July 2014 News from the Medical Schools: Research

The Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY) brings you the following compilation of the most recent updates and news on research from the academic medical centers in the state.

Researchers at the Academic Medical Centers

Outstanding Neuroscience Scholars Win 2014 Bishop Fund Awards
July 11, 2014 – In recognition of their research accomplishments, scholars in the University at Buffalo’s Neuroscience Program have received awards from the Beverly Petterson Bishop and Charles W. Bishop Neuroscience Fund.

Investigators from Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine to Presen Data at 2014 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference
July 8, 2014 – Researchers from Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University will present new findings at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) being held July 12 – July 17 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Data from the four abstracts will focus on triggers that could prompt transition from cognitive normality to mild cognitive impairment and dementia. The research is part of the Einstein Aging Study, established in 1980 to examine healthy brain aging as well as the special challenges of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Every 67 seconds, someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s disease.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grants for Research

NIH Awards Team of University of Rochester Scientists $9 Million to Study Immune System in Action
July 17, 2014 – Since the early days of Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch & Lomb, Rochester-area innovators have been making astounding discoveries in optics and imaging. Researchers at the University of Rochester are beginning a major study that will add to the region’s imaging expertise, while also advancing global understanding of how the body’s immune system works.

$3.6 Million Grant Funds Asthma Study for Urban Teens
July 7, 2014 – In an attempt to help urban teens keep their asthma symptoms in check, Jill Halterman, M.D., M.P.H., professor of pediatrics at University at Rochester Medicine’s Golisano Children’s Hospital, has developed a study which combines giving students their medications at school with motivational counseling specifically designed for teens.

Researchers Receive $12.6M NIH Grant to Study Alzheimer’s Genetics

July 7, 2014 – Researchers from Columbia University’s Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain and Departments of Neurology, Epidemiology, and Systems Biology are part of a five-university collaboration receiving a $12.6 million, four-year grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to identify rare genetic variants that may either protect against or contribute to Alzheimer’s disease risk.

Other Funds for Research

Improving Health Outcomes
July 17, 2014 – Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center have received a $2.5 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to establish a training program to improve the practice of healthcare in real-world settings. The program, in an emerging area called patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR), will be housed in the Harold and Muriel Block Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Einstein and Montefiore and will prepare established and junior investigators to initiate and lead research in this area.

Upstate Medical University among nine SUNY campuses to share $900,000 funding
July 10, 2014 – Upstate Medical University is among nine SUNY campuses to share $900,000 in funding for biomedical research projects supported by the State University of New York Health Network of Excellence. The announcement was made this week by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. – Upstate Medical University is among nine SUNY campuses to share $900,000 in funding for biomedical research projects supported by the State University of New York Health Network of Excellence. The announcement was made this week by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Variations in Key Gene Predict Cancer Patients’ Risk for Radiation-Induced Toxicity

July 8, 2014 – Key genetic variants may affect how cancer patients respond to radiation treatments, according to a study published this week in Nature Genetics. The research team, which included researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, found that variations in the TANC1 gene are associated with a greater risk for radiation-driven side effects in prostate cancer patients, which include incontinence, impotence and diarrhea.

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© 2014 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. All rights reserved.

New Program to Detect Early Lunch Cancer in Current and Former Smokers

July 2, 2014 – In response to a recent national study showing that CT scans in a select high-risk population lower lung cancer deaths, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center has launched a lung cancer screening program for those at risk for developing the disease. The program uses low-dose CT scans to detect cancer in its earliest stages, giving patients a significantly better chance to survive the disease. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for men and women in the United States and current data shows that most lung cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage.

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© 2014 Weill Cornell Medical College. All rights reserved.

Young Hispanics Often Obese, at Risk for Heart Disease

July 9, 2014 – The first large-scale study on body mass index (BMI) among U.S. Hispanics shows obesity is common among this group and is particularly severe among young Hispanics. Researchers also found that Hispanics with severe obesity are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. The research, led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, was published online today in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA).

