Pathology & Laboratory Medicine News Items – November 2016

Pathology & Laboratory Medicine News Items – November 2016

  • Announcements:
    • Dr. Shinichiro Kurosawa has been reappointed to the Boston University Laboratory Safety Committee. The term of his appointment is through December 31, 2018
    • Dr. Chris Andry has had his appointment extend as Chair of the Boston University Laboratory Safety Committee. The term of his extension is through December 31, 2018
    • Jacquelyn Sikora Hanson, PhD (Lawreen Connors Lab) successfully defended her Thesis, “Transthyretin gene regulation in wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis” on November 21st, 2016, BRAVO!!
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    • Dr. Sikora Hanson’s Defense Dissertation
    •                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Jacquelyn’s Thesis Committee: Dr. Vickery Trinkaus-Randall,
    • Dr. Lawreen Connors (PI), new Dr. Sikora Hanson and Dr. David Sherr              
    •      committee-trinkaus-randall-connors-hanson-sherr                                                                         

                                                                  

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  •                                                                     Dr. Jacquelyn Sikora Hanson and her proud family
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  • Shark Tank Winners. The Cancer Center held a retreat on November 29th that featured a “Shark Tank” styled competition for research funds. Prior to the retreat faculty were asked to submit brief proposals and the top 4 proposals were selected for presentation. During lunch each group had 5 minutes to make their pitch to the Sharks on the expert panel. David Sherr and Dan Remick submitted a proposal AHR Inhibitors as Novel Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.  Their idea was selected as the winner. Portions of the funds will be used for processing specimens in the Ex+.

 

     

    Publications ACCEPTED:

    • Hot Off the Presses: The manuscript below has been accepted for publication in Neuropsychiatric Genetics.  While the first four authors worked in Dr. Ivana Delalle’s laboratory, it is really a multi-institutional effort that Dr. Delalle was fortunate to lead.  “Exosomal miR-149 and miR-29c as Candidates for Bipolar Disorder Biomarkers” by Jason L. Choi1, Patricia F. Kao1, Elena Itriago1, Yougen Zhan1, James A. Kozubek2, Andrew G. Hoss3, Meredith G. Banigan4, Charles R. Vanderburg4, Amir H. Rezvani5, Jeanne C. Latourelle3, Howard Cabral6, and Ivana Delalle1#; 1Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118; 2Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142; Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02112; 3Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118; 4Advanced Tissue Resource Center, Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center, Charlestown, MA 02129; 5Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710; 6Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health and Boston University Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Boston, MA, 02118

    Publications PUBLISHED:

      The Department has been actively engaged in biobanking initiatives for several years. These important biobanking projects provide specimens to several investigators to help understand the basic mechanisms of disease. Banking these specimens also honors the patients’ wishes to provide tissue for research.On behalf of the patients who donated biospecimens, and investigators who use the biospecimens, thank you. Your efforts ensure that pathology provides high quality biospecimens.Here is the impressive list of current and recent projects, including the pathology personnel that are participating in each project.

      Biobanking grants in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

      • 2016-2018: Thrombosis in Cancer Patients (TCP). Pre-analytic Variables that May Impact Standardization,
      • NCI. Contract award HHSN261200800001E  – $1.4M total cost
      • PI: Dr. Andry.
      • Co-I: Drs. Stearns-Kurosawa, Kurosawa, Henderson, Sloane, & Ms. Duffy, Sun
      • Other personnel: Cheryl Spencer, Morgan Thompson

       

      •  2016-2017: Boston Medical Center Biospecimen Source Site for the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC)
      • NCI contract HHSN261201600011I – $89,229.07.
      • PI: Dr. Andry
      • Co-I: Henderson
      • Other personnel: Spencer, Kim, Chen

       

      • 2011-2017: Detection of Early Lung Cancer Among Military Personnel (DE-CAMP), pulmonary
      • Department of Defense W81XWH-11-2-0161 – $2,378,826
      • PI: Avrum Spira, M.D.
      •  Co-I: Remick, Pistey
      • Other personnel: Spencer

       

      • 2016-present: Framingham Heart Study Biospecimen Core
      •  Lab Director – Dr. Henderson

       

      • 2014-2016: Biospecimen Source Site for Cancer Human Biospecimens (caHUB).
      • NCI. Biospecimen Preanalytical Variables Program 11XS1007T1 – $332,508
      • Co-I: Drs. Pistey, Henderson
      • Other personnel: Spencer, Duffy

       

      • 2014-2015: Biospecimen Source Site for the National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI)
      • Biospecimen procurement contract – $14,600
      • PI: Dr. Andry
      • Other personnel: Bondzie, Spencer

       

      • 2013-2015: Tissue Source Site for The Cancer Genome Atlas Project (TCGA)
      • NCI. Initial Task Order 13XS114 – $15,350
      • PI: Dr. Andry
      • Co-I: Henderson
      • Other personnel: Spencer, Mei Cao