medical research and innovation : Innovation + Job News

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered the molecular sensor that lets cells not only "feel" changes to their shapes, but also helps them regain their ready-to-split symmetry. In a study published September 15 in Current Biology, the researchers explain that two force-sensitive proteins accumulate at the sites of cell-shape disturbances and cooperate first to sense the changes and then to resculpt the cells. The proteins � myosin II and cortexillin I � monitor and correct shape changes in order to ensure smooth division.

"What we found is an exquisitely tuned mechanosensory system that keeps the cells shipshape so they can divide properly," says Douglas N. Robinson, Ph.D., an associate professor of Cell Biology, Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Faulty cell division can put organisms, including people, on the pathway to diseases such as cancer. Abetter understanding of how cells respond to mechanical stress on their shapes could lead to new technologies for diagnosing and treating such diseases.

Researchers worked with single-celled protozoa that move and divide similarly to human cells, and watched through microscopes while they deformed the cells' shapes with a tiny instrument that, like a soda straw, sucks in on the cell surface and creates distorted shapes.

During the experiments, as soon as the two proteins accumulated to a certain level, the cells contracted, escaped the pipettes and reassumed their original shapes. Once the cells had returned to their proper shape, the accumulated proteins realigned along the cells' midlines and pinched to divide symmetrically into two daughter cells.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Douglas Robinson, JHUSM

Bathing critically ill hospital patients with the same antibacterial agent used by surgeons to "scrub in" prior to performing an operation can reduce the number of patients infected with potentially deadly bloodstream infections by as much as 73 percent, according to a new study by patient safety experts at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and five other institutions.

Bloodstream infections impact about one in five patients in hospital intensive care units increasing their chance of dying by as much 25 percent. In cases were they are not fatal, these infections can significantly increase the average length of hospital stays by seven days and add as much as $40,000 in costs.

The study tracked daily neck-to-toe sponge baths with a mild, 4 percent solution of chlorhexidine glutonate, given to 2,650 ICU patients at six different U.S. hospitals. Chlorhexidine glutonate is the same antibacterial agent used by surgeons while scrubbing in for an operation and by dentists as a potent mouthwash to guard against gum disease.

Weekly swab testing showed that 32 percent fewer patients had signs of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and 50 percent fewer cases of vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), when compared to a similar number of ICU patients (2,670) at the same hospitals who were washed with just plain soap and water. MRSA and VRE are the two most common superbugs affecting hospital patients. 

"Doing everything possible to ward of bloodstream infections and halt the spread of these dangerous bacteria is essential to safeguarding our patients' well-being, encouraging their speedy recovery and sparing valuable hospital resources," says study co-investigator Trish Perl, M.D., director of hospital epidemiology and infection control at Johns Hopkins.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Trish Perl, Johns Hopkins Hospital

Researchers at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center involved in a preliminary study of the Hedgehog signaling pathway report positive responses to an experimental anticancer drug in a majority of people with advanced or metastatic basal cell skin cancers. One patient with the most common type of pediatric brain cancer, medulloblastoma, also showed tumor shrinkage.

Initial results of the drug trial, conducted at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, the Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit and the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Scottsdale, Ariz. are published online in the Sept. 3 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. The publication also details side effects of the drug, including muscle cramping, hair loss, fatigue and low blood sodium.

Known as GDC-0449, the compound is designed to inhibit the Hedgehog signaling pathway, which researchers believe fuels the growth of some cancers. The pathway was originally named for the oblong hedgehog-like shape of fly embryos when a key gene in the pathway is disrupted.

Related research by Johns Hopkins and Genentech investigators reported online in the Sept. 3 issue of Science Express reveals more findings on the medulloblastoma case.

"We know that both of these cancer types have mutations in Hedgehog pathway genes, and our results with Hedgehog inhibitors could be the starting point for developing a new type of therapy for these intractable cancers," says Charles Rudin, M.D., Ph.D., associate director for Clinical Research at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

In the Phase I clinical study, 33 patients with advanced basal cell skin cancer were treated with GDC-0449, an oral drug made by Genentech. Patients were enrolled at Johns Hopkins, Wayne State University's Karmanos Cancer Center, and the Translational Genomics Research Institute.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Dr. Charles Rudin, John Hopkns Kimmel Cancer Center

Researchers at the University of Maryland Joslin Diabetes Center are testing whether a novel immunotherapy drug, otelixizumab, will help prevent the destruction of insulin-producing cells in patients newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The center is the only site in Maryland and just 1 of 100 sites in North America and Europe taking part in the Phase III clinical trial.

