News from the University of Kansas Medical Center

Fall/Winter 2023 Edition | Dec. 24, 2023

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Research focus: Cellular and molecular mechanisms of DCIS malignant progression.

Dr. Fariba Behbod received her PharmD and PhD from the University of Texas Health Science Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine focusing on mammary gland research. She joined the University of Kansas Medical Center in 2008 as a faculty member in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Her research on breast cancer includes developing the MIND orthotopic model and studying the efficacy of rosemary extract as a chemopreventive agent. She has received funding from various organizations and has mentored students and fellows. Her goals are to continue her work in breast cancer research and mentor future researchers.

Let's give a warm welcome to our newest faculty member, Ethar Al-Husseinawi, MD, PhD. She joined the Olathe Medical Center as an Assistant Professor on the clinical track on October 16, 2023.

Let's give a warm welcome to our newest faculty member, Saurav Chopra, MBBS. He joined us as an Assistant Professor on the Clinical Scholar Track on August 1, 2023.

Let's give a warm welcome to our newest faculty member, Robert B. Hamilton-Seth, MD, PhD. He joined us as an Assistant Professor on the Clinical Scholar Track on August 1, 2023.

Let's give a warm welcome to our newest faculty member, Meya L. Kindred, MD. She joined the Olathe Medical Center as the Olathe Medical Director on October 16, 2023.

Let's give a warm welcome to our newest faculty member, Regina M. Plummer, DO. She joined the Olathe Medical Center on October 16, 2023, as an Assistant Professor on the clinical track.

On behalf of Dr. Dianne Durham, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Development, we are pleased to congratulate Dr. Soares (middle) as the recipient of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award!

Congratulations Dr. Fields and Dr. Lakis! They have been selected as Outstanding Lecturers from the Class of 2026!

Dr. Gonzales was promoted to clinical associate professor, effective July 1, 2023. Congratulations!

Effective 9/1/23, Dr. Julia Hankins was named Associate Director of Clinical Microbiology Lab within the CP Division in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine.

Effective 9/1/23, Dr. Hamilton-Seth was named Director of Clinical Microbiology Lab within the CP Division in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine.

Dr. Pathak was promoted to Associate Professor. Congratulations!

Dr. Zeitlinger, an adjunctive faculty member from Stowers Research Institute, was promoted to full professor. Congratulations!

Dr. Zheng has joined the Advisory Board for The Blood Project. Dr. Zheng was among the first group of scientists who identified and cloned ADAMTS13, a plasma metalloprotease that cleaves VWF. His laboratory has made seminal contributions towards our understanding of pathogenesis of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP).

Congratulations to the new faculty who have passed their boards:

Dr. Saurav Chopra, MBBS, Hematopathology

Dr. Robert Hamilton-Seth, MD, PhD, Medical Microbiology

Dr. Julia Hankins, PhD, Microbiology Certification

Dr. Keenan Hogan, MD, Blood Banking & Transfusion Medicine

Dr. Amin Mostofizadeh, MD, Hematopathology

Your hard work and perseverance has paid off!

After a year's effort, the Clinical Molecular Oncology Laboratory’s Comprehensive Cancer Plus NGS Panel has been approved by MolDx, a program that identifies and establishes coverage and reimbursement for molecular tests, effective 7/11/2023. This not only means that our NGS test is billable and will be reimbursed, but it also means that our test meets all the criteria of MolDx's technical assessment. Kudos to our validation scientist Dr. Jennifer Crow and the entire CMOL team!

Poster Award Winners

Postdoctoral Fellow Awards

Savannah Speckhart, University of Kansas Medical Center
Ayelen Moreno, University of Kansas Medical Center

Graduate Student Awards

Sabrena Rutledge, Iowa State University
Erin Carulli, University of Missouri-Columbia
Madison Shay, University of Kansas Medical Center
Jackie Shelton, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Elevator Pitch People's Choice Award

Kathryn Storey, University of Missouri-Columbia

Wenjing Cao, MD, PhD

Oral Abstract

A Mutation in Complement Factor H (W1183R) Enhances VWF Proteolysis By ADAMTS13 Under Shear.

Chan Meng, MD

Poster Abstract

Thermodynamic Effects of Antibodies on VWF73 Cleavage By ADAMTS13. 

Quan Zhang, MD

Poster Abstract

Sars-CoV2 ORF7a Protein Stimulates Synthesis and Secretion of Endothelial Von Willebrand Factor. 

