The same technology used in COVID-19 vaccines holds promise as a new approach to liver disease treatment. Michele Dula Baum, Senior Writer/Project Manager, Strategic Communications, Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor, Health Sciences, reports in PittMed where the science is heading in this new therapy methodology.
Cardiomyopathy is a disease that affects the heart muscle. In cardiomyopathy, the damaged heart muscle becomes enlarged, thick, or rigid, and cannot pump blood effectively. It’s the leading cause of heart failure and the most common reason for needing a heart transplant. Unlike other heart problems, cardiomyopathy frequently affects younger people.
Fighting cancer and chronic disease is tiring work for the immune system. When T cells are engaged in this kind of lengthy battle, they can become exhausted, or unable to function properly. One immunotherapy that revitalizes these cells by blocking an immune checkpoint protein called LAG3 was recently approved by federal regulators. But exactly how LAG3 works has remained a mystery — until now.
The Lee/Oesterreich Lab of the Magee-Women’s Research Institute is headed by the husband/wife team of Adrian Lee, PhD (pictured left), Professor of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology and Human Genetics, and Director, Institute for Precision Medicine, and Steffi Oesterreich, PhD (pictured right), Professor & Vice Chair, Precision and Translational Pharmacology, and Co-Director of the Women’s Cancer Research Center. Dr. Oesterrich is also an affiliated faculty member of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
The Society For Biomaterials hosted its 2022 Annual Meeting at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, April 27-30, 2022. The theme for the 2022 Annual Meeting was “The Perilous Fight to Translate Innovative Research to Commercial Viability.” This year’s program focused on ideas that involve breakthroughs in biomaterials science, translation of basic research to clinical application, next-generation medical devices, and content that explores standards development, regulatory issues, and commercial realities.
Eva Lai, PhD, made a site visit to the University of Pittsburgh in 2006 when she was building a national research program for regenerative medicine for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to address wounded warriors’ injuries. The program was the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM) that resulted in over $200 million in research investments. AFIRM, a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary network working to develop advanced treatment options for our severely wounded servicemen and women, is ongoing. McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine Director William Wagner, PhD, is its Chief Science Officer in the collaborative AFIRM effort of the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine and the McGowan Institute.
Almost one third of babies born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or HLHS, die from heart failure before their first birthday. By uncovering cellular processes that drive heart failure in these young patients, a new study may hold the answers to identifying and treating those at highest risk of early death.
For people with tetraplegia—a condition in which all four limbs have lost motor ability—regaining independence is a top priority. Although there is no cure for paralysis caused by neurological disorders, robotic arms and exoskeletons may provide some assistance. Controlling these robotic devices, however, is a complex problem. Researchers have experimented with voice control (which struggles to translate verbal commands into a three-dimensional space), brain-computer interfaces (which require complex surgery), and joysticks (which often mean multiple rounds of positioning for each arm segment).
The University of Pittsburgh Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship presented its 2022 Celebration of Innovation on April 21, 2022. This event recognized the achievements of Pitt faculty and student innovators who are seeking to improve people’s lives through the commercialization of their ideas and discoveries. In addition to recognizing all faculty and students who submitted an invention disclosure, were issued a U.S. patent, or had their innovation licensed, there were seven special awards presented. The efforts of two McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty members were recognized among these special awards.
Four paralyzed people in Australia can now operate a computer using only their thoughts thanks to a brain implant developed in part by Carnegie Mellon University’s Douglas Weber, PhD, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Neuroscience and an affiliated faculty member of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Emily Mullin, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, recently spoke with Dr. Weber on the status of this brain-computer interface.
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Jessie VanSwearingen, PhD, PT, Professor of Physical Therapy in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, was named a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) for her outstanding contributions to the group.
The International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) has announced the results of the 2022 member elections for Professional Community Leaders, who serve as representatives to the four ISHLT Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committees. Seventeen leaders across seven professional specialties were elected to serve three-year terms beginning May 1, 2022, immediately following the 2022 ISHLT Annual Meeting. Two of the 17 leaders elected are McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty members:
