Biomedical Research News from AMSNY: April 2022

Highlights

Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo: The Pandemic’s Disproportionate Effect on Women in the Workforce is Impacting Academic Medicine

Like women in every other sector of the economy, those working in academic medicine have been negatively impacted by the exceptional demands put on them by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a commentary called “Pandemic-related barriers to the success of women in research: A framework for action.” It was published last month in Nature Medicine. Learn more.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Novel Therapeutic Strategy Shows Promise Against Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to cure or even treat. Now, a new strategy devised by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine has succeeded in making pancreatic tumors visible to the immune systems of mice and vulnerable to immune attack, reducing cancer metastases by 87%. The paper describing the findings published online today in Science Translational Medicine. Learn more.

COVID-19

University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry: Study Examines Second COVID Booster to Strengthen Immunity, Prepare for Future Waves

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers are leading a new national COVID vaccine study that will evaluate a second booster dose. The study will include a current approved vaccine and new investigational vaccines that target the Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants. The goal of the study is to determine which regime of vaccines offer the broadest immune response, which could offer protection against current and future variants. Learn more.

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: SARS-CoV-2: Three Leading Microbiologists Discuss the Path Forward

Microbiologists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who created the first and most reliable test to determine whether an individual has antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, have been monitoring the virus since it began circulating in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. Now, Peter Palese, PhD, Horace W. Goldsmith Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology, and Florian Krammer, PhD, Mount Sinai Professor in Vaccinology— weigh in on the future of SARS-CoV-2 and its place in our lives. Learn more.

Weill Cornell Medicine: Are COVID-19-Linked Arrhythmias Caused by Viral Damage to the Heart’s Pacemaker Cells?

The SARS-CoV-2 virus can infect specialized pacemaker cells that maintain the heart’s rhythmic beat, setting off a self-destruction process within the cells, according to a preclinical study co-led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian and NYU Grossman School of Medicine. The findings offer a possible explanation for the heart arrhythmias that are commonly observed in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Learn more.

New York Medical College Hosts 18th COVID-19 Symposium

New York Medical College hosted its 18th COVID-19 Symposium on March 22, which addressed the latest topics on COVID-19 from the news headlines. Expert panelists addressed COVID-19 found in white-tailed deer and what it means for humans; a fourth dose of vaccine; headaches as a symptom and as a long-term effect of prior infection; vaccination of children under five years of age; pandemics as the impetus for anti-Semitism; the rise in opiate-related deaths during the pandemic; and a legal perspective on mask mandates in public schools. Learn more.

Neurology

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: Findings From Brain Studies Shed Light on the Mystery of Consciousness After Brain Injury

The return of consciousness after traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains something of a mystery for scientists and is not easy to predict. A series of recently published studies by researchers in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University has found that by using technologies to monitor brain functions after TBI, scientists may be able to better predict who will “wake up” after TBI and what brain circuits to target to potentially treat disorders of consciousness. Learn more.

University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry: The Art of Smell: Research Suggests the Brain Processes Smell Both Like a Painting and a Symphony

What happens when we smell a rose? How does our brain process the essence of its fragrance? Is it like a painting – a snapshot of the flickering activity of cells – captured in a moment in time? Or like a symphony, an evolving ensemble of different cells working together to capture the scent? New research suggests that our brain does both. Learn more.

Albany Medical College Professor’s Research Aims to Better Predict Return to Sports After Concussion

Based on information from athletes in the Capital Region, an Albany Med sports medicine expert has published research showing how a multi-pronged quantitative assessment can serve as a more accurate predictor of when an athlete should return to competition after sustaining a concussion. Hamish Kerr, MD, Sports Medicine Fellowship Program Director and Professor of Medicine & Pediatrics, was the lead author for the study, published in the Sports Health Journal. Learn more.

SUNY Upstate Medical University: Two Upstate Neurologists Among Authors of New Guideline for Stroke Prevention in Some Patients

Two Upstate Medical University doctors are among a team of doctors nationwide that are authors of a new practice advisory for the American Academy of Neurology. Upstate professors of neurology Antonio Culebras, MD, and Julius Latorre, MD, MPH, are among 19 professionals who researched and wrote the new guideline, which was recently published in the AAN Journal. Learn more.

More Studies

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: New Study Identifies Gaps in Emergency Care for Youth in Crisis

Even before the COVID pandemic, visits to the emergency department and hospitalizations for children and young adults who have contemplated or attempted suicide had been rising. In North America today, suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 10 and 24, behind only accidental death. Learn more.

NYU Grossman School of Medicine Researchers Discover New Model for ‘Global’ DNA Repair

Two recent studies provide a radically new picture of how bacterial cells continually repair damaged sections (lesions) in their DNA. Led by researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the work revolves around the delicacy of DNA molecules, which are vulnerable to damage by reactive byproducts of cellular metabolism, toxins, and ultraviolet light. Learn more.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine Researchers Find New Strategy for Preventing Clogged Arteries

Revving up a process that slows down as we age may protect against atherosclerosis, a major cause of heart attacks and strokes. In findings publishing April 4 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine led by Ana Maria Cuervo, M.D., Ph.D., successfully minimized artery-narrowing plaque in mice that would otherwise develop those lesions. The researchers did so by boosting chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA), a cellular housekeeping process that Dr. Cuervo discovered in 1993 and named in 2000. Learn more.

Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo: Lower Dose of Insulin-Sensitizing Drug Benefits Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

An insulin-sensitizing drug can benefit patients with insulin resistance at lower doses than has typically been prescribed, according to a study co-authored by Paresh Dandona, MD, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo. Learn more.

NYU Grossman School of Medicine: Structure of a Bacterial ‘Drug Pump’ Reveals New Way to Counter Hospital-Borne Infection

By revealing the structure of a protein used by bacteria to pump out antibiotics, a research team designed an early-stage therapeutic that sabotages the pump and restores the effectiveness of antibiotics. Led by researchers from NYU, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and NYU Langone’s Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, a new study used advanced microscopy to “see” for the first time the structure of NorA, a protein that the bacterial species Staphylococcus aureus uses to pump out widely used antibiotics before they can kill them. Learn more.

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: New Type of Ultraviolet Light Makes Indoor Air as Safe as Outdoors

A new type of ultraviolet light that may be safe for people took less than five minutes to reduce the level of indoor airborne microbes by more than 98%, a joint study by scientists at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and in the U.K. has found. Even as microbes continued to be sprayed into the room, the level remained very low as long as the lights were on. Learn more.

Weill Cornell Medicine: Specialized Liver Blood Vessel Identity Factor Required for Regeneration

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have identified a key protein that induces the program to build specialized liver blood vessels. The discovery could lead to engineered replacement hepatic tissue to treat common liver diseases. In the study, published March 31 in Cell Stem Cell, the researchers found that a protein called c-Maf—a member of the transcription factor class of proteins that control large sets of genes—is required for naive endothelial cells to mature specifically into liver sinusoidal blood vessels. Learn more.

Faculty

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: Flescher Appointed to NYS Transplant Council

Andrew Flescher, PhD, Core Faculty member in the Program in Public Health, Professor in Family, Population, and Preventive Medicine, and Professor of English at Stony Brook University, has been selected by the governor of New York to serve on the New York Transplant Council. Flescher will serve in this capacity through December 31, 2023, at which time the appointment is renewable. The council consists of 21 members, seven of which are directly appointed by the governor, including Flescher. He is to serve as the expert in medical ethics on this statewide council. Learn more.

Awards & Grants

CUNY School of Medicine: Dr. Keosha Bond, Dr. Victoria Frye Named Principal Investigators on $3.3 Million Grant

CUNY School of Medicine faculty Dr. Keosha Bond and Dr. Victoria Frye received a five-year NIH grant for over 3.3 million dollars. The project is entitled Estimating the Impact of a Multilevel, Multicomponent Intervention to Increase Uptake of HIV Testing and Biomedical HIV Prevention among African-American/Black Gay, Bisexual and Same-gender Loving Men. The project will design and test intervention approaches to increase access to HIV testing. Learn more.

Albany Medical College: $3.2 Million NIH Grant Supports Albany Med Research on Circadian Disruption

Albany Medical College scientists are among a multi-institution research team to receive $3.2 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study why disruptions in circadian rhythms increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease. “Millions of essential workers who work night shifts are impacted by circadian disruption, but there are no proven therapies that prevent or lessen its harmful effects,” said Antonio Paul, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Albany Medical College, one of three scientists leading the study. Learn more.

More News

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: Could a Community-Based Approach to Genetic Testing Help African Americans Reduce Risks of Chronic Kidney Disease?

In 2010, scientists discovered that African Americans who are born with certain variants of a gene called apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) have a higher-than-average risk for experiencing chronic kidney disease (CKD). Now, in a new study of African Americans with hypertension, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai find that a community-based approach to reporting APOL1 genetic test results back to individuals may have beneficial effects. Learn more.

New York Medical College: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Projected to Improve Life Expectancy for People with HIV and Depression in South Africa

Depression affects approximately 30 percent of people with HIV (nearly 750,000 people) in South Africa and is associated with both poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy and increased mortality. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been found to be a cost-effective treatment to improve both depression and viral suppression in these patients, thus increasing life expectancy, in a recent study led by Aditya Gandhi, New York Medical College School of Medicine Class of 2024, which he presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in February. Learn more.