Long Zheng, MD, PhD

Invited Speaker

Invited faculty speaker for hereditary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, sponsored by Takeda. 

Maryam Gholampour (Mohammad Haeri Lab)

Fellowship

Awarded Fellowship in Neurodegenerative Disorders for her project entitled Understanding tau filament-ligand interaction and conformational dynamics in PSP.

Brittany Martinez

Elin Grundberg

Khyati Dalal

Dissertation Defense

Khyati Dalal has successfully defended her dissertation defense and will graduate in December 2023.

Esteban Dominguez, PhD

2nd place SSR Poster competition (post-doctoral)

Transcription factor AP-2 gamma is a key driver of distinct stages in trophoblast cell lineage development

Awarded the Best Poster Postdoctorate Category

For his project entitled Transcription factor AP-2 gamma is a key driver of distinct stages in trophoblast cell lineage development at the U.S. DOHaD meeting in Kansas City.

Mikaela Simon, PhD

2nd place SSR Poster competition (pre-doctoral)

Follistatin like 3 regulated events in trophoblast cell lineage development and placentation

Mikaela Simon, PhD (Michael Soares, PhD)

NIH F31 Fellowship for her project entitled Signaling at the Uterine Placental Interface, 7/1/2023 to 6/30/2027, $163,873.00.

Savannah Speckhart, PhD (Michael Soares, PhD)

Lalor Foundation postdoctoral fellowship (Soares Lab). Leukemia inhibitory factor signaling and establishment of the hemochorial placenta, 7/3/2023 to 7/2/2024, $54,999.00.

Shivani Golem, PhD 

Oncogenic assessment of FLT3 Variants by the ClinGen FLT3 Somatic Cancer Variant Curation Expert Panel. Jason Saliba, Rashmi Shamanna Kanagal, Xinjie Xu, Shivani Golem et al,. CGC 14th Annual meeting, August 2023.

Distributional Range Of Tumor Mutational Burden (TMB) Across Multiple Cancer Types Emphasizing The Importance Of Different Cutoff Values In Different Tumor Types For Clinical Interpretation. Wojciech Swat, Dibyendu Kumar, Theresa A. Boyle, Emily Dalton, Stewart Comer, James Solomon, Shivani Golem, Kenneth R Eyring, Brett Baskovich, Ashutosh Vashisht, Harmanpreet Singh, Pankaj Kumar Ahluwalia, Ahmet Alptekin, Nikhil Sahajpal, Ashis Mondal, Vamsi Kota, and Ravindra Kolhe. ASCO, June, 2023.

Amitava Dasgupta, PhD 

Research Society of Alcohol annual meeting June 22-26, 2023, Bellevue, Washington: The 17th Annual Charles Liber memorial Symposium  June 24, 2023. Title of the talk “Drug-alcohol interactions”.

AACC Annual Meeting 2023, July 23-27th, Anaheim, CA. Brown Bag Session, July 26th: How people try to beat drug test and defend positive results.

AACC Annual Meeting 2023, July 23-27th, Anaheim, CA Scientific session July 25th, 2023, Heavy metal and elemental toxicity in humans: Sources of exposure and role of clinical laboratory (Paul Jannetto, Moderator/Speaker),  Title of the talk “Usual and unusual sources of exposure to toxic elements: How to minimize such exposure and treatment strategy.

21st Congress of International Association of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Clinical Toxicology, Oslo, Norway September 24-27th.  Symposium: Intoxication with plants and mushrooms (Chair: Gudrun Høiseth, Peter Zweipfenning), 25th September 2023.  Title of the talk: When a relatively safe herbal turns ugly: Clinically significant drug-herb interactions causing treatment failure or severe toxicity.

FARIBA BEHBOD, PhD

PI, Dept. of Defense, "DCIS progression to invasive basal-like breast cancer driven by N-Ras", 12/01/2023 to 11/30/2026, $930,000.00.

ANDREW K. GODWIN, PhD

Mentor, “Extracellular Vesicles Protein Biomarkers for Early Detection of High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer”, University of Kansas Internal Grant, Biomedical Research Training Program (BRTP), 1/10/2023 to 1/09/2024, PI: Sagar Rayamajhi, $13,000.00

Co-PI, “Advancing New Treatment Options to Improve Outcomes of Children and Young Adults Diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma”, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Braden’s Hope, 09/01/2023-08/31/2026, Contact PI: Terri Flatt, $300,000 (revised application).

PI (subcontract), “Serum Hormone Levels And Associations with Outcome in Patients with Node Positive Breast”, 10/01/2023-09/30/2024, Contact PI: Kevin Kalinsky (Emory University), $100,000 (subcontract - $62,999) – second award to evaluate 2,250 serum samples from SWOG S1007.

MICHAEL J. SOARES, PhD

PI, “Trophoblast Differentiation”, National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, R01 competitive renewal, 3/6/2023-12/31/2027, $2,831,681.00

LIANG ZHENG, PhD

PI, “ANKRD26 in Thrombocytopenia”, American Heart Association, Career Development Award, 4/1/2023-3/31/2026, $231,000.00 total.

PI, “The function of ANKRD26 and its role in megakaryopoiesis and thrombocytopenia”, NIDDK Cooperative Centers of Excellence in Hematology Pilot Grant, 7/1/2023-6/30/2024, $75,000.00 total. 

National Institute of Genetics (Japan) Travel Award to study zebrafish models. Award, 150,000 yen total.

XINYANG ZHAO, PhD

Multi-PI R01 with UAB, Protein Arginine Methylation in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotypic Modulation and Calcification, 4/01/2024 to 3/31/2029, $297,600.00 annually.

Co-Investigator with UAB, "Genetic and molecular basis of hematopoietic abnormalities in ZTTK syndrome", 3/15/2023 to 12/31/2026, $59,520.00 annually. 

KIPM Pilot, "Reprogramed Platelets by PRMT1 create a tumor friendly microenvironment for ovarian cancer", $50,000.00.

LONG ZHENG, MD, PhD

PI, "Pathogenesis of thrombotic microangiopathies", National Institutes of Health, R01, competitive renewal, 8/15/2023-7/31/2027, $2,076,276.00 total.

Differential Impact of Proliferation Signature on Efficacy of Neoadjuvant Chemoimmunotherapy in Immune-High and Immune-Low Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC): Biomarker Analysis of the NeoPACT Trial.

Stecklein, S.R., Yoder, R., Staley, J.M., Schmitt, Z., O’Dea, A.P. Nye, L.E., Elia, M., Satelli, D., Crane, G., Madan, R., O’Neil, M.F., Godwin, A.K., Salgado, R., Khan, Q.J., O’Shaughnessy, J., Sharma, P. 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting, June 2-6, 2023, Chicago, IL (Oral Abstract Session).

Extracellular Vesicle-Derived Non-Coding RNAs Predict Outcome in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) Patients with Residual Disease (RD).

Stecklein, S.R., Yoder, R., Staley, J.M., Schmitt, Z., O’Dea, A.P. Nye, L.E., Elia, M., Satelli, D., Crane, G., Madan, R., O’Neil, M.F., Godwin, A.K., Salgado, R., Khan, Q.J., O’Shaughnessy, J., Sharma, P.  2023 ASCO Annual Meeting, June 2-6, 2023, Chicago, IL (Poster Session- Abstract #578; Poster Bd #408).

Comparing the Prognostic and Predictive Utility of Serum Thymidine Kinase 1 and CA 15-3 in Patients with Hormone Receptor Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer Starting First-Line Endocrine Therapy in SWOG S0226.

Cobain, E.F., Barlow, W.E., Paoletti, C., Bergqvist, M., Williams, A., Ritzen, H., Mehta, R.S., Gralow, J.R., Hortobagyi, G.N., Albain, K.S., Pustzai, L, Sharma, P., Godwin, A.K., Thompson, A.M., Hayes, D.F., Rae, J.M.  2023 ASCO Annual Meeting, June 2-6, 2023, Chicago, IL (Poster Session- Abstract #1076; Poster Bd #297).

Targeting Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) in Resected RAS Mutated Pancreatic Cancer with Vaccine TG01/QS-21 +/- PD-1 Inhibitor, Balstilimab: A Randomized Phase II Study (TESLA).

Kasi, A., Diaz, F., Al-Rajabi, R., Baranda, J., Carroll, E., Belcher, C., Olyaee, M., Rastogi, A., Schmitt, T., Kumer, S., Nawabi, A., Pathak, H., Godwin, A.K., Markiewicz, M., Sun, W.  2023 ASCO Annual Meeting, June 2-6, 2023, Chicago, IL (Poster Session- Abstract #TPS4205; Poster Bd #509a).

Targeting Germline or Somatic DNA Repair Defects (Beyond BRCA) in Pancreatic Cancer With Niraparib: A Phase II Study (NIRA-PANC).