In type 1 diabetes, the body's immune system attacks the pancreas' beta cells. People with the disease use regular insulin injections to help them process sugar. Patients have about 20 percent of their functioning beta cells left when they are first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, according to Thomas W. Donner, M.D., lead investigator of the University of Maryland study.

"Preserving these remaining beta cells would be very beneficial to patients. Studies have shown that when type 1 diabetes patients are still making some of their own insulin, their blood sugar levels are much easier to control and they require less insulin," says Dr. Donner, medical director of the Joslin Diabetes Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "If this therapy proves to be effective, it could potentially lead to fewer low blood sugar reactions and complications from diabetes in the future."

The clinical trial, the Durable-Response Therapy Evaluation for Early or New-Onset Type 1 Diabetes, is called DEFEND-1, is sponsored by Tolerx, Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., company that is producing the drug in conjunction with GlaxoSmithKline. The study is also being funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Dr. Thomas Donner, U of MD

A new $11.2 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will enable researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and three other centers to improve the treatment of chronic heart failure. This multifaceted research program is the largest effort of its kind to focus on a basic question in heart failure whether nutritional changes impact heart function helping patients with a failing heart.

The heart, like the rest of the body, needs fuel to work properly.Food is transformed into the electrical energy that causes the heart to pump during metabolism. Impaired metabolism is both a cause and effect of heart failure. Cell structures known as mitochondria are at the center of the process.

"Years of untreated high blood pressure or loss of cardiac tissue and scarring after a heart attack cause certain mitochondria to develop defects," says William C. Stanley, Ph.D., professor of medicine and director of cardiovascular sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who leads the research program. "Different substances from food affect the mitochondria in different ways. We want to improve those defective mitochondria and prevent the mitochondria from going bad when they are constantly under stress."

Dr. Stanley and investigators at three other institutions, Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and New York Medical College, have collaborated for 10 years. Their work, funded with a previous NIH grant, has already produced 85 peer-reviewed journal publications and has provided many insights into the causes and results of heart failure.

Dr. Stanley and his team will investigate new dietary changes to prevent and treat heart failure. Their hypothesis is that the electrical abnormalities that lead to heart failure can be reversed by consumption of a diet low in carbohydrates and sugar, and high in polyunsaturated fat. "We want to figure out how to improve this transfer of energy so the function of the heart is maintained in the early stages of heart failure or even before heart failure has been established," he says.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Dr. William Stanley, U of MD School of Medicine

BioMarker Strategies, developer of SnapPath a novel automated tumor biopsy processing and testing system, has raised $1.7 million during a private funding round. 

During this funding round that coincided with the Maryland Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit Program, the largest investment came from the Abell Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to the enhancement of the quality of life in Baltimore, Maryland, including the promotion of job growth in the region.

"We are honored to have the Abell Foundation as our first institutional investor. We also welcome their support of our effort to develop a live tumor cell testing system designed to help oncologists choose the right drug therapy for their cancer patients," says K�ren Olson, CEO of BioMarker Strategies. "Even in this challenging economic environment, we found that investors are eager to support innovative biotech companies."

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: BioMarker Strategies

Champions Biotechnology, a developer of advanced preclinical platforms and tumor specific data designed to enhance and accelerate the
value of oncology drugs, will deploy its Biomerk Tumorgraft platform to guide development of new oncology therapeutics.

The platform enables identification of the most promising development path possible cancer therapies in terms of indication, drug combination, and target patient population. The platform also has the potential to identify gene pathways of response and resistance as well as prognostic molecular biomarkers.

"We are excited to continue the growth of our impressive client base and begin working with one of the most respected global leaders in the discovery and development of novel therapies," says Doug Burkett, Ph.D., President of Champions Biotechnology, Inc.

"Studies suggest that evaluation of oncology compounds through our Biomerk Tumorgraft platform will lead to more successful and efficient clinical development. The value-added by an optimally targeted, more efficient clinical path can result in cost savings, improved clinical and commercial success and significantly more years of patent life following commercialization," he adds.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Doug Burkett, Champions Biotechnology, Inc.

Johns Hopkins University (JHU) researchers have developed a highly sensitive test that searches for DNA attachments that often serve as early warning signs of cancer. The new technology uses tiny crystals called quantum dots to detect the presence and quantity of certain DNA changes. It could be used to detect people at risk for developing cancer and let doctors know the effectiveness of a particular cancer treatment.

Published in the August issue of the journal Genome Research, the test was developed by Jeff Tza-Huei Wang, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Center.

