News
Marathon Bombing Victims Aided by Rapid Response, Imaging of Injuries
The Boston Marathon bombing brought international attention back to the devastating effects of terrorism. There were numerous victims with severe injuries that needed immediate attention. A novel study in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), presents cases from Boston-area hospitals where victims were... More
Experiences of Racism Linked to Adult-Onset Asthma in African-American Women
According to a new study from the Slone Epidemiology Center (SEC) at Boston University, African-American women who reported more frequent experiences of racism had a greater likelihood of adult-onset asthma compared to women who reported less frequent experiences. The study, which currently appears on-line in the journal Chest, was led by Patricia Coogan, DSc, senior epidemiologist... More
Study Finds Physicians Need to Better Recognize Maternal Use of Herbal Supplements while Breastfeeding
In an article published in this month’s issue of Pediatrics In Review, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) stress the importance of physicians recognizing that many mothers use herbal supplements while breastfeeding in order to make accurate health assessments for both mother and child. In the US, no existing regulatory guidelines set a standardized... More
BU Gives $8,500 in Grants for Summer Programs and Local Non-profit
Boston University recently gave $8,500 to support programs that support the arts and cultural environment in Roxbury and a summer biotech program for local youth. The grants are part of the on-going program to provide community assistance to local nonprofit organizations. In the last two years, these BU community grants have provided over $20,000... More
Biotechnologist for a Week
In the video above, participants in BU’s SummerLab program imagine they are employees in the research department of a biotechnology company. Photos by Cydney Scott Most 16-year-olds’ appreciation of jellyfish is colored by the creature’s tendency to sting anything it comes in contact with, but a group of area high school students got over... More
Successful Fourth Annual Summer Research Program (SURP) Symposium
The Division of Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS) at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) hosted the fourth annual summer research symposium on Thursday, Aug. 1, showcasing research projects conducted by visiting students. Karen Antman, MD, BUMC Provost and BUSM Dean welcomed attendees and thanked them for contributing to the success of the program. The SUmmer Research Program (SURP), a... More
Pediatric Neurologist joins Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine
Alcy Torres, MD, will join Boston Medical Center (BMC) in the department of pediatric neurology and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) as an assistant professor of pediatrics on Aug. 1. Torres, who has been named one of the city’s best pediatric neurologists by Boston Magazine and other organizations, has dedicated his life to pediatric... More
Architecture of a Fruit Fly: New Clues for Reducing Electrical Surges in the Human Brain
A research team at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has identified an important and novel connection between genes that guide the body plan of the common fruit fly and nerve cells in humans that underlie disorders such as epilepsy and anxiety. Results from this study, conducted by faculty within the department of pharmacology and... More
BUSM and Boston Medical Center Partner with Jawaharlal Institute of India to Study TB
Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) are partnering with the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) to study tuberculosis (TB). This research is supported by a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the Indo-U.S. Vaccine Action Program (VAP). The joint program, based in Pondicherry, India, will establish cohorts of... More
Framingham Heart Study Carries on, Despite Budget Cuts
65-year-old core contract loses 40 percent of funding The Framingham Heart Study, the nation’s longest running large-scale analysis of cardiovascular disease, is facing a budget reduction of $4 million, or about 40 percent of the money it receives through its core contract with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The study will remain open, More
BUSM/BMC Researcher Receives NIH Grant to Study Gonococcal Vaccine Development
Lee Wetzler, MD, associate program director for research in the section of infectious diseases at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and an attending physician in the section of infectious diseases in the department of medicine at Boston Medical Center, was awarded a four-year, $2.35 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to... More
Dangerous YouTube Challenges: Fun or Deadly?