Kasi, A., Dai, J., Al-Rajabi, R., Baranda, J., Saeed, A., Chalise, P., Carroll, E., Bradbury, S., Hyter, S., Witek, M., Beeki, V., McKittrick, R., Lekkala, M.R., Chidharla, A., Kumer, S., Schmitt, T., Williamson, S., Soper, S., Godwin, A.K., Sun, W.  2023 ASCO Annual Meeting, June 2-6, 2023, Chicago, IL (Poster Session- Abstract #4156; Poster Bd #477).

Identification of Putative Early-Stage Ovarian Cancer Biomarkers Using Bottom-Up Proteomics from Patient Derived Tampons.

Luu, G.T., Ge, C.; Tang, Y.; Godwin, A.K.; Su, J.; Sannchez, L.M.  American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference, June 4-8, 2023, Houston, Texas.

Optimization and Clinical Validation of the Ion Torrent Oncomine Comprehensive Assay Plus.

Crow, J., Hyter, S., Schmidt, S., Ayoub, R., Godwin, A.K.  2023 Cancer Genomics Consortium Annual Meeting, August 13-16, 2023, St. Louis, MO. (Selected for poster presentation).

Extracellular Vesicles Protein Biomarkers Define the Preneoplastic Landscape of High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer. 

Rayamajhi, S., Sipes, J., Zha, D., Burdette, J.E., Godwin, A.K. The University of Kansas Cancer Center Research Symposium, October 31- November 3, 2023, Kansas City, MO. (Selected for oral presentation) & Ovarian Cancer Midwest Focus Conference, November 13 & 14, 2023, Minneapolis, MN.

Ovarian and Fallopian Tube Crosstalk via Extracellular Vesicles Promotes the Origin of Ovarian Cancer and the Precancerous Landscape.

Sipes, J., Zha, D., Rayamajhi, S., Pathak, H., Sardiu, M., Bantis, L.E., Burdette, J.E., Godwin, A.K. The University of Kansas Cancer Center Research Symposium, October 31- November 3, 2023, Kansas City, MO. & & Ovarian Cancer Midwest Focus Conference, November 13 & 14, 2023, Minneapolis, MN.

Mitochondrial DNA Mutation Detection in Tumors and Circulating Extracellular Vesicles of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Patients for Biomarker Development.

Vikramdeo, K.S., Anand, S., Sudan, S.K., Pramanik, P., Singh, S., Godwin, A.K., Singh, A.P., Dasgupta, S.  San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. December 5-9, 2023, San Antonio, Texas.

SMARCA2 Compensation of SMARCA4 Loss Mediates Adaptive Therapeutic Resistance to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Chemoimmunotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Paired Transcriptomic Analysis of Pre- and Post-Treatment Samples from the Neostop and Neopact Trials.

Stecklein, S.R., Yoder, R., Staley, J.M., Schmitt, Z., O’Dea, A.P., Nye, L.E., Satelli, D., Crane, G., Madan, R., O’Neil, M.F., Godwin, A.K., Pathak, H., Khan, Q.J., O’Shaughnessy, J., Sharma, P.  San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. December 5-9, 2023, San Antonio, Texas.

Analysis of the Radiosensitivity Index/Genomic-Adjusted Radiation Dose (RSI-GARD) in Paired Pre- and Post-Treatment TNBC Samples: Implications for Biomarker-Guided Radiotherapy.

Stecklein, S.R., White, J.R., Yoder, R., Staley, J.M., Schmitt, Z., O’Dea, A.P., Nye, L.E., Satelli, D., Crane, G., Madan, R., O’Neil, M.F., Godwin, A.K., Pathak, H., Khan, Q.J., O’Shaughnessy, J., Sharma, P.  San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. December 5-9, 2023, San Antonio, Texas.

Paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria: A diagnostic dilemma in a pediatric patient.

Hogan, KO. Oroszi G. Transfus Med. Aug 2023;33(5):416-9.

Preventative plasmapheresis in a diabetic pregnant patient with hypertriglyceridemia and distal pancreatectomy.

Hogan, KO.  Transfus Med. Aug 2023;33(5):413-5.

Solid phase red cell adherence assay identifies clinically significant erythrocyte antibodies missed by alternative serologic methods.

Jones S., Hogan KO, Wadsworth M, Wolf L, Ye Z.  AABB Annual Meeting, October 2023; Nashville, TN.

