Studies of Blood Stem Cells Stimulate Pioneering Therapeutic Approaches
By Melissa Glim
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), first established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences as the Institute of Medicine (IOM), is comprised of more than 2,000 elected members from around the world who provide scientific and policy guidance on important matters relating to human health. Election to the NAM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have not only made critical scientific discoveries but have also demonstrated a laudable commitment to public service.
IRP Distinguished Investigator Cynthia E. Dunbar, M.D., was elected to the NAM last year for her pioneering research into hematopoietic stem cells, the cells in bone marrow that develop into oxygen-carrying red blood cells, infection-fighting white blood cells, and clot-forming platelets. Her work has led to valuable insights into the production of those blood cells, called hematopoiesis, and its role in human health. Her discoveries have also resulted in new approaches to treat disease by improving stem cell functioning or manipulating stem cells with gene therapy.
New Approach Could Enhance Existing Treatments for Debilitating Genetic Disease
By Brandon Levy
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
The prospect of editing our DNA to treat genetic diseases may have captured the imaginations of scientists and the public in recent years, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways of combating these illnesses. Many promising therapies act not on DNA itself but rather on DNA’s often overlooked cousin, RNA. For instance, experiments in cells performed by IRP researchers have shown promising results or a RNA-targeting therapeutic developed to treat the debilitating genetic disease spinal muscular atrophy.
New Imaging Approach Improves Care for Men at Risk of Prostate Cancer
By Melissa Glim
Monday, March 29, 2021
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), first established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences as the Institute of Medicine (IOM), is comprised of more than 2,000 elected members from around the world who provide scientific and policy guidance on important matters relating to human health. Election to the NAM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have not only made critical scientific discoveries but have also demonstrated a laudable commitment to public service.
IRP senior investigator Peter Choyke, M.D., was elected to the NAM last year for his pioneering advances in imaging technologies for prostate cancer, which have improved diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Choyke, who directs the Molecular Imaging Branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), harnessed artificial intelligence to superimpose images from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans onto images taken in real time using ultrasound, thereby enhancing doctors’ ability to non-invasively examine prostate tumors. This allows doctors to be more precise with their biopsies, thereby lowering discomfort and the risk of nerve damage when they take samples of the tumor. Better yet, if the images show no signs of cancer, patients can skip the invasive biopsy procedure entirely and just continue regular monitoring and checkups.
Unconventional Genetic Strategy Could Enhance Production of Medical Treatments
By Brandon Levy
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
We all have bad days on the job — your colleague keeps bugging you, your boss yelled at you for an innocent mistake, and you skipped lunch because you have 10 different deadlines coming up. Understandably, many people find it much harder to get their work done under such stressful circumstances. Microbes that produce chemicals for medicine and scientific research experience similar struggles, but a recent IRP study has found that short-circuiting their stress response makes them far more efficient at that task.
New Receptors and Radioactively Labeled Molecules Could Provide Useful Tools for Research and Medicine
By Melissa Glim
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Genetically modifying neurons to enable scientists and clinicians to influence brain activity probably sounds like the stuff of science fiction. However, the technology has existed for more than a decade, allowing scientists to make important leaps in understanding how neurons communicate with one another in healthy individuals and those with psychological and neurological conditions. What’s more, recent improvements to these tools developed by researchers led by IRP investigator Mike Michaelides, Ph.D., may allow neurologists to use them to deliver drugs to just the right brain cells to treat those ailments effectively without the side effects caused by current treatments.
Photos Document NIH Response to COVID-19
By Gabrielle Barr
Monday, March 15, 2021
This past January marked the one-year anniversary of NIH’s role in addressing COVID-19. For many, it has been a year of hardships and grief, but the race to subdue this new virus has also tapped into the resolve and ingenuity of IRP staff who have already helped create diagnostic tests, vaccines, and therapeutics. Let's take a look back to see a few examples of how IRP scientists and staff have contributed to the fight against COVID-19, as well as how the pandemic has changed life at the NIH.
Virtual Symposium Showcases Scientists-in-Training
By Brandon Levy
Monday, March 8, 2021
Even in the midst of a global pandemic, life at NIH goes on. IRP researchers continue to run experiments, publish scientific papers, and train the next generation of scientists, including the many graduate students performing research in IRP labs through the Graduate Partnership Program. On February 17 and 18, more than 100 of these scientists-in-training presented their work virtually at the NIH’s 17th annual Graduate Student Research Symposium. Like last year’s entirely online Postbac Poster Day, the event overcame the constraints of COVID-19 precautions to showcase a broad range of research, including several studies focused on the novel coronavirus.
NIH Scientist’s Decoy Virus Revolutionizes Cervical Cancer Prevention
By Melissa Glim
Monday, March 1, 2021
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS), established in 1863, is comprised of the United States’ most distinguished scientific scholars, including nearly 500 Nobel Prize winners. Members of the NAS are elected by their peers and entrusted with the responsibility of providing independent, objective advice on national matters related to science and technology in an effort to advance innovations in the United States.
IRP senior investigator John T. Schiller, Ph.D., was elected to the NAS in 2020 in recognition of a career that has produced numerous discoveries about human papillomaviruses (HPV), sexually transmitted infections that cause genital warts and are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. His decades-long partnership with fellow IRP senior investigator Douglas R. Lowy, M.D., who was elected to the NAS in 2009, has yielded a deeper understanding of how HPV infects and damages cells and led to the creation of the first vaccines to prevent HPV infection.
Custom-Built Molecule May Improve On Its Natural Counterpart
By Melissa Glim
Monday, February 22, 2021
Ten years ago, a young woman from Chicago came to the National Institutes of Health with a rare genetic condition. A mutation in her DNA was making her metabolic system malfunction, causing levels of fat molecules called triglycerides in her blood to skyrocket far out of the normal range. This triggered inflammation in her pancreas, a painful and potentially life-threatening condition known as pancreatitis. She couldn’t understand why there wasn’t any kind of treatment to help her.
IRP senior investigator Alan T. Remaley, M.D., Ph.D., took on the challenge with the help of Anna Wolska, Ph.D., a research fellow in his lab. Dr. Remaley leads the Lipoprotein Metabolism Section in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), where he and Dr. Wolska study lipoproteins, small particles that transport fats such as cholesterol and triglycerides through the bloodstream to be broken down and used by cells for energy. Their efforts to help that young woman ultimately led to the discovery — published last January — of a new strategy for reducing triglycerides in order to treat serious ailments like pancreatitis and heart disease.
Biomarker Discovery Could Aid Diagnosis and Therapeutic Development
By Brandon Levy
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Our cells can’t afford to be wasteful, so they prefer to recycle broken components. However, when the mitochondria that provide their energy are damaged beyond repair, cells may have no choice but to throw them out. New IRP research suggests that more of this mitochondrial debris floats in the blood of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, potentially providing an easy, cost-effective way to diagnose or even possibly predict the illness.