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© 2014 Albert Einstein College of Medicine. All rights reserved.

Restoring Thyroid Hormones in the Heart May Prevent Heart Disease from Diabetes

June 25, 2014 – Administering low doses of a thyroid hormone to rats with diabetes helps restore hormone levels in their hearts and prevented deterioration of heart function and pathology, according to a new study by NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine Professor and Biomedical Sciences Chair A. Martin Gerdes.

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Columbia University Medical Cener Study Shows How Effects of Starvation Can be Passed to Future Generations

July 17, 2014 – Evidence from human famines and animal studies suggests that starvation can affect the health of descendants of famished individuals. But how such an acquired trait might be transmitted from one generation to the next has not been clear. A new study, involving roundworms, shows that starvation induces specific changes in so-called small RNAs and that these changes are inherited through at least three consecutive generations, apparently without any DNA involvement. The study, conducted by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers, offers intriguing new evidence that the biology of inheritance is more complicated than previously thought. The study was published in the July 10 online edition of the journal Cell.

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© 2014 Columbia University Medical Center. All rights reserved.

Patient-Specific Stem Cells and Personalized Gene Therapy

July 10, 2014 – Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have created a way to develop personalized gene therapies for patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a leading cause of vision loss. The approach, the first of its kind, takes advantage of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology to transform skin cells into retinal cells, which are then used as a patient-specific model for disease study and preclinical testing.

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© 2014 Columbia University Medical Center. All rights reserved.

Study Finds Link Between Inflammation in Maternal Blood and Schizophrenia in Offspring

July 17, 2014 – Maternal inflammation as indicated by the presence in maternal blood of an established inflammatory biomarker, early gestational C-reactive protein, appears to be associated with greater risk for schizophrenia in offspring. In a study by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, for every 1 mg/L increase in maternal C-reactive protein, the risk of
schizophrenia increased by 28 percent.

Measuring Nurture: Study Shows How “Good Mothering” Hardwires Infant Brain

July 7, 2014 – By carefully watching nearly a hundred hours of video showing mother rats protecting, warming, and feeding their young pups, and then matching up what they saw to real-time electrical readings from the pups’ brains, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have found that the mother’s presence and social interactions — her nurturing role — directly molds the early neural activity and growth of her offsprings’ brain.

New Medication Shows Promise in Treating Common Skin Disease

July 9, 2014 – An investigational medication shows promise in treating the most common skin disorder, often referred to as eczema or atopic dermatitis, according to a study published July 9 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The findings could eventually bring significant relief for many who suffer intense itching and other troubling features of atopic dermatitis, according to the study’s lead author Lisa A. Beck, M.D., professor of Dermatology and Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

New Chocolate-Flavored Soft Chews Good for Your Teeth

July 9, 2014 – A dream come “chew” for your teeth? Researchers at Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine and Ortek Therapeutics, Inc., have developed a chocolate-flavored soft chew that is actually beneficial for your teeth. BasicBites™ is a sugar-free chewy that helps maintain healthy teeth by supporting the normal acid-base (pH) levels that exist on tooth surfaces while coating the teeth with a mineral source.

NYU Researchers Find 18 Percent of High School Seniors Smoke Hookah: Higher Socioeconomic Status Associated with Higher Rates of Hookah Use

July 7, 2014 – While cigarette use is declining precipitously among youth, evidence indicates that American adolescents are turning to ethnically-linked alternative tobacco products, such as hookahs, cigars, and various smokeless tobacco products, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Researchers offer insight into needs, risks of low-wage workers and the impact on public health

July 7, 2014 – As low-wage jobs continue to show strong gains since the recession, findings from the Low-Wage Workers’ Health Project led by Upstate Medical University is offering insight into how these jobs affect public health and the economy in Syracuse, N.Y., and reflect national trends in issues related to low-wage workers.

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