Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
FSM Researcher
Feinberg School of Medicine Research Office
December 2013
In this issue...
Zebrafish have helped scientists better understand early postnatal development of the
skull and face, and how genetic diseases affect them. In this image, dark purple
areas indicate sections of skull bones that grow together after birth.
Genes and Pediatric Diseases
Arun Gosain, MD, professor of plastic surgery, is beginning to answer questions he
couldn’t think of asking a year and a half ago.
“Prior to coming to Northwestern, our lab didn’t have the ability to pose a question
and implement genetics research in an attempt to find the answer. The zebrafish
has changed that,” said Gosain, a member of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's
Hospital of Chicago Research Center. “The model is conducive to genetic research
because we can externally fertilize hundreds of eggs at a given time, and conduct what
would be in-utero manipulation in the mammal, to eggs in water.”
2
Pediatrics, ctd.
3
Faculty profile:
Neil Kelleher, PhD
4
Staff profile:
Daniel Rademacher
5
Student Q&A:
Jennifer Heller
Sponsored research
6
7
Sponsored research, ctd.
Scientific images
8
High impact research
9
In the news
Welcome new faculty
10
Funding
Events
Follow Feinberg Online
In the zebrafish, Gosain has found an impeccable system for studying early postnatal
development of the skull and face.
“We have identified genes in normal zebrafish involved with the development of sutures in the cranium – the sections of the skull bones that grow together shortly after
birth,” Gosain said. “We are now looking to follow the pattern of those genes in zebrafish with abnormal skull development.”
The latest data show that 70 percent of protein-coding human genes are related to
genes found in the fish, and 84 percent of genes known to be associated with human
disease have a zebrafish counterpart.
Through an innovative approach that integrates genetics with cell biology and live
imaging techniques, Gosain is able to study craniofacial development throughout the
animal’s lifecycle.
His goal is to eventually define what causes conditions
Continued on pg. 2
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FSM Researcher
December 2013
Pediatrics, continued from pg. 1
like craniosynostosis, which occurs when
the bones of the skull fuse prematurely in
one of every 2,000 births. By genetically
modifying molecular and cellular processes
in the fish embryos, the lab is working
to clarify gene regulation during suture
formation.
“We are no longer looking for genes associated with sutures, but the ones actually causing the issues,” said Jolanta
Topczewska, PhD, research associate professor of plastic
surgery. “We know there are associated genes in humans,
but we don’t know if they are causative. In the animal models, we can take that question of association and attempt to
establish a cause-and-effect relationship.”
Arun Gosain,
MD
Gosain is among a cadre of scientists at Lurie Children’s
Research Center assessing and targeting the molecular determinants of disease.
“Our genetic researchers are building the cornerstone of personalized medicine,” said Mary Hendrix, PhD, president and
scientific director of the research center. “The work taking
place in our labs highlights what might be achieved by identifying specific genetic factors that cause pediatric diseases.”
Debra WeeseMayer, MD
Recognized for her work with rare disorders, Debra E. Weese-Mayer, MD, professor in pediatrics-autonomic medicine, is a
pioneer in the emerging discipline of pediatric autonomic medicine. The autonomic
nervous system (ANS) regulates breathing,
body temperature, heart-rate, blood pressure, and more, with innately automatic
functioning.
“Before our Center, there was no specific
discipline of ANS research in pediatrics,” said Weese-Mayer,
chief of the Center for Autonomic Medicine in Pediatrics
(CAMP) at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of
Chicago. “We needed to better understand how all of the
‘automatic’ systems fit together and so in building the first
CAMP in the world, we designed child-friendly tools to measure autonomic dysregulation.”
The unique center has emerged as a leader in studying the
genetic basis of congenital central hypoventilation syndrome
(CCHS), rapid-onset obesity with hypothalamic dysfunction,
hypoventilation, and autonomic dysregulation (ROHHAD),
and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
“We had been taking care of and studying children with
CCHS for years and at a certain point used deductive reasoning to determine that it was going to be a genetic disease,” Weese-Mayer said. “In 2003, after several years of
Page 2
inquiry, we were
able to show that
PHOX2B is the
disease-defining
gene for CCHS.”