Extravillous trophoblast cell lineage development is associated with active remodeling of the chromatin landscape.

Kaela M. Varberg, Esteban M. Dominguez, Boryana Koseva, Joseph M. Varberg, Ross P. McNally, Ayelen Moreno-Irusta, Emily R. Wesley, Khursheed Iqbal, Warren A. Cheung, Carl Schwendinger-Schreck, Craig Smail, HiroakiOkae, Takahiro Arima,
Michael Lydic, KristinHoloch, Courtney Marsh, Michael J. Soares, Elin Grundberg. 2023 July 7. 

Mouse intraductal modeling of primary ductal carcinoma in situ.

Hutten SJ, Behbod F, Scheele CLGJ, Jonkers J. STAR Protoc. 2023 Aug 29;4(3):102526. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102526. 

Rare  case of benign transient hyperphosphatasemia in a complicated multiorgan adult transplant patient: case report and literature review.

Hoyt H, Plapp FV, Ye Z, Dasgupta A.  Clin Chim Acta, 544:1173, 2023.

Use of a novel bacterial culture sampling device for pooled whole blood platelets. 

Martinez F, Castillo E, Griffin G, Chapman S, Dey M, Tholpady A, Kelley J, Klein K, Dasgupta A, Correa-Medina M, Lichtiger B. Annals. Clin Lab Sci, 53; 485-488, 2023.

Significant Discordance Between Point of Care BNP Values Obtained by the i-STAT and the Beckman DXI 800, Causing Confusion in Patient  Management When Both Methods are Used Interchangeably by Clinicians.

Zinn K, Boyd M, Dasgupta A.  Scand J Clin Lab Invest, 83; 278-281, 2023.

Significant discordance between point of care BNP values obtained by the i-STAT and the Beckman DXI 800, causing confusion in patient management when both methods are used interchangeably by clinicians.

Zinn K, Boyd M, Dasgupta A. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 2023 Jul;83(4):278-281. doi: 10.1080/00365513.2023.2221863.

Dual Prognostic Classification of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer by DNA Damage Immune Response and Homologous Recombination Deficiency.

Stecklein, S.R., Barlow, W., Pusztai, L., Timms, K., Kennedy, R., Logan, G.E., Seitz, R., Badve, S., Gökmen-Polar, Y., Porter, P., Linden, H., Tripathy, D., Hortobagyi, G.N., Godwin, A.K., Thompson, A., Hayes, D.F., Sharma, P. JCO Precision Oncology, 2023 Sep;7:e2300197. doi: 10.1200/PO.23.00197 (PMID: 37972336).

Inducing Mitotic Catastrophe as a Therapeutic Approach to Improve Outcomes in Ewing Sarcoma. 

Turaga, S.M., Vishwakarma, V., Hembruff, S.L., Gibbs, B.K., Sabu, P., Puri, R.V., Pathak, H.B., Samuel, G., Godwin, A.K. Cells (Basel), 2023, Oct 10;15(20): 4911. doi: 10.3390/cancers15204911. (PMID: 37894278) PMCID: PMC10605681. (This article belongs to the Special Issue Targeted Therapy of Pediatric Cancer).

Lineage Specific Extracellular Vesicle-Associated Protein Biomarkers for the Early Detection of High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer.

Trinidad, C.V., Pathak, H.B., Cheng, S., Tzeng, S-C., Madan, R., Sardiu, M.E., Bantis, L.E., Deighan, C., Jewell, A., Rayamajhi, S., Zeng, Y., Godwin, A.K. Scientific Reports, 2023, Oct 26;13(1):18341. doi: 1038/s41598-023-44050-5 (PMID: 37884576) PMCID: PMC10603107.

Rapid In Vitro Cytotoxicity Evaluation of Jurkats Expressing Chimeric Antigen Receptor Using Fluorescent Imaging.

Subham, S., Jeppson, J.D., Gibbs, B., Babai, J., Alker, R., Godwin, A.K., Akhavan, D.  J Vis Exp, 2023 Oct 27:(200). doi: 10.3791/65560. 

Vitamin D Insufficiency as a Risk Factor for Paclitaxel-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in SWOG S0221.

Chen, C.S., Zirpoli, G., Barlow, W.E., Budd, G.T., McKiver, B., Pusztai, L., Hortobagvi, G.N., Albain, K.S., Damaj, M.I., Godwin, A.K., Thompson, A., Henry, N.L., Ambrosone, C.B., Stringer, K.A., Hertz, D.L. Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 2023, Nov;21(11):1172-1180.e3. doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2023.7062.

Clinical and Biomarker Results of Neoadjuvant Phase II Study of Pembrolizumab and Carboplatin plus Docetaxel in Triple Negative Breast Cancer (NeoPACT).

Sharma, P., Stecklein, S.R., Yoder, R., Staley, J.M., Schwensen, K., O’Dea, A., Nye, L., Satelli, D., Crane, G., Madan, R., O’Neil, M.F., Wagner, J., Larson, K.E., Balanoff, C., Kilgore, L., Phadnis, A., Godwin, A.K., Salgado, R., Khan, Q.J., O’Shaughnessy, J.  JAMA Oncology, 2023 Nov 22:e235033. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.5033. Online ahead of print.

Paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria: A diagnostic dilemma in a pediatric patient.

Hogan, KO. Oroszi G. Transfus Med. Aug 2023;33(5):416-9.

Preventative plasmapheresis in a diabetic pregnant patient with hypertriglyceridemia and distal pancreatectomy. Hogan, KO.

Transfus Med. Aug 2023;33(5):413-5.

Variable Cre Recombination Efficiency in Placentas of Cyp19-Cre ROSAmT/mG Transgenic Mice.

Anamthathmakula P, Shallie PD, Nayak N, Dhal S, Vivian JL, Mor G, Soares MJ, Nayak NR. Cells. 2023 Aug 18;12(16):2096. doi: 10.3390/cells12162096.

Extravillous trophoblast cell lineage development is associated with active remodeling of the chromatin landscape.

Varberg KM, Dominguez EM, Koseva B, Varberg JM, McNally RP, Moreno-Irusta A, Wesley ER, Iqbal K, Cheung WA, Schwendinger-Schreck C, Smail C, Okae H, Arima T, Lydic M, Holoch K, Marsh C, Soares MJ, Grundberg E. Nat Commun. 2023 Aug 10;14(1):4826. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40424-5.

Core conserved transcriptional regulatory networks define the invasive trophoblast cell lineage.

Vu HTH, Scott RL, Iqbal K, Soares MJ, Tuteja G. Development. 2023 Aug 1;150(15):dev201826. doi: 10.1242/dev.201826. Epub 2023 Jul 31.

Transcriptional Metabolic Reprograming Implements Meiotic Fate Decision in Mammalian Testicular Germ Cells. 

Zhang, Xiaoyu, Liu, Yan, Sosa, Froylan , Gunewardena, Sumedha, Crawford, Peter., A., C Zielen, Amanda, Orwig, Kyle ., E., Wang, Ning. 2023. Cell Reports, 42 (7), 112749. 

Landscape of Double-Stranded DNA Breaks in Postmortem Brains from Alzheimer’s Disease and Non-Demented Individuals. 

Zhang, Xiaoyu, Liu, Yan, Huang, Ming, Gunewardena, Sumedha, Haeri, Mohammad, Swerdlow, Russell, Wang, Ning. 2023. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Author Correction: Architectural basis for cylindrical self-assembly governing Plk4-mediated centriole duplication in human cells.

Il Ahn J, Zhang L, Ravishankar H, Fan L, Kirsch K, Zeng Y, Meng L, Park JE, Yun HY, Ghirlando R, Ma B, Ball D, Ku B, Nussinov R, Schmit JD, Heinz WF, Kim SJ, Karpova T, Wang YX, Lee KS. Commun Biol. 2023 Jul 27;6(1):784. doi: 10.1038/s42003-023-05162-w.

Architectural basis for cylindrical self-assembly governing Plk4-mediated centriole duplication in human cells.

Il Ahn J, Zhang L, Ravishankar H, Fan L, Kirsch K, Zeng Y, Meng L, Park JE, Yun HY, Ghirlando R, Ma B, Ball D, Ku B, Nussinov R, Schmit JD, Heinz WF, Kim SJ, Karpova T, Wang YX, Lee KS. Commun Biol. 2023 Jul 11;6(1):712. doi: 10.1038/s42003-023-05067-8.

TAF7L regulates early stages of male germ cell development.

Moreno-Irusta, A., Dominguez, E.M., Iqbal, K., Zhang, X., Wang, N., and Soares, M.J. (2023) FASEB Journal, in press (bioRxiv 2023.10.08.561408). PMID: 37873461.

