Dr. Ari Melnick and colleagues have received a multi-investigator collaborative grant from the National Cancer Institute in support of clinical trials for the treatment of cancer; this, following their most recent discovery involving a tumor-targeting compound known as PU-H71, which was published in Nature Chemical Biology.
The paper published in Cancer Discovery identifies a new molecular target for this lethal subtype of prostate cancer for which there is currently a drug available. Specifically, Drs. Beltran and Rubin have discovered that the aurora kinase inhibitor PHA-739358 works against human neuroendocrine prostate cells.
A study in the journal AIDS identifies a connection between the use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and the blood disorder polycythemia among HIV-infected men. This is the first study on polycythemia in HIV-infected men and has led to additional recommendations for the treatment of patients with HIV.
At the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) held in September, Dr. Amanda Carmel received the 2011 Shun-Ichi Harada Young Investigator Award. The study, from a retrospective view, showed a relationship between vitamin D levels and bisphosphonate response.
Dr. Manish Shah has pursued a career in Medical Oncology with a primary focus on clinical translational medicine in GI Oncology that melds his research experience at the bench with patient care.
Dr. Linnie Golightly successfully competed for an R01 grant, entitled "Endothelial Progenitor cells and the Pathogenesis of Cerebral Malaria," and also secured funding through the Gates Challenge Grants with Alberto Bilenca at the Ben-Gurion University in Israel and John March at Cornell in Ithaca to develop a point-of-care test of malaria by a cell phone imaging probe and a novel cholera vaccine based upon in vivo bacterial communication pathways.
A molecular trigger involved in lung regeneration has been uncovered. Investigators – including Dr. Ronald G. Crystal (Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine) and Dr. Shahin Rafii (Professor of Medicine/Medicine & Genetics) – have published their findings in Cell. The discovery is part of a labyrinth of advances toward a fuller understanding of the process of lung regeneration.
Dr. Mohamad F. Jamiluddin, a former fellow in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, obtained a patent and produced several research papers in the field of HIV-AIDS within his first two years of training. His journey – emigrating from India to America – is featured in a documentary premiering on HBO, July 4, 2011.
Hepatitis C virus can be transmitted a number of ways, including piercings/tattoos and certain methods of recreational drug use. Dr. Andrew Talal has been invited to join the Division of Viral Hepatitis at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in an external advisory group, analyzing whether to recommend HCV testing for people born between 1945 and 1965.
Researchers have pinpointed a biomarker of early-stage emphysema that could provide an advanced new diagnostic tool. Senior author Ronald G. Crystal, M.D., and colleagues published findings that are promising for early detection of emphysema, which affects 2 million people in the United States each year and is irreversible beyond a certain point.