The discovery,
published in the
American Journal of
Medical Genetics,
opened a new world
for Weese-Mayer’s
lab. Today, the gene
continues to aid
investigators researching the basic
science of breathing, heart-rate regulation, and cerebral
blood flow.
“That discovery was Debra Weese-Mayer, MD, (shown with
the turning point for a patient) links genetic mutations to
pediatric diseases.
us, when the parts
of CCHS became
explainable. Based on the specific PHOX2B mutation, we
were able to anticipate who would experience the prolonged
sinus pauses (variations in heart rate), who was most likely
to get a neuroblastoma, or who is going to need 24-hour-aday artificial ventilation,” she said. “All of a sudden, this big
quagmire became clearer, and we soon developed the first
clinically available PHOX2B testing (for patients and expectant parents), which provided an early confirmation of CCHS
diagnosis.”
The group donated the patent for that test to Chicago
Community Trust, an organization that supports CCHS
research.
In 2003 Weese-Mayer also met her first patient with
ROHHAD. The boy seemed too chubby, had obstructive
sleep apnea, hypoventilation, and had experienced a cardiorespiratory arrest after a viral illness. She says a lot of head
scratching ensued before the epiphany: she realized the little
three-year-old was one of those unique children described in
1965 – and rarely thereafter – who had sudden inexplicable
rapid-onset weight gain. From there, Weese-Mayer and her
team more thoroughly described the look of the disease and
renamed it with the acronym ROHHAD.
“We have devoted years to researching ROHHAD and we
hope to have the same good luck as with characterizing
CCHS,” Weese-Mayer said. “We are deep into genetic inquiry, are continuing to define the traits, and have built an
international registry and tissue bank that have been critically important to get a handle on this disorder as the children
mature.”
FSM Researcher
December 2013
Faculty Profile: Neil Kelleher, PhD
Walter and Mary E. Glass Professor of Molecular Biosciences
Neil L. Kelleher, PhD, Walter
and Mary E. Glass Professor of
Molecular Biosciences, professor of chemistry and medicine,
and director of the Proteomics
Center of Excellence at
Northwestern University, is a
big picture kind of guy.
“The goal is to catalogue all of
the protein molecules in all of
the cells of the human body,”
said Kelleher, regarding the
international Human Proteome
Project. “We believe that the
estimated 20,300 genes in the
human genome are processed into upward of a billion distinct protein molecules in a healthy person.”
Responsible for the first large-scale demonstration of topdown, or whole, protein identification at Northwestern in
2011, Kelleher’s training in high-performance mass spectrometry and enzymology began in the late ’90s. He continues to bridge the Evanston and Chicago campuses to drive
technological development of high-performance mass spectrometry for biology, chemistry, and medicine.
“Medicine is going molecular, and cancer genomes are currently demonstrating this in clinical research,” Kelleher said.
“Following the arc and legacy of the Human Genome Project,
the role of high-resolution molecular measurement of small
molecules and proteins in the body allows for a deeper
molecular-level understanding of human disease. Mass spectrometry—the core capacity of our Northwestern labs—has
seen major improvements in performance, and stands ready
to provide high return on investment.”
What are your research interests?
Q&A
The Kelleher Group is focused on top-down
proteomics, natural products discovery and
biosynthesis, and cancer epigenetics. An
underlying focus, driving the major line of
research, is our continued push toward optimizing instrumentation and bioinformatic approaches to best drive unique applications of top-down analysis at Northwestern, in the areas
of transplantation, HIV, and cancer research.
How does your research advance medical science and
knowledge?
We measure precisely how abnormal enzymes that drive
disease states create altered proteins and metabolites in
precisely-grouped patient populations.
Page 3
What collaborations are you involved in?
I collaborate with about four dozen laboratories; mostly
with faculty in the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer
Center of Northwestern University and the Comprehensive
Transplant Center. The research consortium I've begun, the
Consortium for Top-Down Proteomics, now has more than
200 members and investigators.
Why is now an opportune time to collaborate with more
medical school faculty?
Dean Neilson wants to grow the research enterprise; one way
to do this is through an increased competitiveness in research funding, where modern metabolomics and proteomics
technology is highly enabling and valued during peer review.
How did you become interested in this research?
In my youth, I rebuilt automobile engines and became interested in scientific hardware, but always loved enzymes,
too. Enzymes led me through chemical biology and enzymology, which led to an interest in how abnormal enzymes drive
disease.
How is your research funded?
Mostly through the National Institutes of Health, but
Northwestern also invested in the launch phase of the
Proteomics Center of Excellence. We are now planning a second growth phase on the Chicago campus, as the need for
proteomics far outstrips our current capacity.
What is the future of top-down proteomics?
The promise of a top-down strategy is that the molecular
data collected on proteins will be more closely linked to
disease. Accurate identification of whole proteins (instead of
small, artificially-created peptides) should lead to a sharply
increased rate for the identification of high-value biomarkers
and early detection of disease. Another use will be the ability to track the outcome of treatments. We are dramatically
changing the strategy for understanding protein molecules
at a fundamental level. It’s a slow moving revolution, and
Chicago has the chance to be the world’s epicenter.
Who has been your biggest influence?
My career path was largely influenced by my work in the
late ’90s with Fred McLafferty at Cornell University and
Christopher Walsh at Harvard Medical School. My mother
was also a big influence and taught me never to put limits on
the height of my goals, though I did not expect to be quite so
well-positioned at this point in life.
FSM Researcher
December 2013
Staff Profile: Daniel Rademacher
Manager, Research Administration,Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive
Cancer Center at Northwestern University
Where are you originally from?
I am from a small town named
Fowler, Michigan (located north
of Lansing).
What is your educational
background?
I attended Central Michigan
University, where I studied political science. I have taken two business law classes at Northwestern
University.
Tell us about your professional background.
I have worked numerous jobs, including restaurant waiter
and at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Why did you decide to work at Northwestern?
This is a great story. I applied to Northwestern University at
the recommendation of my former boss at the Art Institute.
The position I applied to was in the medical school development office. When I was called for an interview, I assumed it
was for that position. I arrived for the interview and realized
it was for a different position, nowhere close to development.
Since I had the Friday afternoon off, I was basically thinking
about who would meet me out for happy hour, and couldn't
care less about whether I got the position. A few weeks later
they called and offered me the job in the Office for Clinical
Research and Training. It paid more, and I could take more
classes than the AIC. That was 15 years ago.
How do you personally help investigators at Feinberg?
I assist Northwestern faculty with large grant applications
and contracts. If awarded, I help administer the grant funds
and monitor spending.
What professional activities do you take part in?
I was a founding member of the Northwestern University
Research Administration Professionals (NURAP), a educational, mentoring, and professional network for people in
research. I am a 12-year member of the Society of Research
Administrator International (SRA). I have presented at
NURAP and SRA meetings. I also serve as a community
volunteer for the Institutional Biosafety Committees of the
Ann and Robert H. Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the
Illinois Institute of Technology.
What is your favorite part of the job?
Having a grant or contract funded.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like to travel and eat out.
Anything else we should know about you?
I am a rabid college sports fan.
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Page 4
FSM Researcher
December 2013
Student Q&A: Jennifer Heller
Driskill Graduate Program in Life Sciences
Jennifer Heller knew she wanted to study immunology when
she started in the Walter S. and
Lucienne Driskill Graduate Training
Program in Life Sciences (DGP).
After spending her first year taking
courses and rotating in labs, she
is completing her thesis in the lab
of Liang Zhou, MD, PhD, assistant
professor in pathology and microbiology-immunology, who joined the
University in 2009.
Where is your hometown?
Mesa, Arizona.
What is your educational background?
I earned dual bachelor’s degrees in evolutionary biology
and ecology and Spanish from the University of Arizona,
then worked at Novartis in pharmaceuticals. Coming from a
non-traditional background hasn’t hindered me in any way
at Northwestern University; if anything, it has made me a
stronger scientist.