“What’s so challenging about cinnamon? ” asks GloZell Green, a comedienne and YouTube personality, before she pours cinnamon into a ladle and proceeds to ingest it in one gulp. Seconds later, viewers watch puffs of cinnamon powder spew from her mouth as though from an erupting volcano. GloZell proceeds to scream and grasp for... More
BUSM’s Sege Named Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy
Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) professor and Boston Medical Center (BMC) physician Robert Sege, MD, PhD, was named a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) in Washington D.C. The CSSP is a nonpartisan Washington D.C. nonprofit that works with policymakers and communities across the country to promote smart... More
MED Researchers’ Latest Networking Tool
BU Profiles shares expertise, spurs collaboration Imagine a LinkedIn for academic researchers only, and you’ve got the general idea behind BU Profiles, a web-based research networking system aimed at helping researchers build a professional network and find expertise and connections that can supercharge collaborations. The system, which launched on the Boston University Medical Campus in February... More
BU Researchers Conduct Innovative Internet-Based Fertility Study
BU researchers are studying whether selected lifestyle factors can affect fertility, miscarriage and adverse birth outcomes over a 12-month period. PRESTO (PREgnancy STudy Online) is an innovative online fertility study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and conducted by researchers at Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston... More
Physicians Slow to Implement HPV Vaccination and Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines
Despite recent breakthroughs in cervical cancer prevention resulting in new vaccination and cervical cancer screening guidelines, a Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) study published this month’s American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that physicians are slow to implement these guidelines into their practices. Researchers found that less than one third of obstetrician-gynecologists vaccinate their eligible... More
Two BUSM Faculty Receive Alzheimer’s disease Grants
David Harris, MD, PhD, chair and professor of biochemistry and Benjamin Wolozin, MD, PhD, professor of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics and neurology at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), have received Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium (MNC) Awards. Each will receive a $250,000 grant allowing their teams to explore new therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s disease. Harris is... More
Pediatric Residents get a Reality Check during Poverty Simulation
Goal: Keep food on your table, keep the lights on in your house, keep your kids in school, and get to work. Sounds easy enough, right? Does it still sound easy when your family’s budget is consistently $250 short of what you critically need? This was the challenge posed to 35 new pediatric residents of the Boston... More
BUSM Investigator Receives National Blood Foundation Grant for Blood Disease Research
George Murphy, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the division of Hematology and Oncology at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and co-director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM) at Boston University and Boston Medical Center has received a two-year, $75,000 research grant from the National Blood Foundation to investigate blood disorders. Murphy’s laboratory studies... More
Boston University Study Identifies Molecular Circuitry that Helps Tuberculosis Survive for Decades
In a study from Boston University's National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL), researchers have generated a map of the cellular circuitry of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of human tuberculosis (TB). This information, which is being published online as an Advanced Online Publication in the journal Nature, sheds new light on the bacterium's ability to survive inactive... More
BUSM/BMC Radiologist Named Deputy Editor of Leading Radiology Journal
Ali Guermazi, MD, PhD, professor of radiology at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and section chief of Musculoskeletal Imaging at Boston Medical Center (BMC), was appointed a Deputy Editor of the Radiology Editorial Board by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Guermazi is the first faculty member from either institution to take on... More
Medical Schools Using Social Media for Faculty Development
Physicians and scientists at academic medical centers face many competing demands for their time. Efforts to help them improve their teaching or scholarship traditionally have taken place in face-to-face lunchtime workshops. As clinical volume and the difficulty of obtaining external funding increases, faculty members have less opportunities to devote to their own professional development. Researchers from... More
BUSM Researcher Warns Banned Fountain of Youth Drug May be Making a Comeback
Despite it being more than 30 years since the “fountain of youth drug” Gerovital H3 was banned in the United States, it may be making a comeback. In an editorial published in this month’s Journal of the American Geriatrics Society BUSM researcher Thomas Perls, MD, points out that a few U.S.-based anti-aging and longevity clinics... More
Weekly Yoga Class Yields Similar Lower Back Pain Relief as Twice Weekly Classes for Low-Income Minority Patients
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have found that a weekly yoga class provided similar lower back pain relief and reduced the need for pain medication as twice weekly classes in lower income minority patients. The results of the study indicate that patients interested in trying yoga for... More
Fertility peaks around age 30 for both males and females, Boston University study finds
A new study co-authored by researchers from the BU Schools of Public Health and Medicine found that declines in fertility occurred slightly later than previous studies have suggested. Most previous studies have been conducted in fertility clinic populations or populations using natural family planning, whereas this study was conducted in a population of... More