Coagulation factor VIII regulates von Willebrand factor homeostasis invivo

Wenjing Cao, Aria R. Trask, Antonia I Bignotti, Lindsey A. George, Bhavya S. Doshi, Denise E. Sabatino, Noritaka Yada, Liang Zheng, Rodney M. Camire, X. Long Zheng. 2023 Sep 17. J Thromb Haemost. 2023 Dec;21(12):3477-3489. doi: 10.1016/j.jtha.2023.09.004. Epub 2023 Sep 17.

Dynamic Assessment of Plasma von Willebrand Factor and ADAMTS13 Predicts Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Zhang Q, Bignotti A, Yada N, Ye Z, Liu S, Han Z, Zheng XL. J Clin Med. 2023 Nov 19;12(22):7174. doi: 10.3390/jcm12227174.

How should caplacizumab be used for treatment of immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura?

Zheng L, Zheng XL. Ann Blood. 2023 Jun 30;8:11. doi: 10.21037/aob-21-87. Epub 2022 Apr 1.

A Descriptive Analysis of Fatal Outcomes in Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura in the USTMA TTP Registry.

Abou-Ismail, MY, Zhang C, Presson AP, Chaturvedi S, Antun AG, Farland AM, Woods R, Metjian A, Park YA, de Ridder G, Gibson B, Kasthuri RS, Liles DK,  Akwaa F, Clover T, Zheng XL et al. for the United States Thrombotic Microangiopathies Consortium. Blood Adv. 2023, in press. 

Altered cleavage of human factor VIII at the B-domain and acidic region 3 interface enhances expression after gene therapy in hemophilia A mice.

Nguyen GN, Lindgren JR, Seleme MC, Kafle S, Zander CB, Zheng XL, Sabatino DE. J Thromb Haemost. 2023 Aug;21(8):2101-2113. doi: 10.1016/j.jtha.2023.04.012. Epub 2023 Apr 18. PMID: 37080538

Julia Zeitlinger, PhD

Julia Zeitlinger, PhD, is working with other Researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, to harness novel technology to benefit foundational science and enhance our understanding of human health and disease. This is being accomplished through Artificial Intelligence (AI). Read more here: https://www.stowers.org/news/how-artificial-intelligence-is-transforming-the-future-of-science-and-medicine

The Institute for Reproductive and Developmental Sciences, in collaboration with several other departments on campus, sponsors the following seminar series:

Seminars in Development and the Pathogenesis of Disease [Pathology]
Sponsored by the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, the Institute for Reproductive and Developmental Sciences, and the Bohan Visiting Professor Program

Seminars in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology [ObGyn]
Sponsored by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Institute for Reproductive and Developmental Sciences, and the Bohan Visiting Professor Program

Seminar Series in Urology, Male Reproductive Health and Infertility [Urology]
Sponsored by the Department of Urology, the Institute for Reproductive and Developmental Sciences, and the Bohan Visiting Professor Program

IRDS SEMINAR SPEAKERS

Pathology

Jack Bui M.D., Ph.D.

UC San Diego Health

"Successful anti-tumor immunity and IL-17D and extracellular vesicles."

OB/Gyn

Kanako Hayashi, Ph.D.

Washington State University

"Pathophysiology and targeting in endometriosis - chronic inflammation and dynamic macrophage differentiation."

Pathology

Paul Liu, B. Med, Ph.D.

NIH

"Clinical and genomic characterizations of patients with germline RUNX1 mutations: The NIH natural history study."

Uro

Francesca Cole, Ph.D.

MD Anderson

"Age-dependent alterations in recombination casue aneuploidies in mouse spermatocytes."

OB/Gyn

Stacey Missmer, Sc.D

Michigan State University

"What is Endometriosis?: Toward Translational Subphenotypes."

Pathology

Joaquin Espinosa, Ph.D.

University of Colorado

"Understanding Down Syndrome as an Interferonopathy: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications."

OB/Gyn

Elizabeth Enninga, Ph.D.

Mayo Clinic

"Understanding maternal immune tolerance and activation in chronic placental inflammation."

Pathology

Noel Warfel, Ph.D.

The University of Arizona

"Targeting PIM1 to Reshape the Tumor-Immune Microenvironment."

Uro

Kathleen Hwang, M.D.

University of Pittsburg School of Medicine

"Ultrasound-Guided Rete Testis Sperm Aspiration: A Path to Spermatogonial Stem Cell Transplantation."