What are your research interests?
My thesis project is focused on immunology, specifically,
where the immune system responds to the environment. I
work at the interface of bacterial interactions with immune
cells, and my specific project looks at the regulation of a
subset of immune cells that fall in the adaptive side.
The immune system has two responses: one is the initial,
or innate, response, a general response against a pathogen
or something recognized as foreign. The later stage is the
adaptive response, which is more specific and it is tailored
to the actual pathogen it is responding to.
In autoimmune diseases like Crohn's disease and ulcerative
colitis, the body becomes disregulated; you have excess
inflammation in the gut, which causes horrible symptoms
for patients. We are trying to figure out at the molecular
level why this occurs and why the inflammation can’t be
regulated.
What is the ultimate goal of your research?
Ultimately, I would like to identify a new target for therapeutics in autoimmune disease. We hope to find a molecular component of the inflammation pathway that could be
targeted more precisely, instead of the more generic TNF
inhibitors that have a lot of side effects for patients.
Page 5
Why did you choose Northwestern?
First, I chose Northwestern because of the caliber of faculty. The school was hiring a lot of new immunology faculty
at the time I interviewed, which was exciting, and there
seemed to be a lot room for growth within the University
in immunology area. Second was the location. I love being
downtown, and being close to the hospital has been helpful
for my progress. The city in general is a great place to live,
and it was a great place for my spouse to relocate.
Why did you pick the Zhou lab for your research?
I choose the lab of Liang Zhou because this is a new area
of immunology, and I’m excited about the progress being
made. The lab is joint pathology and microimmunology, so
there are many potential collaborators and a lot of resources
available to us inside and outside of the university.
What have you enjoyed about your experience at
Northwestern?
I’ve really enjoyed the vast opportunities available to graduate students. I was appointed to a training grant during
my first year in the lab (second in university), a cellular
and molecular basis of disease training grant, and through
that grant I have been involved in large symposia at the
university.
I’ve been able to see high-impact speakers through the
grant, the university, and the Lectures in the Life Sciences
series. And I was a graduate writing fellow. I’ve also been
involved in over the past few years as a founding officer and
as co-president of the Advanced Degree Consulting Alliance
of Northwestern, which is a student organization that spans
both campuses as well as multiple schools to provide information on consulting as an alternative career option.
►
Watch Jennifer Heller discuss choosing a thesis advisor.
FSM Researcher
December 2013
Sponsored Research
Daniel Mroczek, PhD
Professor of Medical Social Sciences,
Feinberg School of Medicine
Professor of Psychology,
Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
For example, if physiological activation is the main conduit
by which high neuroticism or high hostility influence chronic
disease and mortality, and then effective interventions for
people high on those traits (and who increase) may need to
be different from those who are low in these characteristics.
Project title: Personality and Well-Being
Trajectories in Adulthood
Finally, by testing antecedents of personality change,
Mroczek believes he can potentially identify early points of
intervention in a long-term explanatory chain that ultimately
leads to chronic disease or mortality.
Sponsor: National Institute on Aging
Two sets of recent and intriguing findings may tie together
the previously separate areas of lifespan personality development and health psychology. It is now known that personality traits change over the lifespan, and that certain personality traits predict disease onset and mortality. By combining
these two approaches, Mrozek's team has begun to demonstrate that change in personality traits predicts mortality.
In this grant, the team will test several mechanisms that
link personality (both level and change) to health (i.e., onset
of disease and mortality). Considering each of the Big Five
traits (and subtraits), they will test two competing models
of the mechanisms linking personality to health. These two
models of the personality-health association are the physiological (Smith & Gallo, 2001; Suls & Rittenhouse, 1987) and
the health behavior models (Contrada et al., 1990; Hampson
& Friedman, 2008).
In aim one, they will test both models for each trait, keeping open the possibility that each pathway might account
for a portion of the personality-health pathway. In aim two,
they will add the effect of personality change to these two
conceptual models.