"If it leads to early detection of cancer, this test could have huge clinical implications," said Jeff Tza-Huei Wang, an associate professor of mechanical engineering whose lab team played a leading role in developing the technique. "Doctors usually have the greatest success in fighting cancer if they can treat it in its early stage."

Writer: Walaika Haskins

Source: JHU

The University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI) has reached a deal with Plasmonix, Inc. that grants the company license to its metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF)patents. The agreement stipulates that Plasmonix creates a new spin-off company located in Maryland.

MEF technology dramatically increases the sensitivity and speed of a broad range of diagnostic and biological assays for DNA and for proteins. It has multiple applications in clinical diagnostics and homeland security.

One real world application of MEF technology will detect the elevated enzymes associated with a heart attack in 20 seconds as a patient is transported via ambulance to the hospital. From a security perspective, it can be used to rapidly detect minute amounts of biohazard agents.

The new company will be dedicated to bringing the MEF technology developed by UMBI's Institute of Flourescence to the marketplace.

"MEF is a major breakthrough for biological diagnostics and the spin-off of Plasmonix is just one example of the ways that UMBI addresses important human needs by bringing new technologies from the laboratory bench to the marketplace," says Dr. Jonathan Gottlieb, director of Technology Transfer and Commercialization for UMBI.

In a nationwide survey comparing job postings to the number of unemployed, Baltimore earned the No. 3 spot.

According to Indeed.com, an online job hunting site, there's one job for each unemployed person in the city. The survey looked at the top 50 metropolitan areas in the U.S. based on its index of over 50 million jobs posted each year.

Washington, D.C. came in first place with a total of six jobs for every unemployed person, while Jacksonville took the No. 2 slot with employers there offering 3 jobs for each unemployed resident.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Indeed.com

Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) have teamed up to train postdoctoral research fellows from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and other federal labs in the region on starting technology-based companies.

The joint project, a result of a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through its Partnerships for Innovation program, will establish an ACTiVATE at NIH program in Montgomery County. It builds on a successful ACTiVATE program at UMBC that trains mid-career women to start companies using technologies developed at area universities and research institutions.

"We are pleased to expand the ACTiVATE® model to Montgomery County and to offer the program to the talented group of scientists working as postdocs at NIH and other federal labs in the region. In the course of four years, the program at UMBC has trained 92 women and launched over 25 companies; we hope to bring that same success to this new venture," says Stephen Auvil, assistant vice president for research at UMBC and a co-principal investigator on the NSF award

Intended to stem the flow of highly skilled, postdoctoral fellows at NIH who leave the state each year, the new program will provide postdocs with the training and support needed to start new companies in Maryland or pursue an entrepreneurial career.

Offering postdocs the opportunity to develop new skills that transform research into viable businesses will lead to rewarding career paths and contribute to the growth of Maryland's life sciences industry, and also advance medical science by moving emerging technologies from the lab to the marketplace.

The program will recruit postdoc fellows and members of the business community to form interdisciplinary teams and pursue opportunities for startup companies. The JHU Carey Business School will receive funding under the award to offer ACTiVATE at NIH at their Shady Grove campus in Rockville.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Stephen Auvil, UMBC

The National Institute of Health has awarded $20 million to the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute for Genome Sciences to create a Genomic Sequencing Center for Infectious Diseases. The money will be used to sequence and analyze the genomes of infectious organisms, including agents of bioterrorism and new or emerging diseases. The grant is the largest the 2-year-old institute has received to date.

The upcoming center could have significant impact, helping the medical community with the sudden outbreak of emerging diseases such as H1N1 flu, SARS and food-borne illnesses. Genomic research into these emerging diseases can be used to develop new diagnostic and treatment tools to combat infection.

"This project places the University of Maryland School of Medicine and IGS front and center in infectious disease research nationwide. Our work under this project could lead to new drugs, vaccines and diagnostic tools in the fight against infectious diseases, from emerging diseases," says Claire Fraser-Liggett, Ph.D., director of IGS and a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Not only will the grant put the IGS and Baltimore on the national radar for its genomic research, it is also designed to encourage collaboration between the IGS and outside clinicians or other scientists with unusual or significant pathogen samples they would like to have sequenced and analyzed. The federal funds will cover the costs of the sequencing and analysis will create a library of information that can be shared with researchers throughout the country. In return for their proposing projects and providing samples, outside researchers will have access to the genomic information IGS scientists discover.

The program is also designed to enable IGS and other research centers to respond rapidly and readily within a matter of days or weeks to a bioterrorist attack or the outbreak of an infectious disease.

Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Claire Fraser-Liggett, Ph.D., University of Maryland School of Medicine