encouraging and prototype bioreactors have been constructed for testing. In addition to advancing the science, such collaborations are invaluable to the students in terms of their ability to understand these emerging biomedical technologies.
Center for Vascular Remodeling and Regeneration
The Center for Vascular Remodeling and Regeneration (CVRR) has organized an event for
Thursday, January 18, 2007 (4:00 pm to 7:00 pm), that includes:
Lecture: “The Human Response to Arterial Injury: Recent Advances in Controlling Intimal Hyperplasia” - by Dr. Alexander Clowes (University of Washington)
“Speed Dating”: “Speed Dating”Session (a chance to meet new colleagues and form new collaborations in an organized sequence of short face-to-face chats with colleagues).
Please RSVP by January 5, 2007 to CVRR@upmc.ed
The McGowan Institute welcomes Dr. Gabi Amitai to Pittsburgh. Dr. Amitai’s professional home is in the Department of Pharmacology at the Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness Ziona Israel, where he is the Project Manager of the Pharmacology Research Group. While in Pittsburgh on sabbatical, Dr. Amitai’s professional home will be in the Russell Laboratories.
Dr. Amitai earned his Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the Weizmann Institute of Science (1981) and also has earned a Master of Science in Management degree from the Israeli Annex of the Polytechnic Institute-New York (2001).
Dr. Amitai has distinguished himself through his research on new medical treatments, and the detection and decontamination of chemical warfare (CW) agents. In particular, his group was the first to demonstrate rapid detoxification of persistent CW agents by enzymatic oxidation using chloroperoxidase and other haloperoxidases at neutral pH. He is also recognized for his research and pre-clinical studies with new lipophilic quaternary carbamates as cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitors for the potential treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and the development of reversible dioxaphosphorinanes as potential drugs for glaucoma and other PNS cholinergic impairments.
During the last several years Gabi Amitai has been involved in the development of novel CNS active bifunctional compounds comprised of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) coupled by a hydrophobic spacer to a pro-cholinergic moiety. Some of these compounds elicited remarkable efficacy in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mouse model for human multiple sclerosis. A unique mechanism of action was demonstrated with certain bifunctional compounds in rat brain cells based on the inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) at sub-micromolar concentrations.
Dr. Amitai has received Weizmann Postdoctoral, American Muscular Dystrophy Association, and Senior National Research (Walter Reed Army Institute of Research) fellowships. Gabi Amitai was awarded with the Prof. E.D. Bergman award for Chemistry by the Israeli Academy of Sciences (1994). He was also a postdoctoral fellow and assistant research pharmacologist in the Palmer Taylor Labs-University of California at San Diego, and a visiting scientist, Laboratory of Cell Biology and Genetics, NIDDK, NIH. Dr. Amitai continues to be an active researcher and lecturer.
Mary Amanda Dew, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Epidemiology recently received the 2006 Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine Research Award for outstanding contributions to research in the field of psychiatric illness in medically ill populations. This was based primarily on her work in organ transplant populations, including individuals receiving ventricular assist device support. In this work, Dr. Dew and her colleagues focused not only on psychiatric illness but in the identification of factors that affected long-term quality of life outcomes in these individuals. Much of this work was done in collaboration with Dr. Robert L. Kormos, McGowan Institute Medical Director. Dr. Dew also serves as the Director of the Clinical Epidemiology Program, Associate Director of the Advanced Center for Interventions and Services-Research in Late Life Mood Disorders, Director of Quality of Life Research-Artificial Heart Program-Adult Cardiothoracic Transplantation.
Michael Boninger, M.D., Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the School of Medicine’s department of physical medicine and rehabilitation, has been inducted into the National Spinal Cord Injury Association’s Spinal Cord Injury Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Washington’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Dr. Boninger, who also is associate dean for medical student research at the medical school, has done extensive research on the prevention of pain and injury in wheelchair users. He was selected for this honor based on his contributions to enhancing the quality of life of individuals with spinal cord injuries.
REGENERATIVE MEDICINE PODCASTSThe Regenerative Medicine Podcasts continue to be well received. There have been nearly 6,000 downloads to date. The most recent podcasts are:
Visit www.regenerativemedicinetoday.com to keep abreast of the new interviews. |
#23- Peter DeComo MOLECULAR ART NETWORKING SESSIONS
Based on the requests of faculty and graduate students for more and different types of networking sessions, the Moleculart project continues. Our goal is to have a scientific gathering that fosters networking in a different environment. The next session will be in the Spring, featuring artist Penny Oliver, wife of Chris Oliver, MD. Please check back for the date.
Publication of the Month
Publication of the Month | December 2006 |
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| Author(s) | Ryosuke Kuroda, Arvydas Usas, Seiji Kubo, Karin Corsi, Hairong Peng, Tim Rose, James Cummins, Freddie H. Fu, Johnny Huard |
| Title | Cartilage repair using bone morphogenetic protein 4 and muscle-derived stem cells |
| Summary | Objective: Muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs) isolated from mouse skeletal muscle exhibit long-time proliferation, high self-renewal, and multipotent differentiation. This study was undertaken to investigate the ability of MDSCs that were retrovirally transduced to express bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP-4) to differentiate into chondrocytes in vitro and in vivo and enhance articular cartilage repair. Methods: Using monolayer and micromass pellet culture systems, we evaluated the in vitro chondrogenic differentiation of LacZ- and BMP-4-transduced MDSCs with or without transforming growth factor 1 (TGF1) stimulation. We used a nude rat model of a full-thickness articular cartilage defect to assess the duration of LacZ transgene expression and evaluate the ability of transplanted cells to acquire a chondrocytic phenotype. We evaluated cartilage repair macroscopically and histologically 4, 8, 12, and 24 weeks after surgery, and performed histologic grading of the repaired tissues. Results: BMP-4-expressing MDSCs acquired a chondrocytic phenotype in vitro more effectively than did MDSCs expressing only LacZ; the addition of TGF1 did not alter chondrogenic differentiation of the BMP-4-transduced MDSCs. LacZ expression within the repaired tissue continued for up to 12 weeks. Four weeks after surgery, we detected donor cells that coexpressed -galactosidase and type II collagen. Histologic scoring of the defect sites 24 weeks after transplantation revealed significantly better cartilage repair in animals that received BMP-4-transduced MDSCs than in those that received MDSCs expressing only LacZ. Conclusion: Local delivery of BMP-4 by genetically engineered MDSCs enhanced chondrogenesis and significantly improved articular cartilage repair in rats. |
| Source | Arthritis & Rheumatism; Volume 54, Issue 2, Date: February 2006, Pages: 433-442 |
Grant of the Month
Grant of the Month | December 2006 |
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| PI | David Vorp, PhD |
| Co-PIs | Michael Chancellor, MD; Douglas Chew, BS; Johnny Huard, PhD; Naoki Yoshimura, MD, PhD |
| Title | Bioengineered Urethral Augmentation |
| Description | AIM 2 is to assess a TEUW composed of the BMPC-derived SMC-populated constructs from specific aim 1. Assessments will include both in vitro and in vivo analyses, using histological, functional, biomechanical, and immunological endpoints. Results will be compared with normal and diseased native urethra, as well as a TEUW constructed using isolated native urethral SMCs. Successful development a TEUW for an insufficient urethral continence mechanism would potentially provide relief from SUI and other urethral disorders. |
| Source | NIH-R21 |
| Term | 2 Years |