This research will clarify which mechanism (physiological or
health behaviors, or a combination) provides a better link
between personality and health outcomes for each of five
key traits. The two conceptual models will compete against
one another, using long-term longitudinal data. Clarification
of mechanisms will permit deeper understanding of the
explanatory pathways that connect personality to disease
and death. The research will contribute to the shift of both
personality and health researchers to thinking of personality
as dynamic rather than static.
Instead of treating personality as a fixed risk factor, scientists may begin to think of traits as dynamic, and that
disease or mortality risk associated with a certain level of
a trait is itself variable. As personality traits change over
the lifespan, so do the risks associated with them. This has
the potential to transform current thinking about the influence of personality traits on health. It also opens avenues
for application by suggesting which kinds of intervention will
work for people with certain traits and particular trait change
patterns.
Page 6
Robert Murphy, MD
Director, Center for Global Health, Institute
for Public Health and Medicine
John Philip Phair Professor of Infectious
Diseases
Professor of Engineering
Project title: Developing Innovative
Interdisciplinary Biomedical Engineering
Programs in Africa (D43)
Sponsor: John E. Fogarty International Center for Advanced
Study in the Health Sciences
Broad interdisciplinary training programs which address
critical needs in low and middle income countries (LMIC)
can significantly increase the translation of research findings into realized health benefits. Northwestern University is
establishing comprehensive training programs in biomedical
engineering that include identification of critical health care
needs, product design, delivery, clinical evaluation, scalability and product launch. The theme of our program involves
the development of effective, affordable, and easy to use
innovative biomedical devices that can advance diagnostics,
therapeutic interventions and disease monitoring.
The overall goal of this project is to provide the tools to develop critically needed healthcare technologies in LMICs with
a special emphasis on HIV-related diagnostic technologies.
The specific aims of the project are to:
• Establish new and enhance existing training programs in
biomedical engineering in Africa
• Train biomedical engineers and medical doctors how to
evaluate newly developed HIV-related and other testing
and treatment products
• Train post graduates from business schools to scale up
development and launch new products in LMICs
The healthcare technologies being developed and employed include innovations that improve health outcomes
and are cost-effective, including novel point-of-care medical
Continued on pg. 6
FSM Researcher
Sponsored research, continued from pg. 7
diagnostic devices, therapeutic interventions, information
systems, and telemedicine diagnostics facilitated through
mobile phones.
The primary emphasis of this project is to develop products
related to HIV/AIDS. We are using a bottom-up approach and
emphasizing South-South research training and assessment.
The overall result of these efforts is to develop trans-institutional, cross-disciplinary and innovative training programs in
biomedical engineering, starting with needs assessment and
product design, continuing to validation, intellectual property
protection, production and finally to marketing and distribution in the LMICs.
This project builds on Northwestern’s successful original
December 2013
Framework Programs for Global Health (Frameworks-1) which
supported the development of a multidisciplinary global
health curricula and creation of the Center for Global Health
in the Feinberg School of Medicine, the Center for Innovation
in Global Health Technologies in the McCormick School of
Engineering and the Global Health Initiative at the Kellogg
School of Management. Frameworks-1 specifically led to the
close collaboration of clinical and basic research involving
medical, engineering and business schools as well as the establishment of the Northwestern Global Health Foundation,
an independent not-for-profit which supports post-university
commercial development of new healthcare products. Our
LMIC partners include the University of Cape Town in South
Africa, and the University of Ibadan and Lagos University in
Nigeria.
Stunning Science
For the fourth year in a row “Capturing the
Beauty of Science” celebrated the aesthetic side of research, featuring the work
of faculty, students, and staff in disciplines from genetics to engineering.
Cindy Danielson, who recently earned her
PhD while working in the lab of Thomas
Hope, PhD, professor in cell and molecular biology, submitted the fourth place image “Mapping the Road Blocks.”