We are thrilled to share an exciting update from our recent Research Symposium, held on November 2-3, 2023 held in the Kansas City metropolitan area. This annual event brought together 121 attendees of the brightest minds, experts, and innovators from various fields to explore and discuss groundbreaking research and its impact on our world. The symposium served as a platform for fostering collaboration, sharing insights, and pushing the boundaries of knowledge.

Keynote Lecture

Yoel Sadovsky, MD

"The ins and outs of placenta-specific miRNAs"

Symposium Speakers

Juan Gnecco, PhD

"Leveraging tissue engineered organoid systems to dissect the human endometrium and disease"

Kristina Adams Waldorf, MD

"A critical need for reproductive scientists"

Chen Chen, PhD

"PIWI-interacting RNAs in germ cell development"

Nardhy Gomez-Lopez, PhD

"Deciphering Term and Preterm Parturition through Single-Cell RNA Sequencing"

Peter J. Hansen, PhD

"From zygote to blastocyst: setting the stage for subsequent development"

David Pépin, PhD

"AMH/AMHR2 in reproduction: the cat is out of the bag"

The KUMC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, officially integrated with The Division of Olathe Pathology  on October 27, 2023. A large amount of planning towards integration of Olathe into the KU system has been done, with special work provided by many persons to meet our go-live date. We would like to specially acknowledge the work by Jennifer Hopkins, Brooke Montgomery, Dr. Nika Gloyeske, Dr. Katie Dennis, Dr. Janet Woodroof, Rick Couldry, Steve Beeler, Teal Shultz, Kelli Johnson and KUH IT department as well as the members of the KUH Olathe Transition team.

We would like to introduce the newly hired pathologists who have recently joined our pathology department and will be based at Olathe Medical Center, performing on-site anatomic and clinical pathology. Dr. Kindred, Dr. Plummer and Dr. Al-Husseinawi bring broad-based expertise and are providing assistance during the transition, as we strive to create an integrated pathology service at Olathe.

Dr. Kindred is a board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist with a specialization in liver and placenta pathology and laboratory administration. Dr. Kindred is serving as the Laboratory Medical Director for Olathe and Miami County Hospitals.

Dr. Plummer is a board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist, with specialization in hematopathology and cytopathology.

Dr. Al-Husseinawi is a board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist, with specialization in breast and gyn pathology.

Please join us in welcoming  Dr. Kindred, Dr. Plummer and Dr. Al-Husseinawi to our Olathe Medical Center pathology Division, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, KUMC. We look forward to working with them and acknowledge the positive impact and expertise they bring to our department.

1st Place Winners:  George Kostanian and Hanan Elsarraj for “Gro-gourd” (aka-baby Yoda 

2nd Place Winner: Molly Walkenhorst and Priscilla Quach for “PumpkinBob”

3rd Place Winners: Tie between the two autopsy pumpkins: “Gourd to Death” by Robert Hoyt and Maryam Abdo / “Mr. Gourd” by Julie Pham and Sydney Graham

Congratulations to the winners! Thanks to all who participated in this annual event.

As we approach the end of another eventful year, I wanted to take a moment to extend my warmest wishes to each and every one of you. The holiday season is a time for reflection, celebration, and spreading joy, and I cannot think of a better group to share these sentiments with than our amazing team.

This year has presented us with challenges and opportunities that have tested our resilience and determination. Yet, through it all, we have persevered and thrived. I am incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication that each of you has shown, and I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your contributions to our department's success.

During this festive season, I encourage you to take some well-deserved time to unwind, enjoy the company of loved ones, and recharge for the year ahead. Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or simply embracing the holiday spirit in your own way, I hope you find joy, peace, and happiness in every moment spent with family and friends.

Let us also remember to extend our thoughts and support to those less fortunate. The spirit of giving is what truly embodies the essence of the holidays, and I encourage you to find ways to lend a helping hand to those in need.

Lastly, I want to express my gratitude for each and every one of you. The strength of our department lies in the diversity of talents, skills, and perspectives that each individual brings to the table. It is this collective effort that enables us to consistently exceed expectations and make a real difference.

As we bid farewell to 2023 and step into the new year, I am excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. Let's continue to work together, inspire one another, and achieve even greater milestones in the coming year.

May your holidays be filled with love, laughter, and cherished moments. Happy holidays!

Warmest regards,

Long Zheng, MD, PhD

KUMC PATHOLOGY GIVING: Gifts to the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine help in our pursuit of excellence in our academic activities, while attracting the most talented students and scholars. (LINK)