Because HIV can only infect certain types
of cells, and these cells are located deep
within the tissue (autofluorescent green
with nuclei shown in blue), Tte virus
must first travel through a protective layer
of dead cells (yellow) located close to
the edge of the tissue. If HIV makes it
through that protective layer, it still has to
get past proteins that hold cells together,
like adherens junctions (red), before it
can find cells to infect. The Hope lab
uses human tissue samples obtained from
biopsies or surgeries to study the biological barriers that HIV encounters during
sexual transmission. If scientists can learn
more about these barriers, they have a
better chance of developing new methods
to strengthen these natural defenses and
protect against HIV infection. The imaging "Mapping the Road Blocks," by Cindy Danielson, recently won fourth place in
Northwestern's Scientific Images Contest.
technique used here was Deconvolution
microscopy with false coloring.
Page 7
FSM Researcher
December 2013
High Impact Factor Research: October 2013
Bilimoria KY, Chung J, Ju MH, Haut ER, Bentrem DJ, Ko CY, Baker DW. Evaluation of surveillance bias and the validity
of the venous thromboembolism quality measure. JAMA- Journal of the American Medical Association. 2013 Oct
9;310(14):1482-9.
Bulun SE. Uterine fibroids. New England Journal of Medicine. 2013 Oct 3;369(14):1344-55.
Fowkes FG, Rudan D, Rudan I, Aboyans V, Denenberg JO, McDermott MM, Norman PE, Sampson UK, Williams LJ, Mensah
GA, Criqui MH. Comparison of global estimates of prevalence and risk factors for peripheral artery disease in 2000 and
2010: a systematic review and analysis. Lancet. 2013 Oct 19;382(9901):1329-40.
Green JR, Costa AB, Grzybowski BA, Szleifer I. Relationship between dynamical entropy and energy dissipation far from
thermodynamic equilibrium. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A. 2013 Oct 8;110(41):16339-43.
Jensen SA, Day ES, Ko CH, Hurley LA, Luciano JP, Kouri FM, Merkel TJ, Luthi AJ, Patel PC, Cutler JI, Daniel WL, Scott
AW, Rotz MW, Meade TJ, Giljohann DA, Mirkin CA, Stegh AH. Spherical Nucleic Acid Nanoparticle Conjugates as an RNAiBased Therapy for Glioblastoma. Science Translational Medicine. 2013 Oct 30;5(209):209ra152.
Klos Dehring DA, Vladar EK, Werner ME, Mitchell JW, Hwang P, Mitchell BJ. Deuterosome-mediated centriole biogenesis.
Developmental Cell. 2013 Oct 14;27(1):103-12.
Leung CY, Palmer LC, Kewalramani S, Qiao B, Stupp SI, Olvera de la Cruz M, Bedzyk MJ. Crystalline polymorphism
induced by charge regulation in ionic membranes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A. 2013 Oct
8;110(41):16309-14.
Manson JE, Chlebowski RT, Stefanick ML, Aragaki AK, Rossouw JE, Prentice RL, Anderson G, Howard BV, Thomson CA,
LaCroix AZ, Wactawski-Wende J, Jackson RD, Limacher M, Margolis KL, Wassertheil-Smoller S, Beresford SA, Cauley JA,
Eaton CB, Gass M, Hsia J, Johnson KC, Kooperberg C, Kuller LH, Lewis CE, Liu S, Martin LW, Ockene JK, O'Sullivan MJ,
Powell LH, Simon MS, Van Horn L, Vitolins MZ, Wallace RB. Menopausal hormone therapy and health outcomes during the
intervention and extended poststopping phases of the Women's Health Initiative randomized trials. JAMA- Journal of the
American Medical Association. 2013 Oct 2;310(13):1353-68.
Ono M, Yin P, Navarro A, Moravek MB, Coon JS 5th, Druschitz SA, Serna VA, Qiang W, Brooks DC, Malpani SS, Ma
J, Ercan CM, Mittal N, Monsivais D, Dyson MT, Yemelyanov A, Maruyama T, Chakravarti D, Kim JJ, Kurita T, Gottardi
CJ, Bulun SE. Paracrine activation of WNT/β-catenin pathway in uterine leiomyoma stem cells promotes tumor growth.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A. 2013 Oct 15;110(42):17053-8.
Powell ND, Sloan EK, Bailey MT, Arevalo JM, Miller GE, Chen E, Kobor MS, Reader BF, Sheridan JF, Cole SW. Social stress
up-regulates inflammatory gene expression in the leukocyte transcriptome via β-adrenergic induction of myelopoiesis.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A. 2013 Oct 8;110(41):16574-9.
Samuelov L, Sarig O, Harmon RM, Rapaport D, Ishida-Yamamoto A, Isakov O, Koetsier JL, Gat A, Goldberg I, Bergman R,
Spiegel R, Eytan O, Geller S, Peleg S, Shomron N, Goh CS, Wilson NJ, Smith FJ, Pohler E, Simpson MA, McLean WH,
Irvine AD, Horowitz M, McGrath JA, Green KJ, Sprecher E. Desmoglein 1 deficiency results in severe dermatitis, multiple
allergies and metabolic wasting. Nature Genetics. 2013 Oct;45(10):1244-8.
Wang BS, Feng L, Liu M, Liu X, Cang J. Environmental enrichment rescues binocular matching of orientation preference in
mice that have a precocious critical period. Neuron. 2013 Oct 2;80(1):198-209.
Webb RC, Bonifas AP, Behnaz A, Zhang Y, Yu KJ, Cheng H, Shi M, Bian Z, Liu Z, Kim YS, Yeo WH, Park JS, Song J,
Li Y, Huang Y, Gorbach AM, Rogers JA. Ultrathin conformal devices for precise and continuous thermal characterization of
human skin. Nature Materials. 2013 Oct;12(10):938-44.
Help Feinberg Track Journals
The Feinberg Research Office regularly tracks research published by Feinberg investigators. The citations are used on
web pages, in newsletters and social media, for internal reporting, and more. To more accurately track these journals, the
Research Office asks that Feinberg investigators use the following institution name in the address field when publishing in
peer-reviewed journals: “Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.”
Page 8
FSM Researcher
Research in
the News
Reuters, November 20
Team of Chicago hospitals awarded grant to
accelerate stroke research
Shyam Prabhakaran was quoted.
FOX News, November 19
How playing music can keep your brain
healthy
Nina Kraus' research was featured.
The New York Times, November 17
Physicians can tailor treatment for each
patient
Clyde Yancy authored an article.
WGN-TV, November 15
Local doctors breathing new life into COPD
treatment
Ravi Kalhan's work was featured.
NPR, November 12
US doctors urge wider use of cholesterol
drugs
Neil Stone and Donald Lloyd Jones' work on
the new cholesterol guidelines was featured.
► This work was also featured in the New
York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street
Journal, Washington Post, and all major US
news media.
The New York Times, November 11
Long-term benefits of music lessons
Nina Kraus' resesarch was featured.
► This study was also featured on MSN.
com, CNN, in Time, and more.
NPR, November 8
Rickets making a comeback in the UK
Craig Langman was interviewed.
US News & World Report, November 6
Bipolar disorder drug may need adjusting
in pregnancy, study finds
Crystal Clark's research was featured.
UPI.com, November 5
Smartphones know what we're doing could
improve health
Konrad Kording's research was featured.
More headlines
December 2013
Welcome New Faculty
Junhee Seok, PhD, joins as assistant professor of
preventive medicine-health and biomedical informatics.
He received his Doctor of Philosophy and Master
of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from
Stanford University in California. There, he also
completed his postdoctoral research jointly in the
Department of Statistics and the Stanford Genome
Technology Center.
Seok’s research involves developing and applying computational methods to study complex diseases, utilizing
big biomedical data and knowledge. His current focus is integrating heterogeneous multiscale information from the molecular level to environmental
level. He is also interested in computational issues coming from innovative
bio/information/health-technology developments for medical applications.
Betina Yanez, PhD, joins as assistant professor of
medical social sciences.
She received her Doctor of Philosophy and master’s
degrees in clinical psychology, health psychology
track, from the University of California–Los Angeles.
She completed her clinical health psychology internship at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago,
and her postdoctoral research fellowship at Feinberg in
healthcare studies and clinical psychology-supportive
oncology. She was chief postdoctoral fellow in the
Department of Medical Social Sciences.
Yanez’s research focuses on the psychosocial aspects of undergoing cancer
diagnosis and treatment and on quality of life outcomes among post-treatment cancer survivors. She has a strong interest in racial/ethnic disparities
in patient-reported outcomes among cancer survivors, especially among
Latinos, and in investigating psychosocial, cultural, and economic mechanisms underlying disparities.
Lorand Honored at Symposium
A group of preeminent scholars recently
joined University leaders, distinguished
guests, and current faculty to honor
Laszlo Lorand, PhD, professor emeritus
in Cell and Molecular Biology, at a scientific symposium.
“I am so pleased to be able to take this
opportunity to look back on a number of
landmark achievements our group has
made,” said Lorand, who has been at
Northwestern University since 1955.
Read more about the symposium.
Page 9
Laszlo Lorand, PhD
FSM Researcher
December 2013
Funding Opportunities
Featured Events
Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs) in
Human Cancer for Years 2013 and 2014 (P50)
More information
Cancer Center Tumor Cell Biology Seminar
12.19 Lurie
"Lost in ubiquitination, found by mass spectrometry: Novel proteolytic mechanism implicated
in lymphoma pathogenesis," presented by Kojo
Elenitoba-Johnson, MD, University of Michigan
Health System.
Sponsor: United States Department of Health and Human
Services, National Institutes of Health
Submission Deadline: January 21
Upper Amount: $12.5 million
Synopsis: This program will fund five-year P50 SPORE
grants to support state-of-the-art translational research
that will contribute to improved prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of an organ-specific cancer
(or a related group of cancers). SPOREs are expected not
only to conduct a wide spectrum of research activities, but
also to contribute to the development of specialized shared
resource core facilities, improved research model systems,
and collaborative research projects with other institutions.
The research must be translational in nature and must always be focused upon knowledge of human biology stemming from research using cellular, molecular, structural,
biochemical, and/or genetic experimental approaches with
the goal of an endpoint within the five-year term of the
grant. In addition, SPOREs must include a developmental
research program for pilot studies and a development program to foster careers in organ-based translational science.
NEI Translational Research Program (TRP) on Therapy for
Visual Disorders (R24)
More information
Sponsor: United States Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Eye
Institute
Submission Deadline: January 28
Upper Amount: $6.5 million
Date: Thursday, December 19, 1 to 2 p.m.
Location: Lurie Research Center — Searle
303 E. Superior St. (Chicago campus)
Contact: [email protected]
More information
Seminar
12.20 Physiology
Presented by Stephen Moss, PhD, Tufts University.
Moss' lab focuses on "receptors that meditate the
actions of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the
principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate nervous system."
Date: Friday, December 20, Noon to 1 p.m.
Location: Ward Building — Rm. 5-230
303 E. Chicago Ave. (Chicago campus)
Contact: [email protected]
More information
1.6
First Mondays Faculty Development Seminar Series
"The NIH grant review process," presented by
Rick McGee, PhD, and William Lowe, MD,
Northwestern University.
Date: Monday, January 6, Noon to 1 p.m.
Location: Lurie Research Center — Searle
303 E. Superior St. (Chicago campus)
Contact: [email protected]
More information
Synopsis: This program focuses on the development of
novel therapies to treat visual diseases and disorders.
Here, an expert develops a multi-disciplinary research
team that applies an integrative approach to develop rapid
translation of innovative research findings into clinical
therapeutic development. It involves collaborative teams of
scientists and clinicians with expertise in multiple disciplines. Such a collaborative approach is appropriate for research focused on pathways that will likely be targeted by
biological intervention, such as gene therapy, cell-based
therapy, and pharmacological approaches. The intention
of this program is to make resources available to scientists
from several disciplines to address scientific and technical
questions that would be beyond the capabilities of any one
research group.
More events
View more funding opportunities
Event organizers are encouraged to submit calendar items on Plan-It
Purple for consideration. Please contact the Research Office with further
questions.
Page 10
SAVE THE DATE:
TENTH ANNUAL
LEWIS LANDSBERG RESEARCH DAY
APRIL 3, 2014